An integrated approach to environmental data management is necessitated by the complexity of the environmental problems that need to be addresses, coupled with the interdisciplinary approach that needs to be adopted to solve them. Agenda 21 of the Rio Environmental Conference mandated international programmes and organizations to take steps to develop common data and information management plans, and steps have been taken in this direction.
The key word that defines the framework of the present book is `integration'. The book establishes the basics of integrated approaches and covers environmental data management systems within that framework, covering all aspects of data management, from objectives and constraints, design of data collection networks, statistical and physical sampling, remote sensing and GIS, databases, reliability of data, data analysis, and the transformation of data into information.

Inhalt

Preface. I. Introduction. II. Objectives, Constraints and Institutional Aspects of Environmental Data Management. III. Design of Data Collection Networks. IV. Physical Sampling and Presentation of Data. V. Data Processing and Reliability Considerations. VI. Statistical Sampling and Analysis. VII. Environmental Databases. VIII. Transfer of Data Into Information for Environmental Decision Making. IX. Conclusions and Recommendations. X. Case Studies. Index. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms.