Page 14 - Module_5_en

Module 2.1 Setting spatial boundaries
5 In principle, you can carry out an IEA analysis for any given issue, geographic area or level of decision

making. In practice however, there usually are two choices: analysis based on jurisdictional (political)
boundaries, or on non-political boundaries (e.g., ecoregion, watershed). Using either approach has
advantages and disadvantages; only rarely do the two spatial boundaries coincide as they do, for
9-12 December, 2013 the reporting programme. However, even in cases when the report is clearly focused on a country,
example, in small island states (i.e. Bahrain). The geographic area is often specified by the mandate for

there are needs to analyse specific issues on the level of ecological units (e.g., ecosystems, watershed,
airsheds), usually both in subnational and transboundary contexts.

2.2 Temporal scale
In contrast with SoE reports that typically assess past and current trends and dynamics, IEAs combine

retrospective integrated analyses with future outlook. Defining the temporal scale-how far do you
look back and ahead-is important for conceptual clarity. There are also important methodological and
technical implications.

Setting the retrospective boundary is relevant in Module 5, while the future outlook matters for the
scenario analysis discussed in Module 6.

When considering the temporal scale, the key questions you may want to ask and answer include:

? Is the time scale on which you need to report explicitly defined in the mandate for the IEA? If this
is the case, there is little room for flexibility.

? In which time scale do the environmental issues you want to assess show significant or detectable
change?

? Do you need to use one time scale for all of your issues, or can you choose time scales as required
by the dynamics of any given environmental issue?

? How far back do you expect to have reliable data?

? How far into the future do you need to or can you project environmental trends?

An additional question to consider is whether the time horizon chosen could or should be linked to

a landmark event say, the publication of a key report, a political declaration or some other milestone
that can serve as a point of comparison both from the policy and progress point of view. The key
point is that besides technical feasibility and scientific rationale, a time should be chosen that also helps
maximize the impact of the assessment.

12 Integrated Analysis of Environmental Trends and Policies