Improving access to environmental information - the CEROI programme.

Elena Latta-Fjortoft
This paper presents the CEROI Programme and its software Publikit® with integrated GIS, which was developed by Ugland Publikit for UNEP/GRID-Arendal, Norway. The United Nations estimates that 50 percent of the global population will be living in cities by 2005. This trend creates pressures on cities' environment and requires access to up-to-date environmental information to ensure urban sustainable development. This paper explores how the CEROI Programme provides city authorities with a complete tool to produce and present web reports of urban environment. This with the help of the template-based GIS software Publikit® for easy presentation of maps, graphs, text, and images on the Internet.

1. Improving Access to Environmental Information - The CEROI Programme
The CEROI logoAgenda 21, adopted at the 1992 UNCDE Earth Summit conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, specifically calls for improved environmental information for decision-making, environmental education and awareness rising. At the Summit, world leaders signed a global environment and development action plan involving citizens in cooperation with their local government to develop a sustainable strategy at local level, its own Local Agenda 21.
Furthermore, the Århus Convention of 1997 leads in a similar direction by aiming to guarantee the rights of public access to environmental information and public participation in decision-making. It also affirms the need to ensure sustainable and environmentally sound devlopment. 		The Cities Environment Reports on the Internet (CEROI) Programme has been developed within this framework. Its purpose is to facilitate access to environmental information for sound decision-making and awareness rising in cities, both locally and worldwide. Traditionally, city-based environmental data can be fragmented and accessible only to a few people. However, access to environmental information is crucial for ensuring relevant policy, responses and building public awareness and empowering urban stakeholders. There are numerous projects all over the world to collect environmental information, develop internationally accepted indicators and evaluate policies for sustainable development. The CEROI Programme aims therefore to put this environmental information into work by providing a concept for easily creating environment reports on the Internet.

1.1 Putting environmental information to work
A sustainable local environmental policy requires knowledge and easy access to up-to-date environmental information for politicians, administrators and citizens. The CEROI Programme is building a network of cities that will share information about their environment on the Internet in an easy-to-understand, well structured and internationally comparable format. Thus, having an impact on the urban environment by improving access for citizens and policy-makers to reliable and easily understood information over the Internet. The CEROI Programme provides city authorities with an efficient tool to produce and present a report on the cities' state of environment on the Internet that allows regular monitoring and communicates environmental information to all citizens and demonstrates commitment towards a sustainable development. It also highlights the environmental achievements in the local area and shows what still needs work. However, the content of each environmental report will depend on available data. If data for some suggested issues or areas are not available, the report can be used for identifying and filling such information gaps. The CEROI State of Environment (SoE) reports are developed with easy-to-follow steps from concept through completion and suggestions for standardised presentation of themes, issues and indicators including. The use of indicators is promoted to make the report more credible, convincing, and easy to read. The CEROI template and the software Publikit® enable environmental experts to create comprehensible and accessible web-based SoE reports with interactive maps, graphs, images, text and database connection. The software also facilitates publishing and maintenance of the cities' SoE reports on the Internet.
The reports can be easily accessed on the CEROI gateway, where members can store or mirror their SoE reports on a central server at the GRID-Arendal office. The site functions as a global gateway to urban SoE reports. It also provides a meeting place for discussion, exchange of experience and information as well as it offers extensive help on how to produce SoE reports and utilise urban environmental indicators. The gateway provides a database for comparison of key issues and core indicators of all published CEROI reports. This makes it possible to monitor global trends and read about local responses to urban environmental problems.

1.2 The pilot phase
UNEP/GRID-Arendal, initiated the Cities Environment Reports on the Internet Programme in conjunction with the software company Ugland Publikit in 1996. An advisory committee composed of leaders from UNEP's Regional Office for Europe, the European Environmental Agency (EEA), the Healthy Cities Project of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Global Urban Observatory of UNCHS/Habitat and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) was established to guide the development of the concept. Close contact was also established with other international organisations such as the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Over 20 pilot cities worldwide, such as Moscow, Prague and Johannesburg, were involved in the continuous evaluation and improvement of the concept and the template-based software during the pilot phase (1997-1999). On 23 August 1999, UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer, and WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland launched the first Internet reports for the cities of Arendal, Norway and Turku, Finland. In October 1999, the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism launched the Internet reports for the cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.

2. The template and the software
Together the Publikit® software and the CEROI template are a unique combination and simple to use and do not require any special technical knowledge or experience. The software and its template system transform complex environmental information into comprehensible and accessible SoE reports.

2.1 The CEROI template
The CEROI template offers the structure, graphical layout and framework for SoE reporting. The template is however flexible enough to adapt to the specific needs and priorities of each individual city in the way information is presented, themes and indicators are selected and the internal structure is elaborated. The report structure is automatically set up with a wizard driven module, which helps to determine the report content according to city-specific information.
Regardless of the issues and indicators the city chooses to use, the template will accommodate them. Many of the issues are already included in the template together with basic elements needed on the report pages. There is also room in the template for highlighting important items, including news, frequently asked questions, links to other resources, contacts, and other complementary information. The template offers environmental, design and programming help on how to complete each individual page. 		The presentation of individual issues within the SoE report follows the DIPSIR-model (Driving forces-Pressure-State-Impact-Responses). The model is widely used for preparing environmental assessment reports in a logical and efficient format and allows easy comparison of key topics.
The CEROI template also includes core indicators and proposed indicators for use within individual themes. Indicators in the context of a state of the environment report are representative, concise and easy-to-interpret parameters, which are used to illustrate main features of city environment and their development over time and space. The indicators are based on UNCHS (Habitat) indicators and the OECD core set of environmental indicators. The selection of indicators and pilot cities were closely co-ordinated with the Cities 21® of ICLEI. These indicators will be accessible and comparable both through individual city reports and through the CEROI server.

