THE PROJECT GI&GIS A KEY ACTION OF

THE EC JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE

TO SUPPORT THE CREATION

OF A EUROPEAN GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE

 

 

Alessandro Annoni¹

Martin Littlejohn²

 

¹European Commission

Joint Research Centre

Space Applications Institute

TP 262 - 21020 Ispra (VA)- Italy

Alessandro.Annoni@jrc.it

 

²European Commission

Directorate General Information Society

rue Alcide de Gasperi L-2920 Luxembourg

Martin.Littlejohn@cec.eu.int

 

 

4^th Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Conference

Cape Town South Africa

13-15 March 2000

 

 

Alessandro Annoni ³. Degree in Physics from the University of Milan in 1979. He has been working on various national and regional remote-sensing and GIS projects funded by Member States and by the European Commission. At present he is head of the Geographic Information and Spatial Applications (GISA) sector at the Space Applications Institute of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra Italy. He is the technical responsible of institutional GI/GIS activities for JRC that includes his participation in the European task force for the definition and creation of the European Geographic Information Infrastructure.

 

Martin Littlejohn ³. MSc from the TU of Denmark 1974 specialising in computer systems. He joined the Commission in 1976 first as a computer analyst. For the last 10 years he has been responsible for the area of geographic information and the GI2000 policy initiative within the IMPACT and INFO2000 programmes to support the emerging multimedia industry in Europe. Now he is responsible for GI policy development at European level which has replaced from these activities and which are expected to be conducted in the context of action regarding public sector information - for instance in the new eEurope initiative of President Prodi. In parallel he has taken on new responsibilities in a related area: the Information Access and Filtering part of the IST programme.

 

³ The opinions expressed in this paper are entirely our own and do not

necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.

Abstract

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is running a project called “GI&GIS Harmonisation and Interoperability”. As all JRC projects it is designed to support EU policy. It will provide scientific and technological support to policy makers on GI/GIS issues at European level and provide a link to various space activities. In particular it was designed to support the high level working party of GI2000. Moreover it will conceive create and harmonise a number of pan-European datas for supporting EU policies. Preparatory work for European GI Policy development can be performed within the scope of this project.

 

Introduction

The growing attention from both public and private organisations to aspects concerning Geographic Information (GI) is a logical consequence of the developments society has seen over the last three decades. With the risk of some over-simplification these developments are characterised by strong individualisation (as a reaction to standardisation) globalisation (a continuation of standardisation in extremis) flexibility (fed by the wish to apply as cost-effectively as possible limited resources in a changing environment) the speed of innovation and the increased care for nature quality and safety. These aspects affect directly and indirectly all GI communities which share the great challenges of the information society of which GI is an integral part.  The use of GI in private sectors where actors apply GI/GIS as powerful marketing and planning instruments has created unprecedented opportunities.

 

Also in regional national and European policy making measures are more and more tailored to local realities. GI concerns all major EU policies directives and programmes such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) transport environmental protection and sustainable development having an increasing impact on the European territory. Planning and monitoring of these policies intensify the pressure for more timely dependable and usable GI. At the same time inappropriate territory management often causes an increase in natural disasters and detrimental consequences to the environment and to people. To reduce the probability and cost of natural disasters and better manage them should they occur territory management must be monitored and improved. In other words spatial planning is necessary and hence GI since it constitutes an essential component. On the other hand environmental phenomena are not limited to national boundaries. Thus there is a need to create and maintain coherent seamless databases describing fundamental geo-referenced information. Examples include administrative boundaries soil type meteorological information land cover demography protected sites and urban dynamics.

 

Territorial management is multi-disciplinary by its very nature. The sustainable development principles agreed at Rio de Janeiro and Kyoto meetings increase the need to combine information coming from different disciplines. Examples are agriculture environment transport fisheries land planning geo-marketing geology etc. The only way to succeed in combining data in a cost-effective fashion and to keep coherence in the decision process is by creating an infrastructure making reference data and system available for all users from all disciplines regardless of the scope and reach of their work. The solution to meet the challenges is the-up of a common framework called European Geographic Information Infrastructure (EGII). The operational use of GI requires that information should be interoperable and accessible to distributed users (interoperability). Furthermore advances in information technologies have resulted in an explosion of GI databases but the lack of appropriate tools for spatial analysis prevented a commensurate increase in knowledge.

