Integrated data management: where are we headed?

Abstract

Current requirements in environmental data management constituted the basis for two NATO Advanced Research Workshops (ARWs) held in 1996 and 2001, which, through their contents, were intended as a response to the current needs in data management. The 2001 ARW was essentially the follow-up meeting of the previously organized ARW of 1996, the results of which were published by Kluwer Publishers under the title “Integrated Approach to Environmental Data Management Systems”. Before elaborating further on the topic, it is considered useful to review the basic conclusions and recommendations derived at the 1996 Workshop and to decide where we are actually headed in integrated data management. This introductory chapter presents an overview of these conclusions/recommendations as the point of departure for the remainder of the volume.