1 Integration of Environmental Information and Indicators Brand Niemann, US EPA The Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable January 25-26, 2007 Updated December 17, 2007

2 Abstract There have been a number of efforts to integrate environmental information and indicators during the past 20 years or so. The author has been involved in at least eight of those efforts and now has integrated examples from all of those into the re-design of the Sustainable Development Indicators Web Site which has enjoyed sustained popularity with search engines over the years. –“Create a Web-based directory of the many sustainability efforts at the national, regional, and local levels to foster communication and networking among these efforts.” Appendix 3. Other Issues. National Report on Sustainable Forests—2003 (National Report) Page 151 of 152!

3 Overview 1. History and Evolution: Slides Acronyms and Abbreviations: Slide 8 3. Examples: Slides: Some Next Steps: Slide Updates: Slides –2007 Report on the Environment Knowledgebase –November 15-16, 2007, Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable, Supported by Web 2.0.

4 1. History and Evolution DateNameFeatureURL 1993 to 2002GESHyperlinks to Graphics & Tables Before the Web Infobase ( ) & EPA (2002) OLR/S&TState of the Environment on Both CD-ROM and Web (Author- Once) Infobase and 2001SDI/IESearchable Web Site of Structured Reports presentDL SOE/FedStatsSame as Abovehttp://

5 1. History and Evolution DateNameFeatureURL 2004-presentHeinz/GAO/EPA/ KNII Initial Ontology of Indicators services.gov 2004-presentNICS/NARC/ SHEN National-to-local for Semantic Interoperability presentDRM 2.0/ Semantic Wiki FEA Compliance & the Writable Web t/cgi- bin/wiki.pl?EPAIndi catorDataforDRM presentCEQIntegrate the Roundtables

6 1. History and Evolution DateNameClassificationSpecifics 1993 to 2002GESStatistical Programs within Agencies Programs: About 60 Agencies: About OLR/S&TSubject Matter Experts and Editors Species, Ecosystems, Ecoregions, and Special Issues. Factors and Regional Trends and 2001SDI/IE400 candidate down to 40 indicators in three categories Economic, Environmental, and Social 1998-presentDL SOE/FedStatsGeographyWorld, Country, US, Regional, & Local

7 1. History and Evolution DateNameClassificationSpecifics 2004-presentHeinz/GAO/EPA/ KNII Ontology with Instances Topics, Organizations, and Jurisdictions 2004-presentNICS/NARC/ SHEN Time Series and Maps (Data Stories) Jacksonville, FL, and Boston, MA 2005-presentDRM 2.0/ Semantic Wiki SWRR and other Water Indicators EPA ROE2007 & USGS NAWQA 2004-presentCEQFour Roundtables and CEQ Leadership Sustainable Forests, Rangelands, Minerals, and Water Resources

8 2. Acronyms and Abbreviations GES: Guide to Selected National Environmental Statistics in the U.S. Government (US EPA). OLR/S&T: Our Living Resources and Status and Trends (Department of the Interior/USGS National Biological Survey/Biological Resources Division. SDI/IE: Sustainable Development Indicators (Interagency Working Group) and Industrial Ecology (Interagency Working Group). DL SOE/ FedStats: Digital Library of the State of the Environment and Federal Statistics. Heinz/GAO/EPA/KNII: Heinz Center, Government Accountability Office//United States Environmental Protection Agency/ Key National Indicators Initiative. NICS: National Infrastructure for Community Statistics. DRM 2.0/Semantic Wiki: FEA Data Reference Model Version 2.0/Writable Web Site That Supports Work with the Meaning of Words. CEQ: Whitehouse Council on Environmental Quality. FEA: Federal Enterprise Architecture. SWRR: Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable. EPA ROE2007: US EPA Report on the Environment USGS NAWQA: United States Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment.