 

European GI Policy Development

The European Commissions active involvement in GI policy development has sprung out of the IMPACT (89-94) and INFO2000 (96-99) programmes to support the European information and multimedia industry respectively. The projects in these programmes faced major difficulties in getting access to the geographic information they needed. This led us to consider how one could organise GI in Europe to improve availability and access. As Europe becomes more intertwined economically and administratively more an more companies and (governmental) organisations will be expanding their horizons beyond their own national borders taking a more pan-European view of their activities. As a consequence there is a growing need for pan-European GI for decision support which is one of the most important uses of GI within the Commission.

 

Europe has very extensive and comprehensive collections of national GI but it is often difficult to find and access. In addition there is very little seamless homogenised pan-European data available. Such information is scarce and difficult to obtain because national data was created in accordance with 15 different traditions and standards that do not fit easily together. It is deplorable that Europe is not joined up with geographic information. This effectively stops a healthy European market for applications from developing and is a big problem for many a cross-border project in say flooding control or natural parks. The combination of the national data into European data is a highly complex and non-trivial task.

 

To address these problems a communication (GI2000) from the Commission to the Council and Parliament was drafted to launch a debate at the political level. The GI2000 document has been the subject of numerous consultation meetings over the last years with interested parties both within and outside the Commission. It suggested action under the headings: Leadership & vision European GI infrastructure Realising the potential and Global rules. First it proposed to up a high level working party composed of Commission services and the actors in industry government and users to develop consensus and to exert the leadership required to drive development forward. EUROGI the European Umbrella Organisation for GI their national members National Mapping Agencies and research organisations are all strongly in favour of GI2000 although they have different ideas on concrete actions. On the other hand industry support has unfortunately not been quite so forthcoming.

Mainly for this reason the previous Commission did not adopt this communication.

 

On 8 December 1999 the new Commission launched an initiative entitled "eEurope - An Information Society for All" [4] which proposes ambitious targets to bring the benefits of the Information Society within reach of all Europeans. eEurope is a political initiative to ensure the European Union fully benefits for generations to come from the changes the Information Society is bringing. These changes the most significant since the Industrial Revolution are far-reaching and global. They are not just about technology. They will affect everyone everywhere. eEurope is intended to accelerate positive change in the Union. It aims at ensuring this change towards the Information Society is cohesive not divisive. Integrating not fragmenting. An opportunity not a threat. In essence eEurope aims at bringing the benefits of the Information Society to the reach of all Europeans.

 

As a first step it has been decided to address the problems related to a GI Policy development in the context of the Green Paper on Public Sector Information [5] which was published in January 1999. In fact by the deadline for comments on 1^st June a total of 180 reactions had been received hereof 40 from the GI community (typically actors suggested the EU to develop an active policy for GI for instance to harmonise pricing policies based on marginal cost and to overcome the fragmented property rights system across Europe). The Green Paper will be then integrated in the broader context of eEurope and in particularly in the chapter "Government online".

 

Early this year the Commission intends to issue a follow up communication to the Green Paper summarising the reactions and outlining actions that could be taken at European level. Current ideas include theting up of a high level working party as a open consensus building forum. Initiatives regarding exploitation of public sector information metadata or a EU data policy may also be possible. It is in this context that the JRC GI&GIS project has been conceived.

 

The GI&GIS Project

The mission of the JRC is: "to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception development implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process it serves the common interest of the Member States while being independent of special interests whether private or national".

 

The JRC research programmes are decided by the European Council of Ministers and funded by the EU budget with additional funding from associated countries. Current activities are focused on the European Commission’s Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) for research. As a part of FP5 a specific project "GI&GIS: Harmonisation and Interoperability" started in 1999. The project supports the actions to create the EGII addressing scientific and technological aspects related to GI/GIS.

 

The project has been designed to provide technical support to the Services of the European Commission with the final goal to provide benefits for the European Community helping GI/GIS stakeholders providers system vendors … and users of spatial information services.

