GEMStat interoperability information note
UNEP’s Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) Water Programme expands GEMStat, the only global database on water quality data and statistics, as an open web service

Burlington/Nairobi/Mexico, 22 March 2005.  This year, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), through its GEMS/Water Programme, is contributing to World Water Day by making its scientific resource, GEMStat, operate as an open Web service.  GEMStat provides environmental water quality data and information of the highest integrity, accessibility and interoperability. These data serve to strengthen the scientific basis for global and regional water assessments, indicators and early warning.  GEMStat website is intended to share surface and ground water quality data sets collected from the GEMS/Water Global Network, including over 1,500 stations, two million records, and over 100 parameters.

Open Web services will enable GEMStat to respond not only to users’ requests for water quality data, but also to requests coming from other computer systems. These other computer systems could include UNEP's environmental assessment database, the Global Environment Outlook data portal; ECOLEX, the international database of environmental law jointly run by IUCN, FAO and UNEP; or the endangered species and protected areas databases operated at WCMC on behalf of IUCN, UNESCO and other partners.

Open Web services will also allow other agencies and researchers to incorporate GEMStat data in their own research and assessments, with less demand on GEMS/Water staff to select and prepare the data. The result will be more extensive and more frequent use of GEMstat data, and more feedback from users to ensure the quality and utility of those data.

Open Web services refer to using the World Wide Web so that database services, like GEMstat, can promote their presence and capabilities, and other services can find and connect to them. Standards and specifications are developed by industry, academic, governmental and other interested parties. These groups include the Open Geospatial Consortium, OASIS, and the Open Archive initiative, and the specifications they develop are published openly, for use by their members or anyone else at no cost. The outcome is flexibility to identify and fit services to particular needs. Many instances of this on-the-fly integration of services have taken place, such as the response to the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, where pre-existing state, national and international information systems were able to be quickly co-opted into generating overviews combining everything from satellite images of weather systems down to locations of individual rescue teams, all through the Web.

GEMStat provides access to data from all types of inland aquatic environments that are important for global water assessment.  These include surface waters such as lakes, reservoirs, streams, rivers, and wetlands; and groundwater aquifers.  All data are subject to standard data integrity review processes.

Dr. Richard Robarts, GEMS/Water’s director, reminds that GEMStat is just the beginning.  “Our focus is on building our global water quality data and information sources over the next ten years, so that the whole international community can benefit through better decisions being taken to manage all water resources.”

UNEP’s GEMS/Water Programme is mandated to collect data and information on inland water quality for environmental assessments at regional and global levels.  These water quality data cover both surface and groundwater resources.  However, there are many gaps that need to be filled, especially in terms of geospatial and temporal coverage.  The current state of data distribution was featured in the 2005 UNEP Annual Report (www.unep.org) and specific details are reported country-by-country in the 2005 State of the GEMS/Water Global Network and Annual Report (www.gemswater.org).   

GEMStat is accessible at www.gemstat.org, and user feedback and data submissions are invited.

What does GEMS/Water do?
Since its establishment in 1978, UNEP’s Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) Water Programme has become the primary source for global environmental water quality data. It is a multi-faceted water science centre oriented towards knowledge development on inland quality issues throughout the world.  Major activities include monitoring, assessment and capacity building. The twin goals of the programme are to improve water quality monitoring and assessment capabilities in participating countries, and to determine the status and trends of regional and global water quality.  These goals are implemented through the GEMS/Water data bank, including water quality data and information from more than 100 countries, with over two million entries for lakes, reservoirs, rivers and groundwater systems. By compiling a global database, GEMS/Water adds value to country-level data by contributing to global and regional water quality assessments. The programme also carries out evaluations on a range of water quality issues and methodologies. GEMS/Water data have been used by other organizations, including the UN system and universities around the world.

World Water Day, considered one of the most important events on the environment calendar, is celebrated every year in more than 100 countries. The occasion serves to inspire political and community action. Governments, individuals, non-governmental organizations, community and youth groups, business, industry and the media undertake a variety of activities aimed at renewing their commitment to the protection of the water environment. Individuals and organizations are invited to celebrate WWD and learn about what others are doing across the globe. (www.worldwaterday2006.org)

For more information about water quality, please contact: Dr. Richard D. Robarts, Director, UN GEMS/Water Programme, 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, Ontario, L7R 4A6, Canada, tel: + 1 306 975 6047 fax: + 1 306 975 5143 e-mail: richard.robarts@gemswater.org or salif.diop@unep.org .