1st Part of ASSIGN 9. :))

TOPIC: Identify an information environment of your choice and write an essay to address the following questions: (3000 words)

• What should be your role within this environment?
• How can the principles of information organization and representation help you in performing this role?
• What are the challenges facing you in performing the role? How will you address these challenges?

To identify what information environment I will discuss, first I will define what is environmental information or information environment.

What is environmental information?
The definition of environmental information is very wide and is defined in the EIRs as information which relates to:
• The state of elements of the environment – such air, water, soil, land, landscape and natural sites, flora and fauna, including cattle, crops, GMOs, wildlife and biological diversity – and it includes any interaction between them

• The state of human health and safety, conditions of human life, the food chain, cultural sites and built structures, which are, or are likely to be, affected by the state of the elements of the environment and the interaction between them

• Any factor such as substances, energy, noise, radiation or waste, including radioactive waste, emissions, discharges and other releases affecting, or likely to affect, the state of the elements of environment or any interaction between them

• Measures and activities affecting, or likely to affect, or intended to protect the state of the elements of the environment and the interaction between them. This includes administrative measures, policies, legislation, plans, programmes and environmental agreements

• Emissions, discharges and other releases into the environment

• Cost benefit and other economic analyses used in environmental decision making


Environmental information covers a broad range of topics, such as:
• the environment itself, including air, water, earth and the habitats of animals and plants
• things that affect the environment, such as emissions, radiation, noise, and other forms of pollution
• policies, plans and laws on the environment


Examples of environmental information are:
• levels of chlorine in swimming pools
• water-quality and air-quality test reports
• genetically modified crops
• air-conditioning systems in public buildings


Regulation 2(1) ‘Environmental information’ has the same meaning as in
Article 2(1) of the Directive, namely any information in written, visual, aural,
electronic or any other material form on —

Information can therefore include or be found in:

•Documents, leaflets, reports, books, notes, data sets, memos, meeting notes,
post-its, the back of an envelope - in fact, anything written.
•Pictures, maps, plans, designs, models, video, posters, diagrams, sketches,
graphs, illustrations.
•Tape recordings, answer phone recordings, recorded presentations,
Dictaphone tapes, compact discs.
•Any type of computer file, word-processor file, database, spreadsheet,
computer models (including 3D models), specially written bespoke programs,
calendars, emails, archived webpages/sites, temporary or cached files, still
images, video images, computer-generated images.
•Any other material form – that is, other forms not widely available, or not yet
developed or invented.

However, it does not include information that does not yet exist but that could
be created by the manipulation of existing information. In other words authorities are only obliged to release information held and are not required to
research or manipulate data to create new information. Example: If an authority is asked for a graph of air quality for the last 12 months, but it only
holds the raw data and no graph has been created, they would only be required to release the data, and would not be required to create a graph.

Information is not restricted by geographical location
A. The state of the elements of the environment, such as* air and
atmosphere, water, soil, land, landscape and natural sites including
wetlands, coastal and marine areas, biological diversity and its components,
including genetically modified organisms, and the interaction among these
elements;

*Note use of ‘such as’ – this indicates that the elements listed here are purely
representative, and are not the only things which should be considered as
elements.

The state of the elements – this includes the physical, biological and
chemical characteristics. It is not limited to current conditions but includes past
and predicted future conditions.

Air and atmosphere – the atmosphere is the collection of gases that
surround the earth and that are retained by the earth’s gravitation. The
atmosphere extends up to approximately 660km in altitude. The distinction
between air and atmosphere suggests that air refers to air within buildings and
structures, underground, indoors, in the workplace and elsewhere where it is
confined in some way. Air and atmosphere should not always be taken to mean
‘air’ as a whole and in its entirety. The gases which make up the atmosphere
and air are also included separately: for example, carbon dioxide, oxygen etc.

Water – will mean water in all its forms (vapour, ice, liquid) and is not limited
by scale (from oceans to the smallest droplet). It includes water underground or
on the surface, water in natural settings (rivers, lakes) and man-made settings
(canals, ponds).

Soil – soil can be taken to mean the
unconsolidated mineral or organic
material top layer of the earth’s surface in which plants grow.

Land – land was described in the guidance for the 1992 EIR as: all land
surfaces, buildings, land covered by water, and underground strata. By
including underground strata the implication is that land covers natural minerals
and deposits such as salt, coal, limestone, slate, iron etc.

Landscape – Landscape is defined by the European Landscape Convention
2000 as ‘an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the
action and interaction of natural and/or human factors’. A more technical
definition may be of more use when attempting to ascertain what landscape will mean in terms of environmental information. A specialist environmental
definition of landscape is ‘the traits, patterns, and structure of a specific
geographic area, including its biological composition, its physical environment,
and its anthropogenic or social patterns. An area where interacting ecosystems
are grouped and repeated in similar form’ (from EPAGLO).

Natural sites, including wetlands, coastal and marine areas – ‘natural
sites’ recognises the importance of protected areas such as Sites of Special
Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
However, a site will not need to have been designated to qualify as a ‘natural
site’. All natural sites that are ascribed a specific value, local value, special
natural or historic value can be taken to be a natural site. ‘Natural’ does not
necessarily mean devoid of human interference, and the management of a site
will not preclude it from being classified as natural. Wetlands, coastal and
marine areas were included specifically (Amendment 15) by the European
Parliament as they thought that ‘natural sites’ did not make it clear that these
types of areas were also to be considered.

Biological diversity and its components – Article 2 of the Convention on
Biological Diversity 1992 defines the term as ‘the variability among living
organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other
aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this
includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems’. The
components of biodiversity then must be taken to mean: genetic diversity – the
genetic composition of a species (genes, DNA, RNA, etc.); species diversity -
every living thing, every single species (plant, animal, bacteria, viruses etc);
ecosystem diversity – all habitats whether natural or man-made (from arctic
wilderness to urban sprawl). In addition, biological diversity and its components
should not be limited in time; for instance, it will include dead and extinct
individual organisms and species.

‘Genetically modified organism’ (GMO) – UNECE describe GMOs as ‘any
organism with the exception of human beings that possesses a novel
combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern
biotechnology’. In addition, the European Community has used the following
definition: ‘genetically modified organism (GMO) means an organism, with the
exception of human beings, in which the genetic material has been altered in a
way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination’.
Please note: definitions for ‘modern biotechnology’ and ‘micro-organism’ are
available if required, please consult the reference listed in note 3.

the interaction among these elements – this recognises that no one aspect
of the environment can be fully understood in isolation and that the interaction
between the elements is just as important as the elements themselves.