Subject: EnVoc: Multilingual Thesaurus of Environmental Terms ******************************** Greetings Colleagues, The following press release has been sent to you in order to: 1)inform you of the new EnVoc Multilingual Thesaurus of Environmental Terms, and; 2) to provide you with information that you can disseminate in your respective lists, newsletters, book reviews, etc... UNEP has just completed the printing of the English version of EnVoc with Spanish, French and Arabic due out in the next few months. Chinese and Russian to follow. This is the first time the thesaurus will be published in all 6 official UN languages. It is indeed an honor for the INFOTERRA Secretariat, Division of Environmental Information and Assessment, to have the EnVoc Multilingual Thesaurus of Environmental Terms launched on World Environment Day in Korea by UNEPs Executive Director, Ms. Elizabeth Dowdeswell. Please feel free to use this press release as a publicity initiative, send the release to your local newspapers, journals, news wires, radio television and other relevant environmental contacts. Promoting the thesaurus and sharing with others how you use the thesaurus will have a consensus building effect on what professional information specialists are responsible for in your nations environmental information exchange. We thank you for your efforts. Please keep the Secretariat informed of any developments. ******************************************************* Under Embargo Not for release until 8 a.m. GMT 5 June 1997 UNEP LAUNCHES A REVISED VERSION OF EnVoc - MULTILINGUAL THESAURUS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TERMS Contributing to a global standard for Environmental Vocabulary Seoul/Nairobi, 5 June 1997 - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), launched its EnVoc Multilingual Thesaurus of Environmental Terms, to coincide with the World Environment Day celebrations in Seoul today. "Five years after the Rio Conference, it is now an opportune time to reflect on the role of information in the implementation of Agenda 21. Throughout Agenda 21, there are hundreds of references to the importance of information for better decision-making in the management of sustainable development" said Ms. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director of UNEP while releasing the publication. Chapter 40 of Agenda 21 states the following: "In sustainable development, everyone is a user and provider of information considered in the broad sense. That includes data, information, appropriately packaged experience and knowledge. The need for information arises at all levels, from that of senior decision makers at the national and international levels to the grass-roots and individual levels. The following two programme areas need to be implemented to ensure that decisions are based on sound information: (a) Bridging the data gap; (b) Improving information availability". UNEP is addressing both of these issues under the sub-programme entitled Global and Regional Servicing and our global environmental information exchange network, INFOTERRA, is responding to several mandates received from governments to improve information availability. Although there exists a wealth of information that could be used for the management of sustainable development, one of the major problems encountered within many countries, particularly developing countries, is that information is not adequately managed for a variety of reasons including lack of technology and methodologies for effective access. Chapter 40 proposed the "establishment of standards and methods for handling information" as one of several activities to address this problem. One of UNEP's contributions to this initiative is the production of a standardized environmental vocabulary entitled EnVoc - Multilingual Thesaurus of Environmental Terms which is a reference tool for both users and providers of environmental information. The use of a controlled vocabulary for keyword indexing is a fundamental pre-requisite not only for the library community but also for our ever-expanding partnership of specialists working with environmental data and information. In the absence of a standard environmental vocabulary it would be inconceivable to compile meaningful datasets and information products let alone exchange them in an efficient and harmonised manner. EnVoc is the latest edition of the INFOTERRA Thesaurus of environmental Terms fully revised to reflect emerging environmental concerns and new technologies especially in the field of environmental information. The thesaurus has evolved from an unstructured list of keywords with very limited application to a structured environmental thesaurus with a broad application base comprising of librarians, documentalists, database developers, thesaurus developers, terminologists, GIS specialists, translators, interpreters and environmental information specialists in general. EnVoc is being published in all six official United Nations languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. UNEP would like to especially thank the Government of Sweden for funding the production of the thesaurus in the Arabic, English, French and Spanish, under the Agenda 21 Trust Fund. The Russian and Chinese versions are being published with assistance from the Governments of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China. Additionally a number of other Governments have undertaken the translation