9 3. Examples 3a. Federal and Global Environmental Statistics 3b. Biological Resources 3c. Sustainable Development Indicators and Industrial Ecology 3d. Digital Library (State of the Environment and Federal Statistics) 3e. Indicators 3f. Community Programs 3g. Semantic Interoperability 3h. CEQ Roundtables

10 3. Examples

11 3a. Federal Environmental Statistics Metadata Elements: –Department or Agency –Office –Program Title –Summary Program Description –Data Coverage –Collection Methods –Collection Frequency –Geographic Coverage –Contacts (Public Inquires) –Publications –Databases Note: The original DOS version and the Windows 98 version did not support structured tables and Web graphics formats.

12 3a. Federal Environmental Statistics Archived at in HTML and Excel

13 3a. Global Environmental Statistics Metadata Elements: –Subject –Institution –Program Description –Data Description –Period of Record –Data Collection Methods –Data Products Publications –Inquiries –Internet Home Page 14 Subject Areas

14 3b. Biological Resources Author Once – Use Many: Web, Print, and CD/DVD!

15 3b. Biological Resources Another 500+ page report!

16 3c. Sustainable Development Indicators and Industrial Ecology Also Digital Library of Sustainable Development Reports!

17 3c. Sustainable Development Indicators and Industrial Ecology Indicator Format: –Why is this indicator important? –What does this indicator show? –How does this indicator relate to sustainable development? –Figure (s) Note: Actual indicator data in an Excel spreadsheet.

18 3d. Digital Library (State of the Environment and Federal Statistics) Mostly graphics with a few data tables.

19 3d. Digital Library (State of the Environment and Federal Statistics) Statistical Abstract: Manual Aggregation to Living Document & “Real” Data Tables.

20 3e. Indicators EPA’s Draft Report on the Environment (ROE) consists of a version of the report for general reading and a Technical Document that both pose questions and present indicators related to: –Cleaner Air –Purer Water –Better Protected Land –Human Health –Ecological Condition

21 3e. Indicators The State of The Nation's Ecosystems, 2002Informing Our Nation, GAO, November 2004

22 3e. Indicators

23 3e. Indicators Note: Ontology as Model and Instances Underneath.

24 3f. Community Programs National Association of Regional Councils National Infrastructure for Community Statistics: The Boston Foundation Indicators Reports

25 3f. Community Programs See December 8, 2006, The U.S. Mid-Atlantic Super-Region - Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable – III at

26 3g. Semantic Interoperability See Next Slides

27 3g. Semantic Interoperability Note: Expanded format for each Indicator plus links to actual data!

28 3g. Semantic Interoperability Note: Very Comprehensive Report That Was Straightforward to Repurpose!

29 3g. Semantic Interoperability Note: Comprehensive Report That Was Also Straightforward to Repurpose!

30 3g. Semantic Interoperability Indicator Format: –What Is This Indicator? –Why Is This Indicator Important? –What Do the Data Show? –End Notes Note: No data in Excel yet.

31 3g. Semantic Interoperability Indicator Format: –Introduction –What the Data Show –Limitations –Data Sources –References –Downloads –Data –Metadata Note: Expanded format for each Indicator plus links to actual data!

32 3h. CEQ Roundtables Sustainable Forests: –7 Criteria and 66 Indicators What Is the Indicator and Why Is It Important? Graphics Footnotes –2010 Report in process Data Report by December 2007 for review in 2008.

33 3h. CEQ Roundtables 64 Indicators and 5 Criteria First Approximation Report of the Sustainable Minerals Roundtable

34 4. Some Next Steps Continue to use the LivePublish “Author Once – Use Many: Web, Print, and CD/DVD” system that has demonstrated longevity of information system technology based on Web standards. Continue to build the “Web-based directory” and use the new authoring and editing tools (Wikis and Semantic Wikis) in support of the Integration and Synthesis Group (ISG). Continue to develop the “Indicator Ontology” that provides a metamodel (KNII top-level framework) for organizing and finding the content and identifying information gaps.

