Access to Marine Data on the Internet for CZM
575
Summary and Conclusions
It is abundantly clear that there is now a major and growing demand for access to both
data and information - perhaps more so than ever before. The Internet has given us a
'good taste' of what is currently available and possible. Considerable progress has been
made in recent years with communications and networking technology, hardware and
software, the Freedom of Information Act, such that increasingly we are becoming an
Information Technology (IT) aware and user-based society, both at work and at home.
There are still problems of a technical nature which have been discussed, but moreover
there also appears to be a number of institutional problems that are currently limiting
the more widespread use of this technology in the workplace for a wide range of
applications, one of which is Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Recently Hewson
(1999, p. 5) stated:
Referring to DSL....This is what the Internet is supposed to be about... Why do the
Americans have DSL racing through their nation when we don’t?.. Quite why the
Americans seem able to overcome these (problems) when we cannot remains a
mystery... If we sit on the sidelines for long... we will see France and Germany begin
to offer cheap, reliable broadband data access to individuals and businesses while we
struggle to cope with obsolete or over-priced old technology. The business
community’s growing shift to network applications will be encouraged on the
Continent and stifled here... The real culprits lie in a government that lacks the
vision and the courage to move beyond hype and hot air to the hard work of policy
and implementation.... Britain is stumbling into the new millennium with a
telecommunications network designed for the 1970s - not because we cannot afford
the future but because no politician has the guts to make it happen
In the UK we now need to 'take the bull by the horns' and to set about
effectively mirroring the work of the US, Canada and Australia as far as: setting up and
developing a National Geospatial Data Framework (NGDF) is concerned, and attending
to spatial data and Metadata standards, amongst other things. Clearly there will still be a
need for setting up of committees and further discussion etc., but we also need far more
concerted action rather than words. Once again, the attitude to something that must be
seen as essential - a national information resource - is apparently different in the US to
the UK:
Quality of life in a free society is determined by the collective decisions of its
individual citizens acting in the home, the workplace and together as members
of the community
Responsible stewardship of our natural and cultural resources depends on
making current, accurate and complete information available
What strategies would pool more public and private financing for
standardised data development and stewardship?
How can we make data sharing easier, to avoid wasteful redundant data
collection?
575
Summary and Conclusions
It is abundantly clear that there is now a major and growing demand for access to both
data and information - perhaps more so than ever before. The Internet has given us a
'good taste' of what is currently available and possible. Considerable progress has been
made in recent years with communications and networking technology, hardware and
software, the Freedom of Information Act, such that increasingly we are becoming an
Information Technology (IT) aware and user-based society, both at work and at home.
There are still problems of a technical nature which have been discussed, but moreover
there also appears to be a number of institutional problems that are currently limiting
the more widespread use of this technology in the workplace for a wide range of
applications, one of which is Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Recently Hewson
(1999, p. 5) stated:
Referring to DSL....This is what the Internet is supposed to be about... Why do the
Americans have DSL racing through their nation when we don’t?.. Quite why the
Americans seem able to overcome these (problems) when we cannot remains a
mystery... If we sit on the sidelines for long... we will see France and Germany begin
to offer cheap, reliable broadband data access to individuals and businesses while we
struggle to cope with obsolete or over-priced old technology. The business
community’s growing shift to network applications will be encouraged on the
Continent and stifled here... The real culprits lie in a government that lacks the
vision and the courage to move beyond hype and hot air to the hard work of policy
and implementation.... Britain is stumbling into the new millennium with a
telecommunications network designed for the 1970s - not because we cannot afford
the future but because no politician has the guts to make it happen
In the UK we now need to 'take the bull by the horns' and to set about
effectively mirroring the work of the US, Canada and Australia as far as: setting up and
developing a National Geospatial Data Framework (NGDF) is concerned, and attending
to spatial data and Metadata standards, amongst other things. Clearly there will still be a
need for setting up of committees and further discussion etc., but we also need far more
concerted action rather than words. Once again, the attitude to something that must be
seen as essential - a national information resource - is apparently different in the US to
the UK:
Quality of life in a free society is determined by the collective decisions of its
individual citizens acting in the home, the workplace and together as members
of the community
Responsible stewardship of our natural and cultural resources depends on
making current, accurate and complete information available
What strategies would pool more public and private financing for
standardised data development and stewardship?
How can we make data sharing easier, to avoid wasteful redundant data
collection?