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

Chapter: REQUIREMENTS OF PUBLIC-PURPOSE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION TREES

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Suggested Citation:"REQUIREMENTS OF PUBLIC-PURPOSE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION TREES." National Research Council. 2001. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10237.
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Page 49
Suggested Citation:"REQUIREMENTS OF PUBLIC-PURPOSE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION TREES." National Research Council. 2001. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10237.
×
Page 50
Suggested Citation:"REQUIREMENTS OF PUBLIC-PURPOSE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION TREES." National Research Council. 2001. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10237.
×
Page 51
Suggested Citation:"REQUIREMENTS OF PUBLIC-PURPOSE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION TREES." National Research Council. 2001. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10237.
×
Page 52

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POLICY AND ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC-PURPOSE 49 ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS homogeneous-product market would be created in which only one seller could survive. This conclusion may change, however, if the government were to procure a number of similar but distinct high-quality products. In such a differentiated products market two or more suppliers migh be able to operate successfully. Conclusion. Purchasing full rights to data, including rights to downstream uses, from commercial entities may be an option for meeting specific observational requirements of public-purpose information systems. REQUIREMENTS OF PUBLIC-PURPOSE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION TREES Based on the data policy and economic considerations outlined above, the committee concludes that environmental information systems created purely or partly for public purposes must meet certain requirements. Essential characteristics of the roots are: • scientifically valid observation systems yielding quantitative data placed in the public domain; • measurement of multiple variables at nationally and internationally distributed locations by a mixture of directed and volunteer organizations; and • public funding with possible purchase of data from the private sector under appropriate circumstances. Characteristics of the trunk include the following: • systematic validation and synthesis of data into a limited selection of core information products that directly or indirectly serve all user groups; • full and open access (provided without restriction for no more than the marginal cost of reproduction) to these products and the processes by which they are derived; and • public funding.

POLICY AND ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC-PURPOSE 50 ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS Characteristics of the branches include the following: • development based on free or low-cost access to core products from the trunk; • value-added products for each distinct branch; • a mixture of public domain and proprietary data policies; and • multiple operating organizations (e.g., universities, data centers, libraries, commercial vendors, government programs). Such clear-cut distinctions between the trunk and branches do not always exist in practice. Determining which databases are part of the trunk and which are part of the branches must be decided case by case, using the characteristics described above. Most important for the present discussion is a classification that helps maintain full and open access to data required for scientific purposes and helps promote vigorous competition where data are subject to proprietary restrictions. Characteristics of the leaves are: • great diversity; • changing numbers and identities resulting from new, commonly unforeseen uses of environmental information; and • rapidly increasing practical importance due to the growing public awareness of environmental issues. Of course, in the real world environmental information systems cannot be described as a single tree or even a grove of trees. Rather, the roots, trunk, and branches of different information systems, some of which are operated by the private sector or commercialized government agencies, are interconnected. Data from an individual instrument may feed into the core products of several trees, which in turn contribute to the core and value-added products of other trees. Users influence in varying degrees the requirements by which several trees evolve. However, the full societal benefit will only be achieved if subsequent uses of data or products from individual trees are permitted freely. Information systems designed to fulfill certain public objectives, such as the advancement of scientific understanding, supply products of which the use could be but should not be restricted. Without restrictions no private firm can recover its investment in the information system.

POLICY AND ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC-PURPOSE 51 ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS With restrictions the private sector can profitably supply information products. Revenue will exceed costs, but the low level of unit sales will fail to maximize the net social benefits derived from the information system. In contrast, public agencies can subsidize creation of the system and deliver information at its marginal cost to all potential users, thereby maximizing net social benefit. Recommendation. The practice of public funding for data collection and synthesis should continue, thereby focusing contributions of the private sector primarily on value-added distribution and specific observational systems.

POLICY AND ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC-PURPOSE 52 ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS

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Reliable collections of science-based environmental information are vital for many groups of users and for a number of purposes. For example, electric utility companies predict demand during heat waves, structural engineers design buildings to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes, water managers monitor each winter's snow pack, and farmers plant and harvest crops based on daily weather predictions. Understanding the impact of human activities on climate, water, ecosystems, and species diversity, and assessing how natural systems may respond in the future are becoming increasingly important for public policy decisions.

Environmental information systems gather factual information, transform it into information products, and distribute the products to users. Typical uses of the information require long-term consistency; hence the operation of the information system requires a long-term commitment from an institution, agency, or corporation. The need to keep costs down provides a strong motivation for creating multipurpose information systems that satisfy scientific, commercial and operational requirements, rather than systems that address narrow objectives. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data focuses on such shared systems.

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