Abstract: Access to and availability of accurate information has often been stated to play an important role in sustainable environmental management. There is a growing trend of setting up internet-based information services to support the availability of relevant information. The current initiatives that aim to facilitate such information sharing through the web are still, however, often premature and unable to ensure constant flow of data from producers to users. We examine these common challenges by using as an example a network-based facility of biodiversity and environmental information about the Peruvian Amazon region called SIAMAZONIA. Launched in 2001, the service includes data provided by 13 different nodes. The experiences of this initiative have been both encouraging and confusing. A good professional level has been reached, but participation by large information holders is impeded. Participation is obviously considered an additional task rather than an attractive option for enhanced performance at the individual or institutional levels. This dilemma reflects a genuine problem in the modern scientific community, which still lacks agreed ways to reward those who share their data and results through the web. If these problems are solved, internet-based information sharing may become a vital resource for environmental management in Amazonia and also elsewhere.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 9/01/2008 10:43:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
