Web-basierte Umweltinformationssyssteme für die Öffentlichkeit: Konzepte, Potentiale und Realisierbarkeit

Sustainable development requires an increased public awareness of environmental issues, which can only be achieved by making environmental information accessible to the public. In general Environmental Information Systemscan play a significant role in achieving this goal. Though an analysis of existing Environmental Information Systems shows, that it does not suffice to simply grant the public access to these systems, which were originally designed for the use by experts. To meet the public demand for environmental information, a new generation of Environmental Information Systems, specifically designed for public use, has to be developed. This paper presents new concepts for the development of Public Environmental Information Systems and evaluates their viability in the context of a case study, the Theme Park Soil. A specific type of project organization represented by a new process model is proposed along with a suitable it-infrastructure. Attracting the publics' attention demands a multi-media presentation, which is informative as well as entertaining. The creation of such a system requires an interdisciplinary team of experts coordinated by a cooperative project-management. Public demands as well as the domain specific characteristics and structure of data held by environmental authorities must be considered from the start, in the planning and design of the system. A common set of conceptual and design related guidelines, guarantees a consistent and easily comprehensible presentation. The proposed technical infrastructure accommodates the spatially distributed participation of experts from various fields. A Web application based on a Model 2 Architecture permits the separation of processing logic, content and presentation, supporting an interdisciplinary development approach. Small modules of information are easily deployed in different contexts and can be combined to personalized presentations of environmental topics. On the basis of these concepts an Environmental Information System can be developed, which provides a platform independent communication network for the public and offers each user an individual access to environmental information adapted to his needs and understanding.