In the course of this work, not only did we come
to realise the difficulties inherent in the multiple
meanings of the word Atlas; we also had to deal
with the lack of a common viewpoint, shared by
the many organisations and institutions which
study or have studied the Lagoon.
Unfortunately, given such complex problems, the
present Atlas is rather limited, but it is still a first
step and, we hope, one in the right direction.
From the experience of the environmental Atlas of
the Lagoon of Venice emerged the idea of
launching a Lagoon Information System (LIS), with
two main objectives:
a) transferring the contents of the Atlas to the LIS.
This involves specifying the hierarchy of themes
(basic infrastructure) and enlarging the
information system of the Region – until now
mainly concerned with the mainland – to cover
aspects of the Lagoon more fully;
b) defining a “standard protocol” for the
collection, analysis and uploading to the web of
information on the Lagoon (de facto status,
updating, etc.), i.e., all the information which is
currently not available to the City Council, but
which must be obtained via specific agreements
and protocols, which need to be examined and
improved.
It is envisaged that the LIS will become the main
point of reference for anyone seeking
environmental information regarding the Lagoon,
providing a “one-stop service” – significantly
reducing the time required to obtain data – to the
public and professionals, but also to the personnel
of the authorities themselves. It will also enable
the spread and use of recognised, homogeneous
and certified information. The data will not
necessarily all have to be managed directly by the
SIL, but can be kept on the systems of other
structures, to which the LIS will direct users under
the terms of the relevant agreements and
protocols.
The LIS must therefore define:
– the contents of a Geographical Information
System dedicated to environmental protection
issues;
– its initial structure, and the technical and
administrative procedures by which it will be
systematically updated;
– the organization of the data, so as to guarantee
effective public access and unrestricted use by
relevant local government bodies;
– unified procedures for the sharing of data
among organisations.
Since september 2009 the Beta version of the LIS wss available online (only in Italian)
Since 2011 the LIS was renamed back "Atlas of the lagoon" as the original book, and is available online at the URL: http://www.silvenezia.it/
