Environmental Information System (SIAC) (CO0084)

General Objective Promote access to public environmental information, environmental education, access to environmental justice, and the participation of stakeholders, particularly in the areas of deforestation, climate change, and protected areas, through the updating and strengthening of the Environmental Information System (SIAC) Expected Results To make the Colombian Environmental Information System a key tool for the consolidation of information from the environmental sector and stakeholders, strengthening inter-institutional cooperation, collaboration with stakeholders and access to public environmental information. Consolidating information from the environmental sector and stakeholders, strengthening interinstitutional cooperation, collaboration with stakeholders and citizen access to public environmental information, implementing a SIAC management metamodel (Automation of operation processes), and establishing a solution architecture for the one-stop shop for environmental sector procedures and services to citizens (VITAL 2.0), which promotes environmental culture and citizen participation. What does it imply?  Inter-institutional collaboration between environmental sector entities and interest groups in order to update and improve the visibility of the information shared in the Environmental Information System (SIAC), both within the sector and to other stakeholders, including citizens.  Likewise, this system needs to be updated to strengthen access to public environmental information, in order to promote environmental education and citizen participation.  This implies working in two areas: the appropriation of the tool by citizens and its adaptation to the needs of citizens in compliance with standards of accessibility, design and availability of information. With this twofold objective, on the one hand, management models and an information and services architecture adapted to citizens will be established. These will include a simplified design for information searches with an emphasis on information for decision-making, a unified open data portal for the environmental sector, a blog to facilitate the use of the SIAC, an electronic newsletter, a YouTube channel, the optimization of content and a mechanism for receiving information requests. On the other hand, an open environmental education and culture strategy will be deployed through the SIAC, focusing on deforestation, protected areas and climate change.  This strategy should make use not only of ICT tools and resources (such as hubs for access to environmental information), but also of all those that can be adapted to the information needs and contexts of the public, adopting a clear language and a differential approach to guarantee the democratization of environmental information. In this same perspective, and with the aim of evaluating the impact of the new SIAC and monitoring compliance with the objectives, the Google Analytics tool will be used to measure the use and scope of the SIAC as a source of information for the public.Finally, the possibility of generating exchanges of knowledge, information and environmental data with interested actors should be explored, with a view to greater transparency. This would contribute to the use and strengthening of environmental monitoring by the public and the promotion of citizen science initiatives

Action Plan Review

Compromiso 3: Mejora del acceso a la información a través del Sistema de Información Ambiental (SIAC)

Results Report

Compromiso 3. Mejora del acceso a la información a través del Sistema de Información Ambiental (SIAC)

● Verificable: Sí

● ¿Tiene una visión de gobierno abierto? Sí

● Potencial para obtener resultados: Modesto

• Cumplimiento: Completado

● ¿Abrió el Gobierno? Marginal

En colaboración con otras instituciones públicas, el Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible reportó haber actualizado datos y fortalecido los lineamientos de recopilación y publicación de estadísticas del Sistema de Información Ambiental de Colombia (SIAC) [9]. Estos lineamientos permitieron la consolidación y actualización de conjuntos de datos en la sección de datos abiertos del SIAC, donde pueden explorarse y descargarse datos relacionados a recursos naturales, ecosistemas, cambio climático, áreas protegidas, educación ambiental, entre otras [10]. Dentro de las mejoras también se incluye la actualización del lenguaje y protocolos para el uso de geoservicios [11]. Además, el ministerio desarrolló acciones de consulta previa para el portal del SIAC, entre estas el evento “ReiniSIAC”, desarrollado en octubre de 2020 [12]. Aunque una parte de la información que se publicó fue nueva, mucha de esta se encontraba desactualizada o en una visualización de difícil comprensión para la ciudadanía [13]. Se espera que los nuevos lineamientos permitan una generación de datos más estandarizada, y de mayor comprensión y utilidad para la ciudadanía.