 

The GI&GIS  project aims at helping to pave the way both for private and for public sectors in the EU to overcome the difficulties that hinder the development and application of GI. The specific objectives of the GI&GIS project are:

1)      To assist the creation of the EGII playing an active role on the future High Level Working Party mainly focusing (and leading) on technical and scientific aspects (European Spatial Reference System European cadastres ..) but also supporting the Commission Services on more political aspects (e.g. GI data policy);

2)      To develop a common European position on GI/GIS interoperability (e.g. Metadata European Virtual Interoperability Laboratory OpenGIS …);

3)       To inform and educate European users operating as GI/GIS communications facility.

4)      To conceive create and harmonise Pan-European databases relevant for EU policies mainly through the support and co-ordination of networks in various thematic fields;

5)      To develop integrated spatial models and to improve the use of GI in statistics.

 

The following paragraphs outline the relation between the GI&GIS project and various European initiatives and illuminate some of its actions that are directly related to the creation of the EGII.

 

The GI&GIS Project and COGI

An Inter-service Committee for GI (COGI) has been established within the EC. Its first meeting on the 16th November 1999 was chaired by the Director General of EUROSTAT giving a measure of the level of support of this initiative. COGI helps the Commission to develop an internal policy for GI acquisition use and dissemination. In addition it stimulates  the use of geographic information within the Commission services and improves the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the monitoring and impact assessment of European policies that require a spatial analysis at a European scale. The draft proposed mandate  to be reviewed on a yearly basis has yet to be made public and concerns :

-         improve the availability of GI within the Commission services mainly by proposing joint acquisition of basic GI complying with common specifications and needs

-         improve the level of awareness amongst middle and higher management within the Commission of the power of this technology and how it can contribute to the excellence and increased efficiency of European public service

-         project a coherent image of the Commission’s GI activities to the outside world

-         develop a data policy applicable to all Commission services to better share existing in-house GI and facilitate its dissemination to outside users at the lowest possible price thereby stimulating the market for value added services building on this data

-         reduce duplication of effort through better co-ordination between individual activities

-         exchange best practice and experience between departments and thereby contribute to extending and maintaining an in-house expertise and know-how on GI/GIS.

 

The establishment of COGI is a very important development with potential  benefits for the GI sector throughout Europe. A 1997 study on GI-policy [6] funded by DGXIII clearly indicated the extent to which developing a clear policy within the Commission which still is the major user of pan-European GI was a pre-requisite for discussing the implementation of European-wide GI policies with member states and national organisations.

 

GI&GIS Support to European Data Policy Development

The EGII concerns all aspects related to reference systems metadata data structures data policy and pricing and seeks to streamline and homogenise these elements in order to enhance the exchange of GI in the EU. The matter is highly complicated both from political and technical viewpoints. Typical questions that are addressed are: “may citizens use the basic GI datas the governments have compiled with their tax money?” or “who has the copyright of value-added data?”. In the 1999 debate about a GI data policy different positions emerged.

 

In order to discuss and agree for a common vision a workshop "Geographic Information Policies in Europe: National and Regional Perspectives" has been organised. This meeting reflects the effort of the JRC and the Information Society Directorate to give the opportunity to National Organisations in charge of defining National Policies to know compare and discuss topics of common interest and to help the Commission in understanding how to formulate a European Policy compliant with on going and emerging National initiatives. The meeting was hosted by RAVI the Dutch national organisation for geographic information on the 15th November at its offices in Amersfoort.

 

The main objective of the workshop was to identify firstly similarities and differences in data policy initiatives taking place across Europe and secondly key issues that may need addressing at the supra-national level. Further efforts were put in highlighting gaps in current knowledge where additional information is required and in suggesting ways in which these gaps could be filled. In addition light was shed on policy frameworks relating to the dissemination and conditions of access to digital data.

 

The overview of data policy initiatives presented in this report highlights a number of issues:

1.      There are many national initiatives across Europe concerned with the development of data policies in general and GI policy in particular. In some cases the GI dimension is very strong as is the case in Portugal and the Netherlands for example. In others such as France GI is recognised as an important element of public sector information which highlights the potential conflicts between economic and social objectives.

2.      Whilst in most countries the emphasis is on the national level it is important to recognise that in other countries the regional/local dimension is particularly important as in the case of Germany Italy and Belgium.

3.      Whilst some country displays a higher level of awareness than others there is a sense to which the very rapid developments brought about by technology and the Internet are forcing governments to come to terms with the opportunities and challenges that these developments create. At the present time most countries seem to have adopted policies in respect to access to public sector information. These may in some cases take the form of Freedom of Information legislation. There is however a quite different of policies that need developing in respect to a pro-active dissemination of public sector information. The Mandelkern report in France is a good example of the difference between access and dissemination.

