Summary report of workshop on Improving online information

Summary report of workshop on "Improving online information on the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives" held in Brussels, (24 October 2014) ADAM DANIEL NAGY, GOVERNANCE, INFORMATION & REPORTING (ENV. D. 4) DG ENV ACCESS TO INFORMATION TASK FORCE 3 -5 TH DECEMBER 2014 GENEVA

LEGAL FRAMEWORK 1998: Aarhus Convention Article 5 – obligation to actively disseminate environmental information 2003: Access to Information Directive Article 7 – obligation to actively disseminate environmental information, in particular Legal texts; policies plans and programmes; state-of-the-environment reports; monitoring data; authorisations; environmental impact studies. 2007: INSPIRE Directive Establishes a framework for managing spatial information designed to • ensure that spatial data are stored, made available and maintained at the most appropriate level; • allow spatial data from different sources to be combined and shared between several users and applications; • ensure that spatial data are held under conditions which do not unduly restrict their extensive use; • make it easy to discover available spatial data • scope covering also data themes such as protected sites (Annex I), forests and natural areas (Annex II) and environmental monitoring activities, on biodiversity, etc. habitats, species distribution (Annex III).

PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES (1) 2008: 7 principles of good information management Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) Communication Information should be 1. managed as close as possible to its source; 2. collected once, and shared with others for many purposes; 3. readily available to public authorities and enable them to easily fulfil their legal reporting obligations; 4. readily accessible to end-users, primarily public authorities at all levels from local to European, to enable them to assess in a timely fashion the state of the environment and the effectiveness of their policies, and to design new policy; 5. accessible to enable end-users, both public authorities and citizens, to make comparisons at the appropriate geographical scale (e. g. countries, cities, catchment areas) and to participate meaningfully in the development and implementation of environmental policy; 6. fully available to the general public, after due consideration of the appropriate level of aggregation and subject to appropriate confidentiality constraints, and at national level in the relevant national language(s); 7. supported through common, free open-source software tools that facilitates information sharing and processing.

PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES (2) 2013: 7 th Environment Action Programme Priority objective 4, paragraph 65, implementation In order to maximise the benefits of Union environment legislation by improving implementation, the Programme shall ensure that by 2020 the public has access to clear information showing how Union environment law is being implemented This requires ensuring that systems at national level actively disseminate information about how Union environment legislation is being implemented. Priority objective 5, paragraph 73, the knowledge and evidence base In order to improve the knowledge and evidence base, the 7 th EAP shall ensure that by 2020 decision-makers and the public are better informed. This requires simplifying, streamlining and modernising environmental and climate change data and information collection, management, sharing and re-use, including the development of a Shared Environmental Information System.

TYPES OF INFORMATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF BIRDS & HABITATS DIRECTIVES • Legal documents underpinning the Directives • Natura 2000 related information – Site designation (maps & forms), Conservation Objectives, Management Instruments – information for appropriate assessments, compensation etc. • • Information on financing opportunities for Natura 2000 Species Protection Information Research, monitoring and reporting information Public information and participation (guidelines etc. )

RECENT MEETING ON ONLINE INFORMATION • Meeting held 26 th October 2014 in Brussels by DG ENV on Improving online information on the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives. • Based on preliminary findings of the contractor in charge of drafting a study on the topic (Leuven, ECNC, KULeuven) • The study examines online information in 10 MS (FR, DE, HU, IE, NL, PL, RO, ES, SE, UK) and will be concluded in early 2015. It is part of REFIT to evaluate the concept of "SIIFs", i. e. structured implementation and information frameworks • Overall aim of the Commission: help Member States improve information management and to reduce administrative burden, using existing legal instruments, rather than creating new ones • Meeting was divided into 3 sessions: 1) What information should be made available and why? ; 2) Where and how is the information made available? ; 3) How can the management and use of spatial information be improved? ; 4) Overall lessons

RECENT MEETING ON ONLINE INFORMATION – 1 ST SESSION q Legal framework in the EU: there is a core of obligations requiring active dissemination of information and it is not a matter of pure "voluntarism". q Obstacles as identified by consultants: q a) lack of clear guidance means that small-scale decisions are often poorly informed, with cumulatively negative effects; q (b) lack of simple, effective spatial tools means it takes longer for decision-makers to deliver decisions and pushes up assessment costs q Contractor found that poorest information provision was on how plans and projects affect individual Natura 2000 sites q NGO, Birdlife highlighted that: information should be easily accessible via central databases and are easy to use. q Online information should cover: (1) maps of sites; (2) site conservation objectives; (3) management plans; (4) other measures including site restrictions; (5) species and habitats within sites; (6) administrative boundaries affecting sites (7) site history of permits and other decisions. • q

RECENT MEETING ON ONLINE INFORMATION – 2 ND SESSION Second session: Where and how is the information made available? q Contractor indicated that q often MS used multiple websites, q a central portal had advantages. q MS experience showed that in many cases q different agencies operated different sites, no clear signposting; q hence the value of a central portal; q problem of divergent vocabularies and similar information appeared under different heads; q the importance of seeing nature-related information in a wider context e. g. the value of having pressure maps such as maps showing where invasive alien species are found. q 3 challenges were identified such as (1) dependency on information provided by Member States; (2) quality and completeness of information; (3) technical challenges of pooling information from different MS.

RECENT MEETING ON ONLINE INFORMATION – 3 RD SESSION 3) How can the management and use of spatial information be improved – Inspire and Nature q JRC (Joint Research Center): At the moment, there are 340, 000 databases of which 860 concern biodiversity reported: this is only a fraction. q Inspire is the key delivery vehicle for data, the pipework that delivers the water to the tap, but like any other infrastructure it requires investment and maintenance. q Contractor found that there are still many shortcomings on implmentation of the Inspire Directive, such as the fact that many spatial data sets are not reported, etc. q Discussions covered q the challenge of maintaining information systems once they are established q the importance of bringing together those with the INSPIRE technological skills and the policy/thematic people

RECENT MEETING ON ONLINE INFORMATION – 4 RD SESSION 4) Overall lessons q EEA - experience of online information about nature, attracting significant use; - importance of structuring websites around user needs. q Discussions focused on challenges of having a coherent approach to INSPIRE, reporting and active dissemination at national level. q 3 objectives of SIIF: (1) management function; (2) compliance promotion (3) accountability.

RECENT MEETING ON ONLINE INFORMATION – CONCLUSIONS Main conclusions included: q Online information on the nature directives is now an established phenomenon. q E-government provides significant opportunities, underpinned by INSPIRE data infrastructure. q The value of online information was stressed by practitioners but MS representatives drew attention to resource concerns. q There is scope to bring greater coherence to – and get greater benefits from – MS online information on the nature directives. q One way would be to develop a basic guidance – based on best practices and feedback – or checklist to help Member States better organise their online information.