Nature-GIS White Paper

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Nature-GIS A European thematic network for Protected Areas/Nature Preservation and Geographical Information Project IST-2001-34641 Nature-GIS White Paper Finally, the project will have a strong commitment to disseminating the results to GIS and nature conservation organisations throughout Europe. The networking and dissemination will be carried out at both national and European levels in a way that will foster the creation of a permanent pan- European NATURE-GIS Group for protected areas. This network will continue to function effectively beyond the duration of the project. I.5 The Role of NATURE-GIS and the Network perspective NATURE-GIS seeks to exploit the operational potential of a thematic network and several different initiatives across the project at different levels, with the creation of a stable “NATURE-GIS Group”. Previous experience of the Members of the network reveals difficulty in establishing a link between protected areas management at the local level and the European context. It is therefore necessary to raise awareness within the European stakeholder community of the importance of exchanging experiences and the importance of developing a European-wide approach to dealing with these problems. There is also often a gap between the scope of the European problems and the policies and ways in which they are dealt with. To fill this gap requires the exchange of data and information and the wider use of Geographical Information; in other words the provision of GI support to the European Information Society. To this end, a Strategic Network Development Plan and a Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of the “NATURE-GIS Group” are planned which define the network follow-up and the exploitation activities. Exploitation will be pursued through: • establishing mutual technical co-operation amongst the members for the realisation of NATURE- GIS initiatives at a local /regional level with particular emphasis on addressing the activities at the level of single group, or linked groups, of Protected Areas • enlarging the country scope of NATURE-GIS, to ensure a full regional coverage • creating linkages with other sectoral groups or initiatives that are complementary to NATURE-GIS, in such a way as to exploit the NATURE-GIS results within these initiatives and to transfer the experience of these initiatives towards the NATURE-GIS network. The value of the NATURE-GIS approach within other complementary initiatives is clearly evident, especially if it is considered that there are already many sites on the Internet about protected areas and nature conservation but without reference to spatial data and GI; • creation of a permanent “NATURE-GIS Group” after the project ends to further develop the role of a European network of Protected Areas and Geographical Information that will continue to support the operators in this field and to further raise and encourage European awareness and collaboration • ensuring better targeting of the different stakeholders and new user groups through the development of an open network and the concept of national networks I.6 Economic development perspective It has to be considered that the improvement of knowledge in this domain, as per the NATURE-GIS mission, could also influence the evolution of the market and the demand for more advanced management tools. In the context of nature protection, the network developed will promote the use of GIS, support its future development, and will contributing in developing the GIS market. NATURE-GIS applications could also provide a contribution to other economic perspectives, however indirect. For example to: 8
Nature-GIS A European thematic network for Protected Areas/Nature Preservation and Geographical Information Project IST-2001-34641 Nature-GIS White Paper • Provide a consistent framework for the development of the GIS industry in the field (a more uniform background, a solid assessment of user needs, an evaluation of requirements) • Target a User Community able to operate as an interface to OpenGIS Development in the nature protection domain. The establishment of a NATURE-GIS Community could offer a communication medium for the stakeholders in the field of protected areas management and an interface to the progressive development of the OCG concept and approach in this aspect of the environmental domain • Support the organisational development in the protected areas sector, including the development of new services or their improvement • Introduce a concept for comparing the different policy perspectives and to provide a means for better integration of the management of natural areas into the overall framework of European policies, as represented by the current approach Furthermore, the development of a better knowledge of Protected areas and provision of improved exploitation of their potentiality, as fostered by the NATURE-GIS network, could also have an impact in Regional Development and territorial planning and then indirectly in Regional economic development. Finally, with reference to the potential impact on IT companies and consultants, the project should stimulate and foster an attitude towards developing business in GIS applications in the Nature sector. This will derive from an improved understanding and wider adoption of the methods resulting from the user-requirement analysis that is the base for an effective development of the GIS market. II. Partnership The NATURE-GIS network aims to create an operative framework at a European level amongst partners with different expertise in the field of protected areas and Geographical Information (see Appendix). The partnership reflects on the one hand the need to bring together experts and users in the thematic domain of protected areas with organisation leaders in Geographical Information and in the technology for accessing information; a partnership able to assess and address methods and tools for managing GI in the complex scenarios of “Protected Areas” with their various characterisations. This enables the project to be structured as a thematic interdisciplinary sectoral network. On the other hand, whilst European in coverage, the network also intends to ensure a local impact for the wider benefit of the operators and stakeholders of protected areas operating at this level. From this perspective, and with an approach that is both “local to global” and “global to local”, characterising a network built at different levels, the NATURE-GIS partnership has been defined to consider: national actors, the “Network Developers”, as well as involving key local operators and stakeholders, a countrywide analysis of needs and functional requirements, and to provide a basis for the wider diffusion of the project results at a National level. In a wider European context, particular attention has been devoted to the participation of organisations coming from the Adhesion Countries, with the following objectives i) to create a real pan-European common interest and approach to an important issue of human life, and ii) to support the enlargement and the adaptation of the European policies for protected areas to these countries. The members of NATURE-GIS have been selected to ensure comprehensive coverage of the problems and issues arising in relation to protected areas and GI and to bring with them a wide spectrum of skills and expertise. Key membership categories are: 9
Page 1 and 2: Nature-GIS: A European thematic net
Page 3 and 4: I. Nature-GIS outlines Nature-GIS A
Page 5 and 6: Nature-GIS A European thematic netw
Page 7: Nature-GIS A European thematic netw
Page 13 and 14: II.4 IONIC Software S.A. Nature-GIS
Page 19 and 20: • Methods for support and mainten

Nature-GIS White Paper

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?