Presenting an Ontology- Based Knowledge Network for Environmental Impact Assessment in Iran

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a supportive and important tool for sustainable development. A tool that easily establishes the relationship between the economy, society, health and the environment and plays an important role in advancing sustainable development goals. One of the factors that can be effective in performing a proper environmental impact assessment is its proper training. In EIA, the concept of training is a combination of information transmission, knowledge, and most often goal-based skills, legal requirements, procedures, approaches, and process-related tools. Since EIA has found its legal place in policy making of countries, its training has also been required to develop the users' software and the formal skills. In Iran, EIA training has a history of more than thirty years. Today there may be a greater need for EIA training through new technologies. Training in knowledge web format combines knowledge and technology together to respond to users' needs well and in an up-to-date manner. This paper presents the Knowledge Network using an ontology model for EIA in Iran. The upper ontology classifies the concepts and communications in the process of preparing and implementing EIA, and the lower ontology introduces a variety of Multimedia Objects (MMOs) by developing appropriate training scenarios. This ontology can be transformed into a computer language and gives users access to a variety of concepts in the field of environmental impact assessment in a semantic web format. The ontology- based knowledge network for EIA is a solution for the existing needs and deficiencies in the system of EIA education. It creates coordination between trainings. And according to the development of virtual education in different aspects in Iran, it can update and complete with MMOs. The ontology of EIA can be modified, refined and developed and also be integrated with other ontologies in common.
 
 
 
 
 
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