4.      Disseminating information has major implications in respect to the organisation of work in the public administration intellectual property metadata (i.e. the first step in active dissemination is to declare what is available) relationships with the private sector and pricing.

5.      In respect to pricing there are significant variations among the countries analysed above. In some cases there is a distinction between essential data free of charge (i.e. paid for through general taxation) and value added data charged for. In others a policy has yet to emerge and individual organisations act independently. Where a policy exists a general principle that seems to emerge is that whatever the pricing policy price should not deter use of data but on the contrary should encourage it.

6.      Whilst in the last few years there has been an tendency within the GI community to argue for the development of GI policies and infrastructures it seems increasingly clear that these cannot be pursued in isolation but need to be couched in a broader debate about data access and dissemination policies. This may also have implications for the GI2000 initiative and its relationship to the For this reason the forthcoming Communication of the European Commission to the European Parliament and Council on Green Paper on Public Sector Information is of strategic importance for the development of this field..

 

Areas where further action is needed are:

-          Continue monitoring documenting and disseminating data policy developments occurring at national/regional level in Europe and in the international arena. This may include for example NSDI developments outside Europe the discussions in the framework of the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure and policies on access to remotely sensed data such as those formulated by the UN. These policies may become particularly important as the impact on data supply of very high resolution remote sensing satellites and the operational Earth observation programme increases.

-          Contribute to the debate not only by observing practice but also through theory-informed discussions on appropriate legal and economic frameworks to the dissemination of digital information. A useful discussion on data pricing took place earlier this year in the GI2000 discussion list while CERCOs WG1 on legal and economic issues will discuss next year "Public Information vs. Privacy Protection". Research in this area is also taking place at different locations (e.g. TU Vienna) and EC-funded projects (e.g. MADAME) and there is a clear need to capitalise on these initiatives.

-          Develop a framework to inform the policy developments within the Commission (COGI DG Information Society other DGs not equally aware of the issues) and at national/regional levels so that effective communication takes place across Europe.

-          Link GI policy initiatives to the wider debates on data policy (e.g. Green Paper) and other major policy initiatives at the EU level such as enlargement agricultural policy spatial development perspective so that a stronger case for European action can be developed.

 

GI&GIS and Dissemination at EU Level

Dissemination of information about GI data and GIS technology is a key element to improve the use of GI to develop new market opportunities and to help in decision making. This is true both for activities that affect directly the Commission and for those that relate to the use of GI in the European Union as a whole. Some EC Services agreed to -up and maintain one single entry point for disseminating information on all GI/GIS aspects related to the EC. It focuses on topics and activities within the EC Services and on related projects and technology funded by EU programmes. This site (http://www.ec-gis.org) is hosted and maintained by the GI&GIS project in close collaboration with other EC services improving the visibility and coherence between relevant GI/GIS activities. Some topics that were identified for inclusion in the dissemination process are: “who does what?” on EC GI and GIS the spatial dimension of EU policies GI data policies general repository of EC GI/GIS related publications and workshop proceedings the EGII EU sponsored projects reviews of projects with an important technical component (e.g. metadata reference data catalogue services interoperability digital libraries) GI(S) research and development and GI and Statistics.

 

The JRC is organizing the annual workshop of the Commission related to GI/GIS. The 5^th EC-GIS workshop entitled "GIS of Tomorrow" (Stresa Italy June 1999) brought together researchers involved in EC sponsored projects GIS Industry data suppliers and EC representatives to discuss the issues facing the European GI community. The main objectives of the series of EC-GIS workshops is: i) to provide information about projects financed by the EC relevant to GI/GIS; ii) to inform the European community on relevant European initiatives or organisations; iii) to discuss topics for the research agendas or for political issues on GI/GIS; iv) to give the opportunity to Industry academia and data providers (private or public) to meet; v) to establish strategic partnerships and to identify European priorities in which EC initiative is required. The workshop focused on ESPRIT and INFO2000 projects but also included presentations from other programmes such as transport environment and climate INCO and telematics.

