geo and the other geo:

GEO and the other GEO:

UNEP-Live at the science/policy interface:a Progressing Tale of Discovery

and Practical Convergence

Mick Wilson, Division of Early Warning and AssessmentUnited Nations Environment Programme

Attempting to integrate broker technology into UNEP-Live

Goals are numerous but primarily to expand semantic space to incorporate concepts of environmental treaties (MEAs) alongside environmental and science data.

Spanning data and knowledge

UNEP participating in GEOSS AIP-5

Why?

United Nations Environment Programme (1972)UN General Assembly resolution 2997

“...to keep under review the world environmental situation in order to ensure that emerging environmental problems of wide international significance receive appropriate and adequate consideration by Governments...”

United Nations Environment Programme (1972)

“...to keep under review the world environmental situation...”

UNEP's flagship product

Our GEO – Global Environment Outlook

GEO-5 emphasis on appraisal of policies that help countries reach internationally-agreed goals

1997

2000

2003

By design UNEP GEO is: Consultative – wide range of stakeholders Participatory - all regions Integrative – multi-sectoral

High-level text negotiated duringinter-governmental/ multi- stakeholder meetings

Hundreds of topic specialistscontribute (some Government nominated)

UNEP GEO is unique, as much a political process as a scientific analysis

UNEP at the science/policy interface

Science Community

Policy Community

Provide alerts and early warnings

Supply

Conduct policy-relevantresearch and review of information

Communicateassessment findings

Assess information responding to identified needs

Analysis of policy needs for scientific information

Formulate the questions to request relevant scientificinformation

Demand

UNEP-Live to be UNEP's platform for supporting all future environmental assessments (not just GEO)

Prototype at www.uneplive.org

Evidence-basedMore timely informationMore accessibleMore effective with greater impact

Topic Questions:

How to increase discoverability of UNEP assessment products in scientific contexts?

How to enrich UNEP assessment products with scientific context?

How to contribute to improving the scientific basis of UNEP assessment products?

UNEP-Live by design must operate at the science/policy interface must span many communities of practice both within sciences and in social and political domains must be inclusive and therefore technologically agnostic

Brokerage services offer a means to addressing these goals in practice

Eye-on-Earth provided my opportunity for discovering this possibility

About Eye on Earth:

Partnership between UNEP and Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD)

Addresses the crucial importance of environmental and societal information to decision making

Not the EEA platform nor any other infrastructure

Summit in 2011 spawned 8 Special Initiatives inc. “Eye on Global Network of Networks” (GNoN)

fragmented, silo-based discovery not integrating all UNEP assets not utilizing partners' contextual resources

Current UNEP-Live prototype limited by

Using involvement in AIP-5 to attempt to correct these AIP-5 activity also part contributes to EoE GNoN Global Network of Networks

Eye on Earth working groupbrought together participants from

GNoN

… and they begat....

Eye on Earth working groupbrought together participants from

GNoN

… and they begat....

NOT just data and engineering,but also institutional, information, knowledge, skills etc.

The Broker

AIP-5

...and GNON proponents were enthused by...

The GEOSS Architecture Implementation Pilot (AIP) develops and deploys new process and infrastructure components for the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) and the broader GEOSS architecture.

About AIP-5

The Milestones for UNEP in AIP-5

Demonstrate 'joined up' discovery acrossdiverse UNEP information sources

Demonstrate 'joined up' contextual discovery across UNEP and GEOSS assets

Demonstrate enhanced searches – semantic expansion and multi-lingual discovery

Integrate broker into UNEP-Live prototype Demonstrate integration of UNEP-ish

semantics/ontologies - InforMEA

A vision (hallucination?) for end 2012

CITES, the treaty CITES, the conference of parties (COP)

The decisions of the CITES COP

Data relevant to decisions do exist!!WDPA

CITESred list

GEOBON sources

Earth Observation

GIS

ObservationMeasurement

Models

Science stuff

Monitoring

Assessment

Earth Observation Community

Earth Observation

GIS

ObservationMeasurement

Models

Treaty

Policy

LegislationSocietal impacts

Motivation

RegulationCompliance

Science stuff

Monitoring

Incentive

Assessment

Earth Observation Community

Treat/ Law/ Policy Community

Earth Observation

GIS

ObservationMeasurement

Models

Treaty

Policy

LegislationSocietal impacts

Motivation

RegulationCompliance

Science stuff

Monitoring

Incentive

Assessment

– two communities with common ground .....

