Demonstration of Gateway to Land and Water Information on the Internet
This text is based on the Gateway Home page revised after the Caribbean workshop. The demonstration made at the Workshop was based on the previous version, but was executed with the same concept and similar content as the present format. The following text is mainly an extract from the Gateway Home page, but has been further modified for specific application to the Caribbean region. The Gateway can be accessed :
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGL/swlwpnr/swlwpnr.htm
The purpose of the gateway
The overall purpose of the Gateway is to inform the world community on the state and trends of land, water and plant nutrition management at national, regional and global scales. The Gateway has two functions (Table 1): to provide access to national, regional and global reports by national institutions, FAO and others; and to facilitate entry to the worldwide web of information on land, water, plant nutrition and related subjects.
This Workshop is particularly relevant in realising the first function. However, it is anticipated that the second function will gain significance since the entire internet-based information on land and water resources is rapidly expanding. The reports produced therefore should be of such a quality that they can survive the competitive internet information environment. It is also expected that the reports will feed into, and eventually merge into, the global web and at the same time be enriched through the linkages which this global web provides. Thus, the two functions should be considered together as dynamic processes.
The core part of the Gateway information network consists of the Global prospect, Regional and Sub-regional Reports, and Country Reports.
Sachimine Masui |
The Global prospect summarises the state of land and water resources and agricultural land use trends and challenges in the global perspective. The structure includes a collection of relevant worldwide Internet links.
TABLE 1
Main functions of the Gateway to Land and Water Information
1An access point to global, regional and national reports compiled by FAO and the participating institutions worldwide. This applies to the sections:
Common process:
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2An entry point to the worldwide web of information on land, water and plant nutrition and related subjects. This applies to the sections:
Common process:
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Each Regional or Sub-regional Report discusses regionally relevant land and water issues, in particular hot spots, bright spots and challenges identifiable in that region. It also serves as an entry point for the Country Reports, prepared by the countries within the region.
Country Reports are the principal part of the Gateway, and form the substance on which the Regional Reports are based. They are prepared by the respective country representatives and their collaborators. In the case of the Caribbean, twenty-one countries or territories are identified at the time of the Workshop:
Antigua and Barbuda |
Grenada |
Some general aspects of report compilation, presentation and structure are briefly discussed below.
The report needs to be concise and to the point. It is part of a gateway. More important than giving much detail is to provide reliable meta-data (title, year, data provider, place of data origin, etc.), rich references and well-sorted related Internet links.
The report needs to be easily understandable, reliable and accurate in content. The information in the form of maps, tables, charts and photographic images should be comprehensible, colour should be distinguishable and legends readable. The information has to be reasonably up-to-date. This requires both constant updating in content and an indication of "when last updated". Technical terms with definitions must be clarified. Notes should be provided on how information has been generated. When the FAO approach and methodology cannot be used, data gathered by other methodologies should be used with an indication of that methodology. It is important to make sure there is no redundancy or inconsistency among pieces of information in the different forms.
The report has to be attractive. Whatever the differences in graphic and editorial taste may be, the report has to look in such a way that it encourages visitors to surf through with due comfort, curiosity and interest.
The standard structure and content of the report is shown in the Checklist : Gateway Home page > Report > Checklist. The Checklist can be partially modified to suit specific needs and pertinence to each region or country.
In summary, the report consists of eight sections:
Each section comprises several subsections.
Guidelines to facilitate compilation of the report are provided in the Report section of the Gateway Home page: Gateway Home page > Report > Guidelines, and in Annex 6 of this volume.
Each institution should prepare its own information and upload it on a local Internet server using the common HTML framework or Internet Template, thus creating an in-situ web site. FAO (AGL) will provide the Template on request. The site will then be networked to the Gateway through a hyperlink. FAO will update the Home Page as new country reports become available. Each institution is responsible for updating the contents of the report including the newly found related Internet links.
The Gateway facilitates access to the reports either via Region or via Country. From the Gateway home page, the following paths are available.
Gateway Home page > Report > Region List or Entry by map > Regional Report > Country Report.
Gateway Home page > Report > Entry by Country > Country Report.
