Currently the prototype terminology database is being prepared for access via WWW.

The conclusion to be drawn from chapter 6 on copyright issues with respect to terminological data is that the strategy needs to be flexible and broad-based: the present situation is unsatisfactory in general as far as the regulation of I PR issues for machine-readable terminology is concerned, which is why many institutions possessing relevant and high-quality data are not willing and/or allowed to make their data available, i.e. accessible in electronic form (on data carriers or via telematic access) (either for free, against cost recovery or on a commercial basis in the case of private companies). The Guide to Terminology Agreements (Galinski/Goebel 1996) will provide help in this unclear situation when negotiating with various institutions. The awareness campaign will certainly contribute to an increased readiness of institutions concerned to feed their data into the environmental terminology cooperation framework that is emerging in the context of EIONET and beyond. Active participation in and coordination with existing networks in the terminology and language industry field (e.g. ELRA, the newly founded European Language Resource Association, other European and international networks, and relevant institutions)

Proposals for Future Work

From July/August 1996 onwards, continuous work on the tasks described above is needed:

• task 1: further development and refinement of strategies;
• task 2: improvement of data model on the basis of pilot test phase of Enviroterm. Population of database (integration of existing resources and/or WWW-links to them; collaborative work on new data, e.g. according to needs of other ETCs, of CDS users);
• task 3: continuous extention of reference catalogue; making it available in WWW
• task 4: receive comments on manual by its users and refine it
• task 5 (new task): EIONET/EEA- wide Internet discussion group on terminological and concpeptual issues

The relation to other CBs of the ETC, to other ETCs and to EEA in general is of particular importance,

• within ETC/CDS:
  • CB 5, Thesaurus:
    mutual benefit: CB 4 creates and/or integrates terminologies that are potentially useful as microthesauri in the main thesaurus or for improving conceptual structures, multilingual equivalences and linguistic expressions in any part of the thesaurus.
  • CB 6-9, CDS and EIONET integration:
    on-line dictionary for CDS users (with definitions etc.) - totally independent from the thesaurus!!
  • in the opposite direction, CBs 5 to 9 give valuable information on which terminologies are needed, how existing ones are perceived by users, etc.
• to other ETCs: the main role of CB 4 is to contribute to a common multilingual communication basis among different ETCs and for their specific technical work by providing technical and methodological solutions for managing and efficiently using terminologies and coding systems (horizontal coordination of cooperation);
• to the EEA: a multilingual database with reliable information on key concepts of environmental knowledge will be available and facilitate any work (including the preparation of any kind of documentation, discourse and information exchange among partners).

The following activities seem to be important for the ETC/CDS:

WWW Access to Terminology Database

Exploration and Evaluation of Existing and Environmentally Relevant Terminology Resources in WWW

This task will be a continuous one and also concerns parts of databases accessible via WWW and other telematic means (ftp, Telnet, direct host access, etc.). Criteria used for the evaluation include thematic and linguistic coverage, overall quality and quality of individual definitions, equivalences, usability for and relevance to EEA community, etc.

Population of the Terminology Database

This is also a continuous process including the direct inclusion of entries in the database and the (indirect) reference to existing databases (or parts thereof), by creating WWW-links to those resources that are selected under task 2.1.

In the first phase, a critical mass of entries directly included are to be reached by integrating resources offered by project partners, e.g. from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Austria. The technical process includes conversion of data from different source formats into a single target format. ISO DIS 12200 and ISO DIS 12620 are used in this phase.

Terminological Support to CB 5

According to precisely formulated requirements from the CB 5 project team terminological support will be given, focussing on solving individual problems in all languages concerned, e.g. on definitions, multilingual equivalences, delimiting synonyms, selecting preferred terms, closely related concepts, concept systems, support in the creation of microthesauri and authority lists (e.g. on geographical names).

Coding

Evaluation of Coding Systems Used in EIONET Databases

In order to harmonize the use of coding systems in such databases, those coding systems actually used are evaluated according to criteria of general applicability, their acceptance and quality. In this phase the requirements of the CDS are of particular importance (e.g. concerning the data element concepts used).

Coding Guidelines

Based on the results of task 3.1 guidelines will be formulated for all EIONET databases, based on their specific structures (in particular their data element concepts and the relations between them) and applications, in order to reach consistent use of one and the same data element concept in any database.

Internet Discussion Group on Environmental Terminology

Establishment and Organization

This discussion group is established as a subscription list on the CEDAR server and will eventually consist of four subgroups, in order to make sure that specific goals are not blurred by the imminent danger of Internet-gossiping:
• CB4-internal group limited to partners active in CB4
• ETC/CDS-internal group limited to partners of the consortium
• EIONET-group limited to all institutions active in EIONET
• international group open to all persons interested

Coordination and Management

The success of these sub-lists depends on strict management and efficient coordination and moderation by the server organization. While some issues will have to be discussed within a particular subgroup, other issues gain value from a general discussion in all subgroups. Exploitation of results of these discussions is also to be done by the server organization.

Reference Persons for National, Linguistic and Thematic Coverage

Such reference persons selected may be included in one or several of the subgroups and should represent linguistic communities and national communities, but also subject field knowledge (if possible in muliple combination thereof).

Terminology Awareness Campaign within EIONET

Focus on Ministries of Environment and other Relevant Administrative Units, National Focal Points

While awareness of terminological issues is often missing in such bodies, others are well aware and active in this respect. It is expected to convince such units to start national awareness campaigns on terminological issues.

Focus on WWW Dissemination

WWW should be the default means of dissemination. This means to coordinate the creation of relevant homepages or the addition of coordinated information in existing homepages (in the languages concerned).

ETC/CDS Newsletter

In each issue of this newsletter, an article on terminological problems and solutions should be included. The organization running the Internet discussion group is responsible for coordinating the preparation of such articles, taking into consideration current issues and priorities of the ETC/CDS and EIONET.

The use and implementation of European (CEN) and international (ISO) standards in the fields of environment and of terminology are of particular importance in performing these tasks.

The application of new WWW-technologies such as JAVA an CORBA will be investigated in the immediate future for the implementation concerning access to a central (local) terminology database to be implemented on the WWW-server.

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