into their national languages. The initiative taken by these Governments in translating the thesaurus into their national languages is testimony to the importance they attach to environmental terminology and the value of the thesaurus as a reference tool. UNEP wishes to thank the Italian Government for assistance received from the INFOTERRA national focal point for Italy located in the Institute of Biomedical Technologies of the National Research Council (CNR-ITBM-RRDA) in Rome, during the revision of the third edition of the INFOTERRA Thesaurus and its subsequent integration with the General European Multilingual Environment Thesaurus (GEMET) being developed by the European Environment Agency (EEA). As testimony to its widespread appeal we have now decided to rename the thesaurus EnVoc, reflecting its established niche as a leading environmental vocabulary with an international client base. As a subject, environment is multidisciplinary by nature. Its study, therefore, covers a wide range of linkages to disciplines and consequently it would be very difficult, though not impossible, to construct a thesaurus containing every environmental term. The terms listed in EnVoc are drawn from a relatively high level in the environmental terminology hierarchy. This strategy eliminates unnecessary duplication with more specialised thesauri and the end product is closely integrated, compact and more practical to use. ******* For more information on EnVoc or other INFOTERRA products and services, contact: Beth Ingraham, UNEP Thesaurus Team, Division of Environmental Information and Assessment, UNEP, P.O. Box 30552, Nairobi, KENYA. Tel: 254-2-62-4299; Fax: 254-2-62-4269; E-mail: infotinf@unep.org. Web site: http://www.unep.org/soenoe97/en/indexges/nick_waltham/lrrdhome.htm Tore Brevik, Chief or Patricia Jacobs, Information Officer, Information and Public Affairs UNEP, P.O. Box 30552, Nairobi, KENYA. Tel: 254-2-62-3084; Fax: 254-2-62-3692; E-mail: ipa@unep.org Note to journalists: In Seoul, Korea, during the International Media Conference on Environment and Development the EnVoc Multilingual Thesaurus of Environmental Terms will be launched by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Ms. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, at 11:00 am at the Hotel Shilla 5 June 1997. To order a copy, contact: SMI (Distribution Services) Limited, P.O. Box 119, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 4TP England, United Kingdom, Fax: (44 1234) 782878, E-mail: Anthony@smibooks.com Published by: United Nations Environment Programme, 1997, 270 pages, A4, paperback ISBN: 92 807 12608, Order Price: US$25.00 (plus shipping and handling) UNEP News Release 1997/23 ___________________________________________________________ Beth Ingraham (Ms.) ingrahab@unep.org or infotinf@unep.org Information Officer INFOTERRA Secretariat The Global Environmental Information Exchange Network United Nations Environment Programme P.O. Box 47074 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: (254-2) 624299 Fax: (254-2) 624269 ____________________________________________________ Text from the pamphlet is as follows: ______________________________________ Multilingual Thesaurus of Environmental Terms A product of INFOTERRA UNEP's Global Environmental Information Exchange Network 1997 EnVoc is the latest edition of the INFOTERRA Thesaurus of Environmental Terms. EnVoc (Environmental Vocabulary) has been revised to reflect emerging environmental concerns and new technologies especially in the field of environmental information. Originally produced twenty years ago as the INFOTERRA Thesaurus of Environmental Terms, this product has evolved into an important reference tool for both users and providers of environmental information. As testimony to the products widespread appeal we have now decided to rename the thesaurus EnVoc - Multilingual Thesaurus of Environmental Terms reflecting its established niche as a leading environmental vocabulary with an international client base. Throughout Agenda 21 there are hundreds of references regarding the importance of information for better decision-making in the management of sustainable development. Chapter 40 of Agenda 21 entitled INFORMATION FOR DECISION-MAKING is entirely devoted to this issue. The preamble to this chapter states: "In sustainable development, everyone is a user and provider of information considered in the broad sense. That includes data, information, appropriately packaged experience and knowledge. The need for information arises at all levels, from that of senior decision makers at the national and international levels to the grass-roots and individual levels". Chapter 40 proposed the "establishment of standards and methods for handling information" as one of several activities to address the problem of inadequately managed information. One of UNEP's contributions to this initiative is the production of a standardised environmental vocabulary entitled EnVoc - Multilingual Thesaurus of Environmental Terms. User Friendly EnVoc for: - describing the information holdings of a library or documentation centre - describing the areas of expertise of a consultant - classifying a query according to the information requested - indexing a monograph or journal paper - standardising attributes in GIS databases. New! Features: - Available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, other language versions to be announced - Integrated with GEMET - General European Multilingual Environment Thesaurus of the European Environment Agency - Revised from a gender perspective - Biological diversity, now expanded to include - biotechnology and management of biodiversity - Includes the terminology associated with the Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities - Economic aspects of the environment addressed to highlight the new economic instruments for environmental management. - Geographical attributes have been updated using ISO Standard 3166 - Improved relational structure. Table of Contents includes: - Outline of Categories and Sub-categories - List of Terms in Code Sequence - Categorised List of Terms - Alphabetical List of Terms - KWIC (KeyWords In Context). EnVoc is a reference tool for librarians, documentalists, database developers, thesaurus developers, terminologists, GIS specialists, translators, interpreters and environmental information specialists in general. For more information on EnVoc or other INFOTERRA products and services, contact: UNEP Thesaurus Team Division of Environmental Information and Assessment United Nations Environment Programme PO Box 30552 Nairobi, KENYA Tel: (254 2) 624299 Fax: (254 2) 624269 E-mail: infotinf@unep.org Web site: http://www.unep.org/soenoe97/en/indexges/nick_waltham/lrrdhome.htm EnVoc Multilingual Thesaurus of Environmental Terms Published by the United Nations Environment Programme 1997, 270 pages, A4 paperback, ISBN: 92 807 12608 Order Price: US$25.00 (plus shipping and handling). To order, contact: SMI (Distribution Services) Limited P.O. Box 119 Stevenage Hertfordshire SG1 4TP England, United Kingdom Fax: (44 1234) 782878 E-mail: Anthony@smibooks.com A product of INFOTERRA UNEP's Global Environmental Information Exchange Network ************************************************ Background on INFOTERRA. ************************************************ United Nations Environment Programme Division of Environmental Information and Assessment INFOTERRA The Global Environmental Information Exchange Network INFOTERRA, the global environmental information exchange network, is one of the most comprehensive environmental information exchange networks in the world, designed by The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to stimulate and support the exchange of scientific and technical environmental information within and between nations. Coordinated by the Secretariat and based at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, the network is comprised of l74 National Focal Points (NFPs), located in nearly every United Nations member country. The network also supports activities at ten Regional Service Centres (RSCs). The INFOTERRA network processes approximately 60,000 queries on the environment annually, and links approximately 8,000 national and international institutions and experts from various sectors in the UN common system, NGOs, industrial, governmental, commercial enterprises and academia. In response to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) UNEP has adopted a "Results Management" strategy which encompasses the two key concepts of "results over procedures" and "client service first". INFOTERRA has, since its inception in 1975, been a service-directed and results-oriented programme. However, the new Results Management orientation of UNEP has strengthened its commitment to seek a more integrated information system in order to: - provide better quality information to decision-makers; - stimulate training and building of national capacity in the NFPs; - repackage information; and - promote services to launch sustainable development at the country level. INFOTERRA is using two Internet services to promote the electronic exchange of environmental information. Firstly, a Internet subscription list has been established and users can submit, or respond to, queries by sending an e-mail message. To subscribe to the list contact the host at: < majordomo@cedar.univie.ac.at >. This service is being provided by the Central European Environmental Data Request Facility, CEDAR, in Vienna which is INFOTERRA's Regional Service Centre for Central and Eastern Europe. Secondly, information on INFOTERRA and other UNEP offices can be retrieved from the UNEP WWW site < http://www.unep.org/soenoe97/en/indexges/nick_waltham/lrrdhome.htm >. The use rate of the INFOTERRA network has grown exponentially since it became operational in 1977 with fewer than two hundred queries. In 1984 the use total climbed to 12,000 queries and eight years later in 1992 some 28,000 queries were processed. The 1993 statistics reported 10,500 more queries than the year before bringing the annual total to 38,500. With the increased use of the Internet, the 1996 query statistics are expected to reach the 60,000 mark. For further information on our products and services or the INFOTERRA National Focal Points, please contact: INFOTERRA, The Global Environmental Information Exchange Network Division of Environmental Information and Assessment United Nations Environment Programme P.O. Box 30552 Nairobi, KENYA Tel: (254-2) 624299 or 623275 Fax: (254-2) 624269 Telex: 22068 UNEP KE E-mail: infotinf@unep.org WWW: http://www.unep.org/soenoe97/en/indexges/nick_waltham/lrrdhome.htm - message sent by infoterra@cedar.univie.ac.at to signoff from the list, send an email to majordomo@cedar.univie.ac.at the message body should read unsubscribe infoterra your@email.address -