Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data (2001)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

STAKEHOLDER VIEWPOINTS 27 support WMO programs, plus any data that originating countries so designate; these data are available for full and open exchange. Tier 2 includes all remaining data; these are subject to restrictions to prevent their use for commercial purposes other than by the originating member. The change in policy was aimed at preventing private-sector entities from competing with national meteorological services in Europe, which recoup costs through sales of data and services.h Similar changes in IOC policy are being promoted by several European governments.i a <http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/SpaceLaw/rstxt.htm>. b Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 1994, Megascience: The OECD Forum on Global Change of Planet Earth. Paris, France, 150 pp. c <http://www.unfccc.de/resource/conv/conv.html>. d The international convention is “free and unrestricted.” This term is fully equivalent to “full and open” used in this report. e Report on Existing IOC Policy, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (of UNESCO), Meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Oceanographic Data Exchange Policy, IOC/INF-1144rev, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France, May 15–17, 2000. f There are currently 185 member organizations. See <http://www.wmo.ch/ indexflash.html>. g WMO, 1996, Exchanging Meteorological Data: Guidelines on Relationships in Commercial Meteorological Activities. WMO Policy and Practice, WMO No. 837, Geneva, Switzerland, 24 pp. h NRC, 1995, On the Full and Open Exchange of Scientific Data. National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 21 pp.; R.M.White, 1994, A cloud over weather cooperation. Technology Review Magazine, v. 97(4), p. 64. i Oceanographic Data Exchange Policy. See <http://ioc.unesco.org/iode/>. GENERAL PUBLIC VIEWS The general public comprises all the members of the community, including the stakeholder groups discussed above. Because environmental information affects so many people, the community is very broad, indeed it is often global. It stands to reason that the general public hopes to increase its sense of well being through better information about its environment. Motivations are varied and range from “should I take an umbrella this morning?” to “what will the environment be like for my grandchildren?” Rewards arise from the economic benefits to them and their community from the wise use of environmental information. The general public's stake in environmental information is enormous, but it is difficult to adequately represent their individual 

STAKEHOLDER VIEWPOINTS 28 interests in decisions concerning information systems. Consequently, members of the general public must be represented by proxies, such as federal, state, and local government organizations, nongovernmental organizations, citizen advocacy groups, trade associations, congressional lobbyists, elected representatives, and scientific advisory committees. The mix of proxies will depend on the particular circumstances. For this stakeholder group, access to environmental information and knowledge in a useable and convenient form is critical. Public media, such as television, newspapers, and World Wide Web sites, play a key role in delivering the information. The underlying sources of that information are and must be available on a full and open basis. Relevant policies guaranteeing full and open access to the general public include OMB Circular A-130 (see Box 2.1) and the Freedom of Information Act. Under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act agencies must make records and policy statements available for public inspection and copying.13 European public-sector information is considerably less accessible to European citizens, in part because few countries have strong freedom of information laws.14 13 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a110/a110.html>. 14 Public Sector Information: A Key Resource for Europe. Green Paper on Public Sector Information in the Information Society, European Commission Report COM (1998) 585, Luxembourg, Belgium, 1998, 28 pp.