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Representative terms from entire chapter:
environmental information
5
War and Peace Among Stakeholders
Environmental information systems created for public purposes have
many uses, including commercial uses (see Box 3.1~. A notable example
is the $500 million U.S. commercial weather industry, which uses
inexpensive government-collected weather data and core products to
produce commercial weather forecasts and weather derivative so. The
public is well served by having access to such data and services, which
would not otherwise be provided by the information system. If
arrangements can be made that satisfy the needs of the public sector, then
commercial data are a welcome addition to the system. The same is true
of government data that are restricted because of confidentiality or
national security concerns or because of their commercial potential. The
latter is particularly relevant in Europe. On the other hand, if restrictions
prevent the data Mom being used in the Wok, then the data cannot be
viewed as contributing to a public-sector information system.
iR.A. Guth, 2000, Japan's weather mogul to storm U.S., Wall Street
Journal, October 30, p. B-1. Given the number of companies (more than 240)
and their revenues (few millions to tens of millions each), it is likely that the
$500 million figure does not include television and radio broadcasting. Weather
derivatives allow businesses sensitive to the vagaries of weather to protect
themselves against changes in costs and sales linked to variations in climate.
These financial instruments can be designed for almost any weather variable
(e.g., rain, snow, wind), although most focus on long-range (seasonal)
temperature forecasts. Weather Risk Management Association, chttp://www.
wrma.org>. In 2000 weather-derivatives contracts with a total value of $2.5
billion were issued in the United States. PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2001, The
weather risk management industry: Survey findings for November, 1997 to
March, 2001. A report to the Weather Risk Management Association,
54
The Privatization of Environmental Data
Examples of successes and failures in the use of commercial data in
public-sector environmental information systems are given below.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS CREATED PURELY FOR
PUBLIC PURPOSES
Potential Conflicts in the Roots
The need for credibility of public-sector information products
requires the input data to be available on a full and open basis or at least
be subject to a scientific audit with minimal restrictions (see Box 4.~.
The rigor of the scientific audit needed depends on the nature of the data
and how they will be used. Restricted data that improve the efficiency of
core product development but do not affect their scientific validity (e.g.,
base maps) may require only limited scientific scrutiny. On the other
hand, when restricted data are essential to the creation of the core
product, the data must be made available on a full and open basis or they
cannot be used in public-sector information systems (see Example 5.1~.
in some cases, unacceptable restrictions on commercial data are lifted
after an initial proprietary period, when the economic value has declined
(see Examples 5.2 and 5.3~. Such data can be an important asset to the
environmental sciences, which gain a valuable new resource at a fraction
of the original cost.
War and Peace Among Stakeholders
55
56
The Privatization of Environmental Data
War and Peace Among Stakeholders
58
The Privatization of Environmental Data
The Commercial Space Act directs NASA to purchase Earth remote-
sensing data from a commercial provider to the extent possible (see Box
2.1~. The intention of the legislation was to prevent government agencies
from competing with private-sector organizations. At the same time,
unfounded complaints about competition can stifle innovation in the
government (see Example 5.41.
War and Peace Among Stakeholders
59
Potential Connicts in the Trunk
Confidence in the output of the trunk requires many creative minds
to critique and verify each step of the transformation from raw data to
finished products. Computer programs or algorithms with undetected
errors are notorious for promulgating misinformation to the entire user
community. Anything that makes scientific scrutiny more cumbersome
or expensive increases the chances that errors will not be detected in a
timely manner. For the shared-use information systems under discussion,
such misinformation would be an intolerable outcome.
Validating data through repeated measurements or cross-checking
with other independent sources turns scientific data into information (see
Box 1.1~. The calibration and validation steps are also necessary for
detecting errors in the algorithms for processing data (see Example 5.5)
or for improving the efficiency of algorithm development. Once the
instrument is deployed, routine cross-checks with other instruments are
essential for discovering errors, changes in instrument behavior, or
scientific surprises (see Example 5.6~.
60
The Privatization of Environmental Data
War and Peace Among Shareholders
61
Policies of full and open access maximize the quantity and
credibility of data flowing to the trunk. However, under some
circumstances, restricted data that have undergone a scientific audit offer
a second best source of information (see Box 4.1~. For this information to
62
The Privatization of Environmental Data
be useful in scientific core products, commercial vendors must be willing
to disclose enough details to establish the credibility of their sources,
quality assurance, and algorithms, without permitting a competitor from
replicating their commercially valuable products. As long as the data are
subject to scientific audit, limited disclosure may be good enough for
public purposes (see Example 5.7), though limitations of any kind reduce
the opportunities for independent innovative exploitation of the data or
improvement in observing technique.
War and Peace Among Stakeholders
63
Potential Connicts in the Branches
Many user groups want value-added products or services that make
the core products more convenient to use (see Example 5.~. Such
services may be provided by a wide variety of public and private-sector
entities, including scientists, data centers, government project offices,
nongovernmental organizations, and commercial vendors. Nevertheless,
many private-sector organizations regard the creation of value-added
products and services by publicly funded entities as unfair competition
because they are subsidized by tax dollars (see Example 5.9~.
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The Privatization of Environmental Data
War and Peace Among Stakeholders
65
Confidential Government Data
Data that are confidential because of national security or privacy
concerns pose many of the same challenges as proprietary data. To be
useful in public-purpose environmental information systems, the data
must undergo a scientific audit (see Example 5.10), and be produced or
66
The Privatization of Environmental Data
"ridded by trusted brokers to remove the confidential elements (see
Examples 5.10 and 5. ~ 1~.
