Brussels, 05/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is proposing to improve, modernise and streamline the system for collecting, analysing and distributing environmental information in the EU by creating a European Shared Environment Information System (SEIS). This will be an enormous digital data base that is available in real time for political decision-makers and everyone else.
Rather than collect national environmental data through hard copy reports submitted to it from member states from around 70 texts from the European environmental legislative arsenal, the Commission wants this data to be stocked by member states in electronic data bases, connected between each country throughout the EU. the SEIS proposed is therefore a decentralised but integrated information system that is internet compatible and which will be used for a public information network that shares its environmental data.
The SEIS aims to linked existing initiatives such as the Water Information System for Europe (WISE), the European environment information and observation network (EIONET), the INSPIRE directive of 2007 on access and interoperability of geographical data and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative.
The Commission will present a detailed plan for implementing SEIS this year.
Commenting on this initiative, Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "Timely, relevant and reliable information on the environment is absolutely necessary for decision makers to respond to the environmental problems of our time…Our citizens are also entitled to know of the quality of the air and water where they live or if floods, droughts or pollution is risking their property and livelihood. We must thus improve the way we collect, analyse and communicate information on our environment."
To tackle current environmental challenges such as water shortages, preserving ecosystems and biodiversity and adaption to climate change, it will be necessary to analyse date from different sources and sectors. Therefore, assessing the effects of air pollution on health can be evaluated if statistics on air quality, population concentrations and health statistics are overlapped for a specific region or geographical area and analysed collectively. This information is particularly precious when it involves establishing policies and evaluating correct implementation. At the moment this information is not available in real time or in a format that is understandable or easy to use by political decision makers and the public, underlines the Commission in a press statement. (A.N.)