Mobilising data - Environmental data, technical and governance issues

Chapter Seven, 'Environmental Data, Technical and Governance Issues', introduces some of the specific features of mobilising open data, by focusing on one context in which this is already happening - the geospatial data sector, including environmental data and earth sciences. This case study shows how the use of open data to support the challenges facing the world in terms of global environmental challenges is supported by scientists, governments, policymakers and activists. This generalised sense of consensus has helped stakeholders to mobilise some levels of open data within its broad community. In addition, e forts to strengthen the political cohesion of geographical regions (e.g. the EU), to digitise public administration, to better understand and mitigate global-scale phenomena (e.g. climate change), or the growing interest in space programmes, are all greatly contributing to the momentum of the open data movement in the geospatial sector. The chapter elaborates on the geospatial data ecosystem and the way that its stakeholders are addressing technological issues such as interoperability at the infrastructural as well as the semantic level. The chapter also considers the issue of governance, which is recognised as one of the most important aspects of developing open access to geospatial data. This requires mutually- agreed policies on the exchange, sharing, access and use of interoperable data and services across various levels of public authority and different sectors of society, at a global level.