Page 14 - Module_1_EN

Module BOX 2 What is an assessment?
1

An assessment is the entire social process for undertaking a critical objective evaluation and
analysis of data and information designed to meet user needs, and to support decision making.
9-12 December, 2013 answers to policy relevant questions, quantifying where possible the level of confidence.To
It applies the judgment of experts to existing knowledge to provide scientifically credible

facilitate the development of social and cultural indicators for the environment, in order to
establish a common methodology for assessing environmental developments and preparing
reports on the subjects.

Source: http://www.unep.org/geo/pdfs/TowardsGeo4.pdf

The rigorous assessment process aims to make GEO products scientifically credible and
policy relevant - providing information to support environmental management and policy

development. GEO also supports multi-stakeholder networking and intra and inter-regional
cooperation to identify and assess key priority environmental issues at the regional levels.
Source: http://www.unep.org/geo/GEO_assessment.asp

Integrated Environmental Assessment provides a participatory, structured approach to linking
knowledge and action. Over time, GEO has developed an increasingly integrated approach to

environmental assessment, the use of indicators and reporting. The “integrated approach” to answering
the questions illustrated in Figure 1 above is an umbrella term for:

? Linking the analysis of environmental state and trends with the policy analysis;
? Incorporating global and sub-global perspectives;

? Incorporating historical and future perspectives;

? Covering a broad spectrum of issues and policies; and
? Integrating the consideration of environmental change and human well-being.

Policy-makers often face a growing list of environmental challenges. Many of these are complex, have
a direct or indirect effect on human well-being, and require enhanced understanding to support
effective response measures and action. The GEO integrated environmental assessment approach
has strengthened the accessibility of reliable environmental data and information for improved policy-
making at different levels. Today, there is greater investment by the international community and

12 The GEO Approach to Integrated Environmental Assessment