35 5. Updates EPA’s 2007 Report on the Environment (ROE) Knowledgebase –EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment (ROE) contains thorough documentation and standard metadata templates (see Appendix A in Part 1) for the 86 indicators selected using six criteria based on EPA’s Information Quality Guidelines and a Peer Review Process described in Appendix B of the report. This was “reused” to create a knowledgebase (see Slide 38 that contains a metadata database that could be considered to be “an integrated, agency-wide metadata management tool” and is similar to interagency data sharing and reuse done for years in EPA's Guide to Selected National Environmental Statistics in the U.S. Government and the Integration of Environmental Information and Indicators.EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment (ROE)EPA’s Information Quality Guidelines Source: A New Enterprise Data Management Strategy for the US EPA - Part 1: Overview, August 15, See Word and PowerPoint.WordPowerPoint Source: A New Enterprise Data Management Strategy for the US EPA - Part 2: Inventory of Data Assets, August 29, Word.Word Source: A New Enterprise Data Management Strategy for the US EPA - Part 3: Integration of Data Tables, September 5, Word.Word

36 5. Updates Appendix A. EPA’s 2007 Report on the Environment: Science Report Metadata Template –1. Data Set Source –2. Data Collection Date –3. Data Collection Frequency –4. Data Set Description –5. Technical Questions: (1) Are the physical, chemical, or biological measurements upon which this indicator is based widely accepted as scientifically and technically valid? (2) Is the sampling design and/or monitoring plan used to collect the data over time and space based on sound scientific principles? (3) Is the conceptual model used to transform these measurements into an indicator widely accepted as a scientifically sound representation of the phenomenon it indicates? (4) To what extent is the indicator sampling design and monitoring plan appropriate for answering the relevant question in the ROE? (5) To what extent does the sampling design represent sensitive populations or ecosystems?

37 5. Updates Appendix A. EPA’s 2007 Report on the Environment: Science Report Metadata Template –5. Technical Questions (continued): (6) Are there established reference points, thresholds or ranges of values for this indicator that unambiguously reflect the state of the environment? (7) What documentation clearly and completely describes the underlying sampling and analytical procedures used? (8) Is the complete data set accessible, including metadata, data-dictionaries and embedded definitions or are there confidentiality issues that may limit accessibility to the complete data set? (9) Are the descriptions of the study or survey design clear, complete and sufficient to enable the study or survey to be reproduced? (10) To what extent are the procedures for quality assurance and quality control of the data documented and accessible? (11) Have appropriate statistical methods been used to generalize or portray data beyond the time or spatial locations where measurements were made (e.g., statistical survey inference, no generalization is possible)? (12) Are uncertainty measurements or estimates available for the indicator and/or the underlying data set? (13) Do the uncertainty and variability impact the conclusions that can be inferred from the data and the utility of the indicator? (14) Are there limitations, or gaps in the data that may mislead a user about fundamental trends in the indicator over space or time period for which data are available

38 5. Updates

39 5. Updates November 15-16, 2007, Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable, NOAA Science Center, Silver Spring, MD. –Supporting the Puget Sound Mashup of the EPA National Environmental Information Symposium: Use Web 2.0 (e.g. Wiki) to build a knowledgebase for a community of practice on environmental indicators (Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable of the Whitehouse Council on Environmental Quality).

40 5. Updates Google: Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable

41 5. Updates Semantic Interoperability Community of Practice (SICoP) DRM 3.0/Web 3.0 Semantic Wiki Pilot Projects: –Water Budgets: Foundations for Effective Water- Resources and Environmental Management Knowledgebase Pilot for the Water Cycle - Drought Ontology and Mapping to the Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable Framework. Being incorporated into the SWEET Ontology with the Noesis - a smart semantic search tool, and High-Resolution Drought Forecasting System by Will Pozzi (CREW/WaterNet).WaterNet

42 5. Updates Google: Water Cycle Ontology