 

GI&GIS: Breaking Interoperability Barriers

The EGII touches also issues on related to interoperability. Exact knowledge understanding management and subsequent processing of the co-ordinates of any GI data is one of the central aspects of cross-border GI interoperability. The GI&GIS project together with MEGRIN organised the “European Spatial Reference System” workshop in Paris on 29-30 November 1999 with a panel of leading experts. With this workshop the organising committee sought to advise the EC on data specification related to spatial referencing systems; to assess at the European level the issues involved; to identify the relevant actors; and eventually to draft an initial action-plan. Some of the topics addressed were: a common Spatial Reference System for Europe; a survey/collection of the Spatial Reference Systems used in Europe; transformations from national co-ordinates to the common system and vice versa; specification validation or certification of software embedded transformation modules.

 

A common reference system for geographic information is needed as a first step to ensure that data is compatible across Europe. A suitable candidate already exists: ETRS89. There is consensus amongst the experts that this is the system to adopt at European level and several countries have already done so. Adopting the system would therefore be quite uncontroversial.

 

It is not realistic to require all existing data in the Member States to be transformed into this new system – not even in the medium term. However it could be required for all new data collected and fors to existing data. In addition there is also a need for Mapping Agencies to make public the transformation algorithms and parameters for transforming data between national systems and ETRS89. Low precision transformations (2-10m) should be offered at no cost in the public domain.

 

The Workshop recommended that the European Commission:

European Geodetic Datum

-          Adopts ETRS89 as the geodetic datum for the geo-referenced co-ordinates of its own data;

-          Promotes the wider use of ETRS89 within all member states.

Geographical co-ordinate system

-          Normally expresses positions related to ETRS89 datum in ellipsoidal type co-ordinates.

European map projections

-          Defines its various needs for map projection(s) / obtains further expert advice to determine the appropriate projections.

European Vertical Datum

-          Adopts the results of the EUVN /UELN  initiatives when available as definitions of vertical datum and gravity-related heights;

-          Promotes the wider use of the European vertical reference system within all member states.

Results dissemination

-          Disseminates widely the results of the meeting and follow-up activities to the GIS industry standards authorities and potential users.

 

Under the umbrella of "technology watch" the GI&GIS project is also covering more technical aspects related to GIS. The JRC in order to be able to provide appropriate support to European organisations needs to have a thorough knowledge about the trends in technology to better understand in the earliest possible stage the best alternatives for interoperability and competitiveness. This concept has crystallized into a technological watch infrastructure which provides a continuous and exhaustive survey of existing information analyses it and presents results in a comprehensive way. To achieve this objective the GI&GIS project launched in 1999 an "Accompanying measure for the interoperability of Geographical Information Systems in Europe - A technology perspective". The technology watch discussion forum and show case will provide important results and it is important to disseminate them in near real time. The most useful tool for such communication is the EC website. The GIS Interoperability Information Centre (GIS-IIC) will be the shop-window of the whole project being a major repository of all information available on the interoperability issues.

 

The report "A strategic View of GIS research and technology development in Europe" [10] reflects the opinion of a panel of experts addressing needs of specific research. Some recommendations are now being further developed the most relevant of which is the so-called Virtual Interoperability Laboratory (VIL). In February 1999 a group of invited experts convened at the JRC to participate in a one-day workshop [11] discussing all aspects of interoperability relating to GI/GIS.  The VIL is one of the topic now addressed by the GIS-IIC.

 

It will be clear that aspects related to interoperability are by their very nature to be addressed at a global level. The major organisations involved are the international standardisation bodies and the Open GIS Consortium (OGC) as well as OMG where interoperability issues are debated and potential solutions are agreed upon. The specific problem of GI interoperability must be seen within the context of interoperability of IT in general and developments outside of the GI environment considered.

 

Although OGC or ISO are the most appropriate places for discussion on interoperability ISO and OGC do not (and cannot) address all the problems as they do not include 100 % of the industry. Technologies and de facto standards such as XML SQL/MM CORBA/IIOP/UML JAVA WAP etc. are important tools to reach interoperability objectives and must be carefully monitored for their application to GI issues especially those situated in the European context.

