摘要：Access to and availability of accurate information has often been stated to play an
important role in sustainable environmental management. There is a growing trend of
setting up internet-based information services to support the availability of relevant
information. The current initiatives that aim to facilitate such information sharing through
the web are still, however, often premature and unable to ensure constant flow of data from
producers to users. We examine these common challenges by using as an example a
network-based facility of biodiversity and environmental information about the Peruvian
Amazon region called SIAMAZONIA. Launched in 2001, the service includes data provided
by 13 different nodes. The experiences of this initiative have been both encouraging and
confusing. A good professional level has been reached, but participation by large
information holders is impeded. Participation is obviously considered an additional task
rather than an attractive option for enhanced performance at the individual or institutional
levels. This dilemma reflects a genuine problem in the modern scientific community,
which still lacks agreed ways to reward those who share their data and results
through the web. If these problems are solved, internet-based information sharing
may become a vital resource for environmental management in Amazonia and also
elsewhere.