2.2 The software

Initially, the software Publikit® was developed for environmental reporting on the Internet. The software allows anyone to create, publish and maintain information on the Internet. Publikit® utilizes an easy-to-follow navigation system, a comprehensive help system with easy- to-follow steps for creating standardized web sites and web reports from concept through to completion. It offers features for comparing data with one server set-up for multiple sites and a data fast link to the Internet. Additionally, Publikit® can be used for all web-publishing purposes and enables users to quickly custom-create, disseminate and maintain their own reports and information structures for their specific needs. It can also be combined with other software programmes for user-friendly handling.

The HTML Editor is the central unit for creating content and layout of web pages. The editor is based on Microsoft technology to ensure full control over the layout as well as to obtain the level of functionality expected of a modern word processor and design tool. Additionally, the software offers editing possibilities in the HTML source code of each web page for more experienced web publishers. Creating a complete web-based report requires a lot of repetitive work, such as inserting headers and footers on every page of the project. Publikit® carries out therefore routine tasks by using reusable objects, i.e. changing a piece of information will automatically update all relevant pages.

A template wizardAs applicable for the CEROI template, Publikit® contains wizards that guide the user through fairly advanced processes, such as publishing to the Internet, in straightforward steps. The extensive Help system serves as an on-line handbook by providing technical, thematic and design guidance for create web pages and Internet reports.
It was decided to use the advantage of GIS as an effective visualization tool to present environmental data on the Internet. Using GIS on the web opens up easy access to environmental information. Maps indicate clearly where environmental problems are located, such as contaminated sites and their pollution level.

Illustration of mapsMaps also graphically identify where environmental work needs to be carried out. Publikit® offers powerful GIS functions for handling vector and raster maps on the Internet. The map module provides an easy way to publish dynamic, interactive maps on the Internet. The raster map engine displays raster maps and supports a layer of interactive graphical symbols. When inserted into a web page, the Publikit® map engine makes the map come "alive" on the Internet. This includes panning the map and dynamically investigating graphical information. Useful map explanations and hyperlinks can be added for in-depth information. The symbols can be grouped into categories and themes as well as each symbol can be linked to an Internet page containing additional information. Even more significant is the usage of ArcIMSTM in conjunction with Publikit® for publishing complex vector maps to achieve optimal mapping interactivity. The Publikit® software includes its own module for connecting to existing ArcIMSTM service to individual web sites. A wizard guides users through the process of connecting to existing ArcIMSTM, select map services, and tools to be activated in the Internet map presentation, such as zooming, panning, layering. Therefore, the Publikit® software provides easy entry into the complex GIS world for users with little as well as advanced mapping background.

Imagine - the graphics programThe graphics module of Publikit® includes image-editing functions, handles importing, converting and manipulation of graphics and images, and automatically prepares images for Internet browsers. The software also facilitates the creation of tables, charts and graphs by connecting to existing data source or by entering new data.
When the report has been completed, the Internet publisher module connects and transfers each file to an Internet server in a simple process. Additionally, the software allows updating of individual pages and folders without having to publish the complete project again.

3. Choice of communication channel

The CEROI Programme decided to utilize the Internet. The Internet is a rapidly growing information medium that is easily accessible globally. Published information is easily updated, thus reducing the risks of presenting old and invalid information. Publishing a SoE report on the Internet is a quality control itself, since stakeholder will react if the information presented is not correct.

By using the Internet, the information is not only accessible to residents, but also to others striving to manage similar environmental issues. Moreover, Internet publishing can improve the overall cost-efficiency of SoE reporting and make updating information in the report much easier.

4. The implementation

The implementation of the CEROI Programme was started early 2000 in co-operation with regional and international institutions and networks such as ICLEI, EEA, Habitat/Global Urban Observatory, Medcities and others. The CEROI secretariat has been set up to promote, develop and facilitate the CEROI network, publish a regular CEROI newsletter and organise sponsors support to cities with constrained economic resources.

 The secretariat also manages and maintains the web-based CEROI gateway for cities' SoE reports on the Internet. Strong effort is put into further development for integration of the CEROI Programme as well as solutions based on the CEROI concept on local, regional, national and international level.

5. Summary

The CEROI Programme with the software Publikit® emerged as an Internet publishing system for simply handling complex environmental information structures. It fills in a gap in the global work of improving public access to environmental information as stated in the Agenda 21, adopted at UNCDE Earth Summit conference in 1992. The CEROI network gathers people from around the world to share information on urban environmental data, their experience and efforts. Members can signpost good environmental practice in their local community and promote their achievements globally.

The two-way process of close work, as promoted by Agenda 21, between the city authorities and the community uses resources most effectively and illustrates that achievement can only be made by cooperation and generates enthusiasm for the common goal. The CEROI Programme is the complete tool for providing access to urban environmental information. This increases public knowledge and consequently, mediation and participation; these are necessary to ensure sustainable and environmentally sound development.

Author Information
Name: Elena Latta-Fjørtoft
Title: BSc
Organization: Ugland Publikit
Address: Sørlandets Tecknologisenter, Televeien 4, 4879 Grimstad, Norway
Tel: +47 37 29 51 50
Fax: +47 37 29 51 06
E-mail: elena@publikit.net