Data Collection
As in any GIS the success of the system depends on the quality and on there being a
wide and comprehensive range of environmental data contained in the system. A
164
H. Goodwin and R. Palerud
With the end of the Cold War and the relaxing of travel and business
restrictions in the former Soviet Union, possibilities for business and industrial
developments for Western and Russian partners have opened up. Of significant interest
to the west are the huge reserves of minerals, such as gold and diamonds, and of course
the potential for offshore and on-shore oil exploitation. One such area is the Pechora
Sea and surrounding mainland administered by the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the
Komi Republic. Considerable development by Russian oil companies has already taken
place here, with little regard to the environment, and several international oil companies
have already indicated their interest here in the past few years. The Arctic is a fragile
and very sensitive environment, as we saw in Alaska after the Exxon Valdez oil spill
disaster (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Symposium, 1993), where large pristine areas were
destroyed by crude oil. It is therefore of the utmost importance that we have an
industrial strategy defined, and the necessary tools to predict and monitor the effects of
oil exploration and exploitation in this remote and fragile environment.
As in any GIS the success of the system depends on the quality and on there being a
wide and comprehensive range of environmental data contained in the system. A
164
H. Goodwin and R. Palerud
With the end of the Cold War and the relaxing of travel and business
restrictions in the former Soviet Union, possibilities for business and industrial
developments for Western and Russian partners have opened up. Of significant interest
to the west are the huge reserves of minerals, such as gold and diamonds, and of course
the potential for offshore and on-shore oil exploitation. One such area is the Pechora
Sea and surrounding mainland administered by the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the
Komi Republic. Considerable development by Russian oil companies has already taken
place here, with little regard to the environment, and several international oil companies
have already indicated their interest here in the past few years. The Arctic is a fragile
and very sensitive environment, as we saw in Alaska after the Exxon Valdez oil spill
disaster (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Symposium, 1993), where large pristine areas were
destroyed by crude oil. It is therefore of the utmost importance that we have an
industrial strategy defined, and the necessary tools to predict and monitor the effects of
oil exploration and exploitation in this remote and fragile environment.