War and Peace Among Stakeholders
67
68
The Privatization of Environmental Data
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIPS
Environmental information systems are not always created solely for
public purposes; many are created with a mixture of public and com-
mercial goals. In such cases, public-private partnerships are commonly
established to collect data, create products, or distribute data. A common
mechanism for obtaining data through public-private partnerships is the
"data buy," in which a commercial organization builds and deploys an
instrument and the government agrees in advance to buy the data.
Federal agencies that operate satellites are increasingly looking to data
buys to cut costs, reduce financial risks, and comply with legislation
prohibiting competition with the private sector. For example, NASA is
currently purchasing data on ocean color (see Example 5.12), and has
negotiated agreements to purchase data related to land use and land
cover, climate variability, and natural hazards from five commercial
remote sensing companies.2 NASA is also considering a data purchase
gov/>.
2See NASA's Scientific Data Purchase program,
War and Peace Among Stakeholders
69
for Landsat-S, although previous attempts to privatize Landsat missions
have not been successful.3
One of the most difficult issues to resolve in public-private
partnerships is the terms of access to the data. Tn some cases the needs of
both sectors can be met, such as when time sensitivity distinguishes the
public sector and commercial markets (see Example 5.12) or when short-
term commercial gain is less important than building market share in the
long term (see Example 5.13~. In other cases the inability to reconcile
commercial and noncommercial objectives may prevent new observing
systems from being built (see Example 5.14~.
3Will the U.S. bring down the curtain on Landsat? Science, v. 288, p. 2309
23 1 1, 2000.
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The Privatization of Environmental Data
War and Peace Among Stakeholders
71
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The Privatization of Environmental Data
OVERALL LESSONS LEARNED
Tn public-purpose environmental information systems a full and open
data policy is optimal for collecting and synthesizing a wide range of
observations, detecting scientific surprises, and avoiding or discovering
processing or calibration errors. Commercial data that are provided
without restriction and at reasonable prices are a valuable addition to
public-purpose information systems. Providing unrestricted access can be
compatible with commercial goals, either because the commercial
market will not be adversely affected by open use and publication of the
data, services are of greater value than the underlying data, the priorities
of the cornrnercial vendor have changed, or because the potential Tong-
terrn gain far outweighs any lost short-term profit. Restricted data can
sometimes be used for public purposes, such as when a scientific audit or
War arid Peace Among Stakeholders
73
a trusted broker certifies the reliability of the information for the purpose
at hand. However, such workarounds reduce the efficiency of
information systems and have scientific and monetary costs that must be
taken into account when making decisions about acquiring and using
restricted data.
Privatizing government functions or creating public-private
partnerships is not always the best solution for meeting the needs of all
environmental stakeholder groups, particularly if the net result is a
reduction of information that resides in the public domain.
THE NEED FOR A PROCESS OF NEGOTIATING
AMONG STAKEHOLDERS
The requirement that the information system serve multiple uses
leads to the involvement of groups of stakeholders- research scientists,
private-sector organizations, government agencies, policy makers, and
the general public whose interests may not entirely coincide. Typically
missing in existing management structures is a clear, identifiable process
for stakeholders or their representatives to negotiate the details of
solutions that optimize common interests and minimize conflicts, both at
the policy level and in the details of implementation.4 Of particular
concern is the need to reconcile the requirement that sufficient high-
quality data be available in the public domain (i.e., unrestricted access)
with other requirements such as the need for (1) private-sector revenue;
(2) protection of national security or personal privacy; or (3) demon-
stration of the value of investments of public funds. Solutions to these
conflicts will depend on the particular circumstances of the information
system at hand.
Environmental information systems frequently nucleate around
informal collaborations (including volunteers) that demonstrate useful
partnerships. Such collaborations have a manageable number of
stakeholder groups that share enough common interests and requirements
to be able to negotiate reasonable agreements. The system then evolves
incrementally, limited by the ability to demonstrate real value for the
costs that must be incurred and by the ability to secure necessary
4Advisory committees and workshops are good mechanisms for securing
input from stakeholder groups, but they lack authority to negotiate on the
stakeholders' behalf.
74
The Privatization of Environmental Data
resources (dollars and people) to implement those improvements on an
ongoing basis in order to address evolving, long-term environmental
issues (see Chapter 3, "The Cycle for Updating Environmental
Information Systems". Negotiating agreements across the entire
environmental enterprise is a daunting process. As the nuclei develop
into long-term commitments, more formal arrangements, such as
international negotiations carried out at the level of governments (e.g.,
Kyoto Protocol) become necessary.
On a formal basis there are two foci for negotiations, both of which
are part of the cyclic process for updating the information system. One
nexus is the selection of core products to be made available for public
distribution, and hence of priorities for the underlying observations. The
other nexus is the determination of detailed requirements for data from
the individual observation systems that comprise the roots. Negotiations
must address both technical issues (i.e., what data are needed to achieve
stated objectives) and operational issues (i.e., who would do what and
how much it would cost). The results of these negotiations provide the
basis for policy decisions.
The public interest favors finding compromise solutions that are
recognized by the parties concerned as reasonably satisfactory, but
satisfactory agreements depend on who is at the negotiating table. For
example, scientific needs (e.g., full and open access) are not always
understood or taken into account because intergovernmental agreements
or public-private partnerships are typically handled by government
lawyers and business offices. If scientists were at the table, they would
be more confident that their interests were being represented effectively.
As part of the negotiations, government agencies should be prepared to
provide an independent analysis of social benefits and costs using, for
example, guidelines described in the following chapter. Reconciliation of
the stakeholders' viewpoints is needed to produce a system that is vital
and ensures environmental understanding and communal governance of
the resources upon which we all depend.
Recommendation. U.S. federal agencies with responsibility
for multi-purpose environmental information systems should
establish a clear, visible process through which represen-
tatives of all the stakeholder groups discuss the performance
and negotiate the redesign of such systems with the goal of
reconciling their interests.
