Information Context
for
Biodiversity Conservation
Info2000 proposal #5052
July 1997
1
Consortium Partners
• Union of International Associations (UIA)
Brussels - Coordinator
• World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC)
Cambridge
• Nordic School of Management (NSM)
Oslo
• AIDEnvironment, Amsterdam
2
Project Goals -- Understanding
• Links between threats to biodiversity
• Organized responses of society to these
threats
• Impact of both on conservation of species
and ecosystems
• Involvement of users as partners
3
Integrated Multimedia Resource
Package
• Key environmental problems and their interactions
• Societal action dealing with these problems
• Species, ecosystems and sites affected by
problems and solutions
• Organizations concerned
• Other information sources, external websites, etc
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Links together ...
• Information on threatened species and
habitats
• Cultural, geographic, heritage contexts
• Policy, economic and social contexts
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Hyperlinked context
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Taxonomic tree structures of species
Current environmental threats
Conservation strategies, treaties
Species action plans
International organizations
Bibliographic references
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Hyperlinked Datasets
Marine
habitats
Plants
Protected
areas
Forest
habitats
Animals
Bibliography
Problems
Strategies
Organizations
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Project addresses needs of ...
• Policy makers, government administrations,
field officers
• Educational institutions, libraries,
journalists / media, students
• NGOs, advocacy organizations, activists
• Researchers
• Concerned citizens
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Focus: Europe
• Natura 2000 (***)
• Biological and Landscape Diversity
(Council of Europe)
• Environmental Programme for Europe (UN/ECE)
• Environment in Developing Countries (EU)
• Community Action Programme on the
Environment (***)
• Parks for Life: Action for Protected Areas (IUCN)
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Focus: Europe in the World
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Bern Convention (19**)
Bonn Convention (19**)
Ramsar Convention (19**)
Caracas Action Plan (19**)
Global Biodiversity Strategy (19**)
Agenda 21 (1992)
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Focus: European elements
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European agreements
European directives
European aspect of international agreements
European data sources
European websites
European production
European languages
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Related EU-funded Partner
Initiatives
• Management of CITES trade data
– preparation of EU Annual Report
– development of Wildlife Trade Reference
• Support to EEA in development of EIONET
– advice on Clearing House Mechanism
• Support to EEA Topic Centre on Nature
Conservation
• Involvement in information campaign on
– Pan-European Biological and Landscape
Diversity Strategy
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Information sources
• WCMC datasets:
– threatened species
– protected areas and sites
– habitat maps (marine/forests)
• UIA datasets:
– perceived world problems
– advocated strategies/actions
– international and regional organizations
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European sources
• Secretariats in Europe
– international organizations
– European regional organizations
• Meetings in Europe
– international organizations
– European regional organizations
• Memberships in Europe
– International organizations
– European regional organizations
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Project results
• CD-ROM
• Website(s)
• Hybrid CD-ROM / Web
• Interactive involvement of user-partners
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Strategy: Product-Process-Service
• Single tangible “product” - CD-ROM
• Ongoing “service” - website(s)
• Interactive process
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Strategic cycle
• Information gathering
(+ feedback)
• Information processing
and refinement
• Marketing of productservice
• Updating and reviewing
information
• Dissemination (notably
to evoke feedback)
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Strategic Impact for Info2000
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Present multimedia content
Stimulate policy relevance of multimedia
Support two European content providers
Support multimedia content innovation
Increase user/information interactivity
Reduce gap between suppliers and users
Make available integrated datasets
Support implementation of EU
commitments
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Work to be done: Information
• Augment existing datasets
• Create new datasets
• Improve links between datasets
• Improve links to partner datasets
• Improve links to third-party sites
• Implement feedback processes
• Increase access to datasets
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Work to be done: Multimedia
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Develop map facilities
Develop image facilities
Develop sound facilities
Develop 3-D displays
Develop interface design
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Work to be done: Software
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Clickable images and maps
Integrating automatic translation
Feedback, forum and access facilities
Webserver issues (including billing)
Exploitation of VRML for 3D
Exploitation of search engines
Interface design
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Work to be done: Marketing
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Undertake user workshops
Develop sponsorship relationships
Clarify user needs and demands
Undertake Web marketing
Product-service launch
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Work to be done: Workshops
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Euro2000
South Pacific
etc
etc *******
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Product Languages (+ English)
• UIA
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Interfaces: French, German
Subject queries: Fr, Ge, Ne, Sp, It...
Title translation: Fr, Ge, Sp, Ne, No…
Text translation: Fr, Ge, Sp
• WCMC
– Interfaces: Fr, Sp
– Text translation: Fr, Sp
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Technology base of Partners
(use of computers)
• UIA
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Reference book publication (1972- )
Local area network (1984- )
CD-ROM Folio publication (1995- )
Website - static (Jan 1996- )
• WCMC
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Reference book publication (1980-)
Local area network (1981- )
GIS-ARC/INFO (1989- )
Webserver - dynamic (1994- )
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Technology for Project
• Software (Windows environment):
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–
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Databases: Revelation, FoxPro***
CD-ROM: FolioViews (or alternative)
Webservers: To be determined
Standards: HTML, VRML, Folio
• Hardware:
– CD-ROM
– Webservers: To be determined
26
Innovative Features
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Integration of disparate datasets
Extensive hyperlinking
Interactive access by users to datasets
User access to user feedback
User own-use annotation (on CD)
Integrated multimedia: maps, 3D, AV
Integrated use of WWW & CD-ROM
Issue-specific sponsorship opportunities
Innovative partnerships & User-partners
27
Marketing Plan
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Involvement of users as partners
User workshops at international events
Information via partner networks
Use of commercial distribution network
Internet/Web marketing techniques
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Business Plan =
Cost recovery and Reinvestment
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Flexible response to business uncertainties
Rapidly evolving product-service
Flexible pricing & Marketing experiments
Ensure low data costs through partnerships
Build on existing infrastructure
Develop sponsorship arrangements
Reconfigure in response to feedback
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34
Total
1,263,953 497,000
766,953
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Prototype: Features
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CD-ROM access and navigation software
Multi-lingual access + data
Integration of partner datasets
Map facilities (pre-clickable)
Image and sound possibilities
Use of 3-D displays of interlinkages
Web integration (+ query links)
Facilities for data modification by user
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Prototype: Data Contents
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Threatened animals: 9,758
Threatened plants (Europe): 4,728
Protected areas (188 countries)
Habitats / country: marine: 99; forest: 179
Perceived world problems 29,021 + loops
Strategies & responses 22,710
International organizations 3,689
References: UIA 4,053; WCMC 9,966
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Prototype: Hyperlink Contents
= Dataset Integration
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Prototype: Multimedia Contents
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Maps
Images
Sound
3-D displays
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World problems: beginning of entry
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World problems: end of entry
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World problems: search template (English)
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World problems: Polar bear (beginning)
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World problems: loop interlocks in 3D
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World problems: interlocks in 3D
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World problems: loop interlocks
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International organizations: network in 3D
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International organizations: starburst 3D (UN system)
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International organizations: sphere 3D (EU system)
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International organizations: sphere 3D (EU system)
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International organizations: World Bank system
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Forest information: Madagascar (beginning)
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Forest information: Madagascar (map)
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Marine information: France (beginning)
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Marine information: search template (English)
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International organizations: sphere 3D (EU system)
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International organizations: sphere 3D (EU system)
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International organizations: search template (French)
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International organizations: sphere 3D (EU system)
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