The European Environment Agency (EEA) has signed an agreement with Esri to develop a cloud architecture to share environmental data.
The EEA helps the EU community and member countries make informed decisions about improving the environment, integrating environmental considerations into economic policies, and moving toward sustainability by providing accurate information on the environment.
The new system will allow EU countries to share their environmental data more easily, while nations, agencies, scientists, and policy makers will be able to quickly access and consume the data for viewing and analysis in a number of different forms – including maps.
Jacquie McGlade, the EEA’s executive director, said the partnership with Esri will provide innovative ways to present stakeholders with timely and relevant information.
“The agency will now also be able to work directly with citizens in the coproduction of knowledge via open access to data, creation of personalized maps, and simple ways of sharing data among social networks,” she said.
“The two-way exchange of knowledge and expertise between Esri and the EEA underlines just how business and the public sector can work well together to build answers for tomorrow’s challenges.”
As well as the cloud architecture, EEA and Esri will work together to develop standardised templates and layer definitions based on the Esri Community Maps initiative and a collaborative plan supporting the EEA’s Eye on Earth initiative.
Esri president Jack Dangermond said the deal will greatly benefit Europe’s environmental community.
“People will share information via the cloud and use applications that will allow them to analyze and create policy regarding the quality of the environment and hazards,” he said.
