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Overview

Reporting on environmental trends and their interactions with economic

and social development is becoming mandatory for many governments and
Module
2 organizations around the world. Assessments and reporting can increase the
accountability of decision making and help answer important questions about
development and the environment, such as: How effective is our environmental
performance? How is it related to current policies? What are the policy options?
These are challenging questions that need an integrated approach based on the
best scientific knowledge and technical capabilities available. 1

Integrated environmental assessment (IEA) is a way of analyzing and communicating
environment-society interactions. A national IEA is complex and dynamic, and
2
requires careful planning.

This module on the design and organization of a national IEA process is based
on UNEP’s GEO approach to IEA. The module provides an overview of why the
process is important, how it is established and governed, who would participate
and in what role. It gives advice on the allocation of resources, and explains the
stages involved in setting up and implementing a GEO-based IEA process. It will
give you a better understanding of the role and structure of the process, and your
role in participating or managing it. This module also explains how other modules
in this resource book fit into the IEA process.

This module will be useful not only for national IEA managers, but also for
professionals in private or public sectors that are responsible for conducting
environmental assessments in an integrated and participatory manner.

1. Pintér, L., K. Zahedi and D. Cressman. (1998). Capacity Building for Environmental Assessment and Reporting
(IEAR).Winnipeg, MB: IISD for UNEP. www.iisd.org/measure/capacity/iear.asp.
2. For more details regarding GEO and the Integrated Environmental Assessment, review modules 1 and 5.

4 National IEA Process Design and Organization