Launched in July 2008 (UK-EOF launch and inaugural workshop), the UK Environmental Observation Framework has been developed in response to the long standing and complex issues concerning monitoring and observations. Full details of the initiative can be found in the ERFF Report 05 - UK Environmental Observational Framework, the current issues are highlighted in the leaflet 'Environmental Monitoring in the UK - the current picture'.
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The UK-EOF has the overall aim of shaping the UK's capability to 'facilitate the ongoing environmental evidence required to understand the changing natural environment, thus guiding current and future environmental management, policy, science and innovation priorities for economic benefit and quality of life'.
A summary of the framework is provided in the leaflet, 'A UK Environmental Observation Framework - where we want to be'.
Officially starting in April 2008, the UK-EOF will run for at least 5-years. It will provide a strategic decision-making framework for optimising investments and measurements made by environmental observations (eg for research, policy and regulatory needs).
The scope covers all environmental observation/monitoring activities done for or by the UK. It will enable funders and users to:
- see the entire observation/monitoring portfolio,
- understand the motivations of its various components, and will
- improve data accessibility and quality.
To achieve the UK-EOF outcomes and deliverables, activities have been broken down into five major but highly inter-dependent workstreams:
The UK-EOF Delivery Plan sets out details of how the programme and each workstream will be delivered. Due to the dynamic nature of the UK-EOF Programme the Delivery Plan remains a working document of the UK-EOF Management Group. It will therefore be updated periodically as the programme progresses.
Bob Watson, the Chief Scientist of Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra) is the overall UK-EOF Champion whilst the Management Group
is chaired by Ian Davidson of (Defra).
If you would like to get involved or for more information please contact
Further information
One of the outputs of the UK-EOF will be a new online searchable database of UK environmental observation activities, this will replace the current monitoring database. The development of this database will form a major component of the UK-EOF.
UK-EOF has grown out of earlier work by ERFF to address a well-recognised need for better coordination of UK environment monitoring. In 2006 ERFF commissioned a review of the current state of environmental monitoring in the UK. The output from this was ERFF Report 02: Strategic analysis of UK environmental monitoring activity.
ERFF set up an Environmental Monitoring Strategy Board to oversee the implementation of the report's recommendations, and from April 2008 this became known as the Environmental Observation Framework Management Group.
The work is overseen by the UK-EOF Management Group.