1. Sharing Management of Data and Information on Earth Science about Western China Prof. SUN Chengquan and ZHANG Haihua the Scientific Information Center for Resources and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences E-mail: suncq@ns.lzb.ac.cn; zhanghh@ns.lzb.ac.cn

2. Advantages of Earth Science Data about West China  West China (>60%) is an important region for the study of earth sciences. A large number of data and information resources has been accumulated through studies conducted on western China over the past decades.  Research in this regions covers mountains, glaciology, deserts, grasslands,frozen soil, ecosystem, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Studies,arid &cold regions, plateau biology, vegetations, water & land resources, plateau climate, geography, etc.

3.  Past decades of scientific research in these areas result in large numbers of scientific data sets that cover various fields such as earth sciences, ecology, environmental science, social science, etc.  Their storage and distribution are centralized, mainly in the large western cities and in Beijing.  They are mainly kept in large research institutions and information centers in these cities. Sharing of these historical and valuable data and information resources on earth science is rather important for the studies and development of West China.

4. Data and Information in Great Need  At present,research in the fields of earth science, ecology,environmental science, social science, regional economic growth, etc. are under active way with the plateau, mountains, desert areas, vegetations, hydrology, ecosystems and community as research objects. In the above-mentioned scientific research and practice, the data and information resources of earth sciences are with no doubt precious resources for utilization.

5. The state of the art of data sharing for China’s western part  With the impetus of the National Scientific Data Sharing Project, many latent data are produced and developed. Common understanding is reached for the significance of data sharing in the scientific community.  The full data support framework has not been created yet. The management and storage of data are still in the scattering state. Although some lists of data or metadata can be obtained, the right of the owners of data and the responsibility of data keepers are still not clear. The sharing methods for the coordination of the owners and keepers of data are not well created yet.

6. The present state of West China information sharing  In the field of earth sciences, West China is the part where networked information service started earlier, making it possible for the formation of regional network which consists of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, universities and colleges, and regional information institutions.  The introduction of new technology, new ideas and new methods in earth sciences creates new needs and requirements for information support ， resulting in the increasing information need in different disciplines, regions, and media. The present information support framework can not satisfy the research needs well.

7. The present work of West China data and information sharing As a special information center in West China, the Scientific Information Center for Resources and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly creates information network by way of close cooperation with scientific research institutions, universities and regional information institutions in the region. The Center is located in western city of Lanzhou.

8. The present work （ cont. ）  The Center has 1,700,000 volumes of books and journals collections and 8TB databases. These resources can be accessed without difficulty by the library automated system and network. Over 40 databases are created or purchased. Over 3,000 foreign electronic journals and over 6,400 proceedings can be read online and download. The Lanzhou mirror site of NSTL (National Science and Technology Library) is installed in the center to expand its remote document and information services.

9. The present work （ cont. ）  A series of 18 portals and databases has been created in the center in the fields of resources and environment, such as Portal of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Studies, Database of Vegetations in Deserts.

10. The present work （ cont. ）  With the support from Academy’s significant project, over 4,000 metadata on earth science has been prepared to start the Navigation System of Earth Science Data, which can be accessed and shared online now.  Portal of resources and environment is being created.  Many databases are created and maintained in the fields of earth sciences and are being optimized and integrated to provide sharing services.

11.  The data sharing work for earth sciences about this part of China has a long way to go in the advancement of the studies of earth sciences and its related fields as well as in the societal and economic development in West China.

12. Suggestions （ 1 ）  Establishing a nationwide data and information platform on earth sciences about West China and providing integrated information services through professional data and information service institution in the form of data clearinghouse with the main tasks as follows:  Coordinated guarantee for documents and information resources  Associated services for documents and information  Backup and exchange of scientific data  Strategic decision-making and consultation

13. Sugestions （ 2 ）  In the form of project organization, those institutions that have not carried out sharing work of data and information need to start the preparation and development work of collecting data and information, make lists of databases and finally join in the data sharing systems.

14. Sugestions （ 3 ）  Establishing the collection and management mechanism for the earth sciences data about West China, coordinating the collection and storage of data, and gradually establishing data backup center.

15. Sugestions （ 4 ）  Facilitating the formulation and operation of related policies to ensure the data sharing with support from policies and systems. Intellectual property rights for the data will be identified and protected and data sharing methods and mechanisms will be specified.

16. Suggestions （ 5 ）  Strategic decision making and consultation work of earth sciences will be enhanced through the acquisition, collection and development of data and information, to make the institutions with data and information collection to become institutions with knowledge management.

17. Thank You ！