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UNEP-IETC Goes On-Line
The Centre Puts Environmentally Sound Technologies on the Internet

As part of UNEP's on-going efforts to foster wider dissemination of information on Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs), IETC is pleased to announce the opening of a new World Wide Web (WWW or the Web) homepage on the Internet dealing exclusively with EST related issues. The homepage address is / and will be accessible from 15 February 1996.

Inauguration of the homepage is the culmination of a year's work that began in January 1995, when IETC's supporting foundation, the Global Environment Centre (GEC), began investigating the technical aspects of developing a Web site. By June 1995, the computer hardware was in place. GEC developed a prototype of the Web homepage and presented it to UNEP's Executive Director and the International Advisory Board of IETC in July 1996. The Executive Director and the Board received the prototype favorably and recognized the importance of the Internet as a tool for collection and dissemination of carefully selected EST information.

In order to ensure that the Web pages meet with UNEP's rigorous requirements and include quality information, a task force was set up to discuss the role of the Internet as part of IETC's information strategy and also to design the pages. The task force brought together professional and support staff from IETC, GEC and the International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC). One crucial discussion point was the fact that, at present, many developing countries and countries in economic transition do not have access to the Internet. According to some sources, around 150 countries are currently reachable by e-mail and 120 countries are connected to the Internet; however, the numbers are steadily increasing. This suggests that within a relatively short period of time the Internet will be available in most countries, and information dissemination via the Internet is likely to become considerably more significant in the future. IETC considers the Internet a complementary opportunity to disseminate EST related information in addition to other media, such as this newsletter, technical publications and reports, press releases and audio- visuals.

Versatility of the Web is another reason why the Internet will grow as an influential mode of information dissemination. First, the use of hypertext techniques provides the means to link words or images in order to retrieve additional information. This allows the designers to present structured information that can be explored interactively by the user. Second, the Web uses multimedia techniques - a combination of sound, graphics, animation and digital video. Multimedia is a subset of hypermedia, which combines the elements of multimedia with hypertext. This means that new data types or new kinds of services can easily be added. Third, an individual Web site can be linked to many other Web sites creating a network.

In designing the IETC homepage, the task force recognized that the Centre's Web site would need to evolve in order to meet user needs. In the first stage, however, the focus is on explaining the work of IETC and it's supporting foundations, ILEC and GEC. Regular features on the IETC Web homepage will include news and events, information on IETC projects and technical publications. Articles from this newsletter, "IETC's INSIGHT," will also be made available.

In 1995, IETC, in collaboration with UNEP Industry and Environment (Paris) and INFOTERRA (Nairobi), undertook a survey that identified a large number of EST related information systems. The majority of these systems are introduced via the IETC Web site covering a range of subject areas such as the global environment, solid waste, water supply, waste water management, energy and others. In addition, links are provided to other Web sites on the Internet dealing with EST related issues. Through the IETC Web site, the opportunity exists for users to contact IETC staff and to send their comments and suggestions via e-mail.

Finally, a key element of the IETC homepage is a that presents information on specific ESTs from around the world, including "state of the art" and indigenous technologies related to sustainable management of urban and lake/reservoir environments. This database is still under development, however, the IETC Web site provides details of the proposed design and operation of the database and invites your comments and recommendations.

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