 

The European market is composed mainly of SMEs which can not themselves influence the standardisation process nor invest in maintaining themselves at the cutting edge. JRC is participating in the GIPSIE project [9] funded by the ESPRIT programme to help and support the European GIS industry development of products compliant with OpenGIS specifications. In order to achieve its aims GIPSIE focuses on three principal activities: i) to establish an OpenGIS interest group to unite the European industry and to establish good communication with the OpenGIS Consortium; ii) to identify and resolve European issues and introduce them to the world-wide OpenGIS specification process; iii) to timely and effectively inform the European IT industry in particular SMEs about the OpenGIS movement.

 

GI&GIS helps developing GI Infrastructure of Commission

Here following some examples of the GI&GIS activities related to EGII.

 

GISCO

The application of information technology for services in the Commission is considered more and more a strategic means to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of the work delivered. Several GI layers are available to civil servants in the Commission but in order to improve access time and usability of the GI the JRC developed corporate data models for use in the Commission. Important for the efficient use of GI is the availability of centrally and easy accessible meta-information. Many activities carried out within the EC contain an explicit and important spatial component. Through the incorporation of GI in corporate and scalable databases it is possible to work on the gradual improvement of the data quality and to provide the right information to any place connected to the Internet. The backbone of it all is a data server that uses an open industry standard to deliver data to virtually any client (GIS interoperability). The data model contains the blueprint of what is available and how it is organised and enables the safe data sharing. In 1999 this has been put into practice in the data model for the EUROSTAT (DG European Statistical Office) GISCO Office which has the mandate to disseminate Geographic Information inside the Commission.

 

European Land Use and Land Cover information

The updating of the European-wide CORINE Land Cover (CLC) database started in 1999 as a joint project JRC-EEA (European Environment Agency). It is split-up in two phases namely IMAGE2000 (collection and processing of satellite imagery) and CLC2000 (CLC updating). The satellite images that are the basic input source for updating the CLC database will provide a common reference between national and European demands. IMAGE2000 is an EU-wide mosaic of ortho-rectified satellite imagery in both European and national projections dated 2000 with the maximum allowed deviation of one year (1999-2001). Although it is primarily designed for the CLC 2000 production it can be seen as a multipurpose product that can be used for different topics demanding for spatial information within the Commission. The GI&GIS staff is responsible for IMAGE2000 in co-operation with EEA. CLC2000 is under the responsibility of EEA and it is jointly co-ordinated by the JRC and EEA.

 

European Soil Information System

Soil is one of the essential elements of the biosphere which necessitates a global policy for management evaluation and conservation. To implement such a policy it is necessary to have harmonised information both in space and time. The Commission is the originator of several programmes aiming to acquire soil data. The MARS programme initiated the development of a geographical database for the soil cover at scale of 1:1000000. The European Soil Information System (EUSIS) consists of a geographic data a semantic data a soil profile analytical database a soil hydraulic parameter database and a knowledge database in a fully integrated GIS. The European Soil Bureau (ESB) was created in 1996 as a network of National soil science institutions. It is currently managed through a secretariat that is located at the JRC. Its aim is to carry out scientific and technical duties in order to collect and harmonise soil information relevant to Community policies its relevant General Directorates (DG’s) to the European Environment Agency (EEA) and to concerned Institutions of the EU Member States.

 

NATURA 2000 GIS

NATURA 2000 is a European network [8] of areas proposed under the Birds and the Habitats Directives where human activity must be compatible with the conservation of sites of natural importance. The network comprises two types of areas: i) areas designated directly by the Member States under the Birds Directive; ii) areas proposed by the Member States under the Habitats Directive and then subjected to a Community selection procedure. NATURA 2000 covers large areas of agricultural land. Contrary to a widely held belief in rural areas the idea behind the NATURA 2000 network is not to up full nature reserves or freeze all human activity on the proposed sites. This would be both impossible and undesirable since the NATURA 2000 network could eventually cover 12% of the EU territory.

 

The development of the Geographic Information System for NATURA 2000 is part of the activities carried out by the JRC. The components of this system will play two key roles - firstly in providing a mechanism for harmonising and validating incoming data from the Member States each of which has different approaches and secondly to provide analytical tools to model monitor visualise and publish data relating to the NATURA 2000 sites. A thorough analysis of the characteristics of the data provided by Member States was undertaken resulting in the specifications and subsequent development of tools to ensure the establishment of a consistent pan-European spatial database for NATURA 2000.

