Setting the stage for a Shared Environmental Information System

Abstract There has been a significant increase in efforts to improve environmental data sharing practices in the past decade. One such initiative is the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS), initiated by the European Commission in 2008, as part of a process to facilitate regular environmental assessments and State-of-the-Environment Reporting (SOER). Using SEIS as a case study example, this paper takes its departure from the 8th Environment for Europe (EFE) Ministerial conference to identify ongoing processes and challenges surrounding environmental data and information sharing. The paper relies on data obtained for the 2016 report on progress in establishing SEIS in support of regular reporting in the pan-European region. The article demonstrates a number of gaps with regards to the availability and accessibility of certain environmental datasets and indicators and highlights the suboptimal use of information, where comprehensive data flows and high-quality information is not being used adequately in support of policymaking or where there is selective use of environmental indicators. Against this background, questions arise as to whether applied models for data sharing can be implemented with equal success across different regions and countries that are characterized by heterogeneous and complex data practices and data flows. Most importantly, results from the SEIS progress report demonstrate the pressing need for a better understanding of environmental data types, data packaging and data flows across multiples contexts, epistemic cultures and policy making.