1. Thematic Breakout Session: Panel 7.2. Environmental & Geospatial Data & Metadata Report by: Raed M. Sharif

2. Panel 7.2. Environmental & Geospatial Data & Metadata Session Chair: Antônio Miguel Monteiro, INPE, Brazil Speakers and titles of their presentations: Environmental & Geospatial Data for modelling processes in the Amazon Region. Challenges, barriers and goals over studies of Biodiversity and Land Use and Land Cover Change at GEOMA Project, Silvana Amaral, INPE - GEOMA, BrazilEnvironmental & Geospatial Data for modelling processes in the Amazon Region. Challenges, barriers and goals over studies of Biodiversity and Land Use and Land Cover Change at GEOMA Project Open GeoSpatial Data: Difficult but Necessary, Puneet Kishor, University of Wisconsin, USAOpen GeoSpatial Data: Difficult but Necessary Data Needs for Adaptation to Global Change, Holm Tiessen, Director, Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI)Data Needs for Adaptation to Global ChangeHolm Tiessen South America Remote Sensing Data Integration Based in Web GIS for Environmental Applications and Severe Storm Warning, Luiz Augusto Machado, Division of Environmental Satellites-CPTEC/INPE, BrazilSouth America Remote Sensing Data Integration Based in Web GIS for Environmental Applications and Severe Storm WarningLuiz Augusto Machado Number of attendees : 12 including 4 speakers, the chair and the Rapporteur

3. What are the current challenges and barriers to providing open and permanent access to data and information in this field? Legal: –Ignorance- we don’t know much/enough about Creative Commons (CC) and other similar issues –CC is good enough for articles but needs more work for DATA –Licenses, contracts and copyrights Political: –Data policy: Governmental, Institutional and Personal –Sponsorship restrictions –Disciplines differences (e.g., material sciences) Economic: –Program planning- Who will pay for accessing the data? Internal and external –Technical investment –Commercial vs. non-commercial use Social and cultural: –Technical language problems between the IT domain and sciences and even between science disciplines –Natural language barriers –Militaristic use vs. civic use –Top Down vs. Bottom Up –Privileges vs. rights

4. What are the current challenges and barriers to providing open and permanent access to data and information in this field? Technical: –Systems of systems (interoperability) –Open Standards and Formats –Infrastructure for real time data –Enable individual researchers to disseminate and preserve their data –Metadata and Scales –Data integration –Using (putting) technologies together to create user friendly software and applications –Training, data utilization and support at low cost –Storage and Bandwidth –Rights and privacy –Protocols for discovery –Protocols for ease of use –knowledge of the quality of the data –Latency –Security and Integrity of Data

5. What are some of the most promising existing models or mechanisms for providing such access? Open Source Software is KEY Before solving the problems, we have to agree on the approaches to solve these problems. Research- Data- Models- Information- Synthesis- Knowledge- Judgment- Decision- Action-Monitoring- Feedback Example: CBERS is a model – Strategy: –Free access to data for Latin America, China and Africa –Good example of South-to-South cooperation –Users are from government, private sector, and education –This was very well received and recognized by all stakeholders in Brazil and China

6. What are some potential realistic cooperative activities in Latin America to help address the challenges and barriers that have been identified? –Public license for Geospatial Data. –Educational toolkit(s) about Creative Commons and other related issues for International funding agencies and the global programs. –Create a forum to discuss issues related to open access and its importance to global change issues. –Promote organizing sessions about CC and other related issues at Academic, practitioner, government, and international conferences and meetings. –Convince Foundations of the importance of open access to and archiving of their funded projects- Start with them before governments and private sectors.

7. How can such new or improved initiatives specifically be implemented and who should be involved? HOW? Take these discussions and recommendations to these agencies in their next meetings Involve more young scientists in these discussions. Promote more academic research in these areas Publishing best practices and case studies related to these subjects WHO? –Global Programs –ICSU Regional Offices –CODATA –Science Academies –IAI –IDRC, UNDP, WB, –IDB –CI –EU –GSDI –Local country actors –Universities