Publication Abstract

National Initiatives for Managing Coastal Data

J. Harries

With the increasing emphasis on the 'ecosystem approach' to managing resources, the introduction of the Water Framework Directive , Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and the call for Marine Spatial Planning there is a greater need then ever to improve access to marine and coastal information in the UK. In the current climate, coastal and near-coastal data and information are scattered across a variety of government departments and agencies, other public bodies, NGOs and commercial organisations which frequently require essentially the same data, but collate them separately. Changes in government attitudes to information, improved technology and new legislation regarding the availability of environmental data means that it should now be possible to provide easy access to many readily available data products. The building blocks required to achieve this already exist, such as metadata, georeferencing and interoperability standards; what is now required is greater co-ordination between organisations to harmonise their data management procedures and encourage data sharing. There has been a proliferation of new initiatives aimed at achieving this, and whilst in the past projects have tended to fail because they were technology-led rather than user-led, it is encouraging to see that there is a gradual move towards greater openness and a willingness between organisations to work together.

Reference:

J. Harries. 2004. National Initiatives for Managing Coastal Data. Managing Coastal Information: 8 (3) 5-6