Page 34 - Module_5_en

Module Table 3: State of the environment themes for selected environmental assessments
5 Report State-and-trends of the environment themes and issues

? Atmosphere
Abu Dhabi
? Land use
? Waste
9-12 December, 2013 Egypt ? Water
? Biodiversity
? Marine Resources

? Cultural Heritage

? Atmosphere
? Water
? Land
? Urban Environment and Development activities

See also European Environment Agency (EEA)

Further selection is necessary even after a comprehensive set of state-and-trends of the environment themes
and specific issues has been identified. This is because the list which emerges from this process is often longer
that can be reasonably accommodated in a national IEA reporting process, given the constraints of time, and
human and financial resources. It is, therefore, necessary to prioritize both themes and specific issues.

There are many challenges associated with prioritization, including:
? Criteria for an issue to be considered a priority (e.g., high cost, significant risk, public awareness,
political attention, place in issue cycle [ref. Module 3])

? Relationship to the priorities listed in official policy statements

? Stakeholders who select priorities and legitimacy of representation

? Number of issues that can be included in a national IEA report?

? Process used to agree upon priority issues.

A range of techniques is available to help prioritize issues, including brainstorming sessions, expert
consultations and surveys (Table 4). Whichever technique is used, it is important to identify key

criteria to distinguish higher priority issues from lower priority ones. Additionally, it is important to
have a sense of the number of specific issues that reasonably can be accommodated in the reporting
process. It is important to note that the priority list identified during an IEA might be refined after
analysing its content in more detail. For example, there might be limited data for a certain issue, which
might, in turn cause an issue lower on the priority list to be considered instead.

32 Integrated Analysis of Environmental Trends and Policies