"Information Access: An Essential Component of Environmental Management"
Paul Boudreau
Project Manager
Coastal and Ocean Information Network Atlantic (COINAtlantic)
Abstract: The basis of good management is good information. In the coastal zone, which includes land, estuarine and marine environments, information for management must come from a wide variety of sources. No one department or agency can, or should try to, manage all of the information. As a result, it is essential to build information networks that are able to draw the required information from where ever it is housed. Fortunately new internet and geomatics technology allows for the development of distributed information networks that link users with the most up-to-date, closest-to-source, authoritative information. But technology is only one piece of the puzzle. Getting people and agencies to work together is perhaps the bigger challenge. In the end, both technology and people must be brought together for success. The Coastal and Ocean Information Network for the Atlantic (COINAtlantic - http://COINAtlantic.ca) is an initiative of the Atlantic Coastal Information Steering Committee (ACZISC) that has been working for over 17 years with many federal and provincial departments and agencies, NGOs, private sector and academics to facilitate access to information for integrated coastal and ocean management (ICOM). COINAtlantic is working to put in place a network of people and technology in Atlantic Canada.
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