 

GI&GIS: Networking and EU Enlargement

JRC is participating in the PANEL-GI project [13] which supports networking in the field of GI between European Union and Central and Eastern European (CEEC) partners. This is achieved by the so-called “example through study” visits. Special attention is given to the preparation of a PANEL GI Package on GI and GIS for which the JRC is in charge of the preparation of the part on GIS application domains. The long-term objective of the PANEL GI project is to support the creation of national geographic infrastructures in the participating countries.

 

Another example of project in which JRC is participating is the recently approved project ETEMII (accompanying measure to support the-up of a Territorial Management Infrastructure) [3]. Its main activities relate to building a consensus on such issues as reference data data access policy interoperability standardisation and integration of various space tools (navigation Earth observation and telecommunications). The Project will support European participation in such initiatives as Open GIS Consortium ISO and GSDI.

 

Conclusions

Our conclusions reflect the results of the meeting on "GI Policies in Europe" in Amersfoort: "Whilst in the last few years there has been an tendency within the GI community to argue for the development of GI policies and infrastructures it seems increasingly clear that these cannot be pursued in isolation but need to be couched in a broader debate about data access and dissemination policies".

 

Initiative like eEurope will probably lead the process to ensure the accessibility to the basic information (spatial or not) to a broader user community and will stimulate the GI market.

At the same time coherent and uniform base data will be of great benefit for the Commission itself. They will be used for developing and monitoring European policies and for spatial development of the European territory. The Commission will therefore wish to contribute to the specifications for this base data. In the longer term other both private and public organisations operating beyond their national borders are expected to become eager users of European base data too.

 

The key actors in GI must therefore be closely involved in the High Level Working Party when all actions are being moulded and implemented. All in all this will bring us a big step further in the ultimate aim of creating an operational European Geographic Information Infrastructure for the benefit of all.

 

References

1.      Annoni A. (1999) "The GI & GIS Project: a key action for GI and GIS community" proceedings of 5th EC - GIS Workshop Stresa Italy. http://gi-gis.aris.sai.jrc.it/

2.      Bullock P. Jones R. and Montanarella L. (Eds.) (1999) "Soil Resources of Europe" (EUR 18991 EN).

3.      ETEMII Project - European Territorial Management Information Infrastructure. http://www.ec-gis.org/etemii/

4.      EC DG INFSO (1999) "Communication on eEurope: an Information Society for All". http://europa.eu.int/comm/information_society/publications/docs/index_en.htm

5.      EC DG INFSO (1999) "Green Paper on Public Sector Information in the Information Society". http://www2.echo.lu/info2000/en/publicsector/greenpaper.html

6.      EC DGXIII (1997) "GI-Policy Study". http://www.echo.lu/gi/en/docarchive/gi-policy.html

7.      H.McNaughton and K.Fullerton (1997) "Handbook of GIS project summaries". EC Joint Research Centre (EUR 17717). http://www.ec-gis.org/

8.      EC DG ENV (1999). "Managing our Heritage - An introduction to NATURA                   2000". http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/nature/natura.htm

9.      GIPSIE - GIS Interoperability Project Stimulating the Industry in Europe. http://gipsie.uni-muenster.de/

10.  Munro A. (1998) "A strategic View of GIS research and technology development in Europe". 2^nd edition. EC Joint Research Centre. EUR 11126. http://www.ec-gis.org/

11.  Munro A. (1999) "VIL - A Virtual Interoperability Laboratory for Europe". EC Joint Research Centre. EUR 118744. http://www.ec-gis.org/

12.  Nelson; L. Jorge; R. Machado C.R. (1999) "Land Use Change: methodological approach to understand the interactions Nature/ Society in Coastal Areas” (ALENCOAST) Final Report Univ. Atlantica.

13.  PANEL-GI Project - Pan European Link for GI. http://gisig.ima.ge.cnr.it/panel-gi/

14.  Perdig?o V. Peedell S. Loudjani P. (1999) "Assessment of land cover and land use changes in European coastal zones- a contribution to the integrated management of coastal zones" Proceedings 2nd Int.Symp. on Operationalisation of Remote Sensing Enschede The Netherlands

15.  Smits P.C. and Annoni A. “Spatial Analysis of Land-Use Changes as Knowledge Tools to Support European Spatial Policies” Ecosystem Health (in press scheduled for January 2000).