Earth Observation Community

Treat/ Law/ Policy Community

science

policy

Earth Observation

GIS

ObservationMeasurement

Models

Treaty

Policy

LegislationSocietal impacts

Motivation

RegulationCompliance

Science stuff

Monitoring

Incentive

Assessment

but different vocabularies

Earth Observation Community

Treat/ Law/ Policy Community

– two communities with common ground

Vocabularies, semantics and ontologies

GEMET, GEO/GEOSS, INSPIRE etc. InforMEA, FAOLEX etc.

describe describe

Earth Observation

GIS

ObservationMeasurement

Models

Treaty

Policy

LegislationSocietal impacts

Motivation

RegulationCompliance

Science stuff

Monitoring

Incentive

Assessment

Vocabularies, semantics and ontologies

GEMET, GEO/GEOSS, INSPIRE etc. InforMEA, FAOLEX etc.

←brokerage service now on trial→In conjunction with GEO/GEOSS and CSIRO

but different vocabularies which possibly can be made to work together

Treat/ Law/ Policy Community

– two communities with common ground

Earth Observation Community

Earth Observation

GIS

ObservationMeasurement

Models

Treaty

Policy

LegislationSocietal impacts

Motivation

RegulationCompliance

Science stuff

Monitoring

Incentive

Assessment

Vocabularies, semantics and ontologies

GEMET, GEO/GEOSS, INSPIRE etc. InforMEA, FAOLEX etc.

←brokerage service now on trial→In conjunction with GEO/GEOSS and CSIRO

but different vocabularies which possibly can be made to work together

Treat/ Law/ Policy Community

– two communities with common ground

Earth Observation Community

Data Knowledge

Biodiversity as case study

Links to GEOSS SBA

Links to GFW 2.0

Aichi goals

Needs future capacity for regeneration

InforMEA database of Environmental Treaties (MEAs)

InforMEA database of Environmental Treaties (MEAs)'knows' all about decisions, compliance etc. ….

… but nothing about the data that underpin and validate those decisions

GEOSS Portal also 'knows' something about data associated with Environmental Treaties (MEAs)

...and the SBAs know even more....

… but nothing about where those data might have been applied to underpin and validate MEA decisions

InforMEA pilot Vocabulary Service

The Milestones for UNEP in AIP-5

Demonstrate 'joined up' discovery acrossdiverse UNEP information sources

Demonstrate 'joined up' contextual discovery across UNEP and GEOSS assets

Demonstrate enhanced searches – semantic expansion and multi-lingual discovery

Integrate broker into UNEP-Live prototype Demonstrate integration of UNEP-ish

semantics/ontologies - InforMEA

Next Steps:

Detach GI-portal client and have UNEP-Live interrogate broker directly a la GEO geoportal

Get the InforMEA vocabulary service stabilized

Establish more vocab/ ontology services e.g. environmental law, geopolitical entities, assessment methodologies, analytical methods for water quality etc.

Develop and deploy UNEP broker profiles i.e. climate change, ecosystem services etc.

Significant progress4 goals

Some progress40 goals

Further deterioration8 goals

Little or no progress24 goals

Insufficient data / too soon to assess

14 goals

GEO-5 appraised 90 international environmental goals and objectives

• Access to food• Climate change• Corals• Desertification and drought• Ecosystem services• Extinction risk of species• Extreme events• Fish stocks• Groundwater depletion• Indoor air pollution• Invasive alien species• Marine pollution• Natural habitats• Species harvested for food and medicine• Sustainably managed production areas• Traditional knowledge• Wetlands

Summary—areas with the least progress

What is not measured is not managed!

Specific, measurable targets appear to increase chances of success in meeting goals

They can also spur efforts to address data gaps