REC: The Bulletin 8/2: Telewhat?

N E W   T E C H N O L O G Y

Telewhat?

A tool for identifying air pollution hotspots caused by urban traffic? A system which helps planners assess lands contaminated by past industrial activities? A link between water quality monitoring stations along the Danube and information kiosks in public libraries? Or a telecottage network in rural Estonia?

These are only four of a virtually limitless list of applications made possible through the new field of knowledge known as telematics. What is telematics? It's a hybrid word or activity describing the application of state-of-the-art technologies for information collection and dissemination-related activities, the information ultimately for the benefit of society and most frequently used by regional and local authorities in education, research, libraries, health care, transport and the environment.

TELEMATICS puts the existing capabilities of telecommunications and computers to work for society.

Telematics as a specific field of knowledge was the infant of the European Union's Directorate General XIII (responsible for EU research and development activities) through their Telematics Application Program (TAP). Funding of ECU 898 million was made available to the TAP under the EU's 4th Research and Technical Development Framework Programme (RTD-FP), with ECU 21 million assigned to the environment. In 1999, that amount is expected to significantly increase under the EU's 5th RTD-FP (1998-2000), and with doors opening to countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), funding for telematics-related projects will now be available to CEE local authorities.

To introduce, promote and disseminate the results of the TAP to CEE stakeholders, the Determine conference was held from June 4-5 at the REC head office in Szentendre, Hungary, attended by representatives from some 25 nations. "The goal is to build a better link between the research arm of the EU and needs in CEE," said Wolfgang Boch of DGXIII. The conference's long-term objective was to provide a vehicle for determining the needs of CEE stakeholders in terms of future environmental TAP projects.

One need was for the improvement of public information systems. "Environmental information used to be only for the experts. Now we need to inform citizens because they should know in advance the possibilities for action," said Boch. He added that the EU's work was geared toward creating a user-friendly information society in CEE devoid of technical jargon, to assist the region in becoming part of the EU's "European Information Society."

Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Environment and Waters Neno Dimov said that until the end of the 1980s, information was irregularly collected and poorly disseminated. "Demand for reliable information and transparency among decision-makers and the public has since increased," he said. Dimov also noted that telematics had a strategic value in CEE for meeting the new requirements for access to information which would soon be called for by the Convention on Public Participation (see story). Jaroslav Benes, Director of the Environmental Strategies Department of the Czech Ministry of Environment, added that both Agenda 2000 and a recent EU Directive also called for improved access to information.

Barriers to implementation of the applications include public administration bureaucracy, lack of system user skills and financing. Also, some believed that those knowledgeable of telematics and those of environment were often different and had trouble understanding each other's needs.

At the end of the conference, participants signed the Szentendre Statement, a non-binding agreement calling for strengthened cooperation among CEE and EU nations in telematics applications. Contact Jerome Simpson, or visit http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/Telematics/DETERMINE/.

REC * PUBLICATIONS * THE BULLETIN * SUMMER 1998