Limits Database for an Environmental Information System - A Fuzzy Set-based Querying Approach

This paper describes the design and implementation of the limits database for the environmental information system of Baden-Wurttemberg. Environmental legislation in Germany is based on numerous laws, decrees, and other regulations. Regulations of the European Union (EU) have a growing impact. Not surprisingly, terminology differs substantially among different regulations. Even for experts, it is impossible to keep track of all regulations and their specific terminology. Thus, two main problems had to be solved. The first challenge was to develop a conceptual model that captures the semantics of a broad collection of regulations. The second main requirement was to support (possibly non-expert) users in querying the limits database. Both challenges are met by an approach that can be characterized as a. front-end to a conventional, state-of-the-art relational database system that accepts and processes fuzzy queries.