Managing environmental knowledge and the necessary IT tools - Environmental Deterioration and Contamination: Problems and their Management - page 434

The objectives include the following:

- A thorough overview and easy-to-understand explanations about knowledge,

philosophy and concepts in up-to-date environmental science;
◦ Interactive representation of the state of artat professional level, collection of

available knowledge in an easy-to-handle knowledge base;

- Organizing information into an environmental knowledge base in support of

efficient environmental management;

- Arranging specific access points and levels of the database, tailored to specific

problems and the users' level of knowledge:
◦ Legal level;

◦ Scientific level;

◦ Problems level illustrated by practical examples;

- Creating as dynamic knowledge base as possible;

◦ Providing expressive and dynamic forms of information, photos, maps,

e-courses, forums, scientific and technical explanations, glossaries, etc;

◦ Developing efficient DSTs such as navigators, matrices, basic and directed

searches, page maps;

◦ Ensuring sustainability and further development;

◦ Establishing a simplified version of basic information in an easy-to-read form;

◦ Implementing all these in a collaborative form taking into account the

conceptual structure and comprehensive verification of the content.

2.2 The structure and content of the ENFO knowledge base
Figure 12.1 shows the structure and levels of the ENFO knowledge base. It is a
three-dimensional system with legal, scientific and practical engineering levels, and
the information is arranged in two-dimensional matrices within these levels, where the
environmental problems and compartments are combined with risk management, risk
assessment and risk reduction methodologies and the relevant scientific bases.
The databases, which contain the information organized in a problem-specific
form, can be considered a fourth dimension to be used by the search engines and the
more professionally established DSTs (matrices and navigators). The IT solutions are
described in Section 3 of this Chapter.
The individual parts of the database have special roles and rules, shaped to the
requirements of the expert concept. The site map and its primary links cover the entire
knowledge base ensuring basic search or learning by screening the knowledge base for
generic or specific information.

- Home: The home gives a short description on ENFO and offers the main menu
of the contents of the database and the left side menu with information on the
project, news and publications;
- Glossary: The glossary—called MOKKA Lexicon—contains explanations in the
field of environmental law, environmental sciences and the relevant technical
background of all covered topics: environment, ecosystem, chemicals, wastes,
noise, contaminated land, science and technology. Innovation, eco-efficient and