http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7893230.stm

VIEWPOINT
Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, head of European Environment Agency

People power is at the heart of the effort to beat climate change, says Professor Jacqueline McGlade. In this week's Green Room, she says that the task is so great, and the timescale so tight, that we can no longer wait for governments and businesses to act.

“ It is no longer sufficient to develop passive lists or reports to 'inform' citizens of changes in our environment ”

The key to protecting and enhancing our environment is in the hands of the many, not the few.
To adapt effectively to the challenges that will come with climate change, including biodiversity loss, water stress and forced migrations of species, we need to harness the information available and will to act at the local level.

That means empowering citizens to engage actively in improving their own environment, using new observation techniques and innovative economic ideas.

Sadly, the political, economic and administrative mechanisms that we design to tackle environmental concerns all too often leave citizens sidelined as silent observers.

Information is made available as lists of figures or spreadsheets that only experts can interpret.

Imagine if all the statistics that inform our evening weather forecasts were presented in this way, or all the data that drives popular software like Google or Windows.

Do you think they would continue to be as popular?

To encourage and benefit from participation we need to present our information in a way everyone can understand.

To address this urgent need the European Environment Agency (EEA) is working with the European Union, developing new systems to engage citizens as suppliers and users of environmental data.

The Shared Environmental Information System is one such collaboration between the EU and EEA.

The initiative will guide Europe's collection and dissemination of environmental information over the coming years.

This new approach supports the shift from paper to web-based reporting, managing information as close as possible to its source and making it available to users openly and transparently.

For Europe's citizens, this will mean both greater access to information and a bigger role in reporting.

When EU bodies review members' compliance with environmental standards, they will increasingly refer to national websites where everyone can access the relevant data, rather than relying on confidential submissions.

Meanwhile, data collected pursuant to regulatory obligations will be integrated with information from voluntary, professional and amateur groups as well as from empowered citizens.

This will build a much more complete and nuanced picture of the state of Europe's environment.

Read the rest of this article on the BC website.