Global Environment Outlook (GEO) assessments
Objectives
A key aim of the GEO Integrated Environment Assessment (GEO/IEA) is to influence decision-making at different levels, from national to global. GEO objectives are, inter alia, to facilitate the production of accessible , but scientifically relevant environmental information to policymakers, and to increase the capacity of governments to use environmental information for decision-making and action planning for sustainable development. The GEO/IEA methodology facilitates wide participation and cooperation among stakeholders at different levels.
Description
The GEO process was initiated by UNEP in 1995. It builds on the concept that assessment and reporting are not goals as such, but tools critical to effective environmental management. GEO uses the Driving Force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response + Scenarios (DSPIR+S) framework through which the GEO report series and other materials, including data tools, are developed to provide relevant information for environmental decision-making.
GEO methodology facilitates the integration of the widest possible range of social, economic, political and cultural pressures, and root causes affecting the state of the environment and environmental trends. Every attempt is made to identify cases of state and trends resulting from a combination of pressures, and if possible, to discuss the degree to which each pressure impacts the environment and human health. The assessment evaluates change s in the state of the environment that impact the sustainability of ecosystems and human well-being. An analysis of the effectiveness of policy responses -- for example multilateral environmental agreements -- is a vital part of GEO methodology. Scenarios are used to explore the environmental outlook. In GEO-3, for example, four scenarios are used to explore what the future could be, depending on different policy approaches. To avoid duplication and overlaps, the GEO process utilizes existing databases and indicators to provide quantitative information needed to describe any of its components.
Examples
The GEO reports have been published since 1997, beginning with GEO-1, GEO-2000 in 1999, and GEO-3 in 2002. The process has since been adapted for national, subregional, and regional levels. The main environmental themes of the reports include atmosphere , land, forests, biodiversity, freshwater, marine and coastal areas, urban areas, disasters , and socio-economic issues. Human vulnerability to environmental change is also a major theme. The development of GEO-3 took about 30 months, involving some 1,000 individuals and 40 institutions from around the world.
Relevance to policy-making
GEO assessments have been carried out at the global, regional, sub-regional, and national levels catering to information needs at these levels. The information gleaned through GEO assessment has been used frequently in decision-making for ums such as global and regional forums of ministers of the environment, and in environmental education at different levels. Regional bodies such as the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and the Twelfth Meeting of the Forum of Ministers (Barbados 2000) have formally adopted the GEO methodology in terms of integrated environmental assessment in their respective regions. GEO-3 materials were adapted in many of the regional Preparatory Committee Meetings leading up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. Before that, GEO-2000 was used in the preparation of the report of the UN Secretary General to the Millennium Summit in the year 2000. The GEO process is, therefore, a very important tool in providing policymakers with up-to-date environmental information critical to sustainable development. It also addresses, for example, the needs of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration.
Other Examples of GEO Application
Examples of other GEO-related materials include GEO-Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa Environment Outlook, Caucasus Environment Outlook (CEO) 2002, and GEO Brazil 2002.
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Link to the GEO site
Description of trends and key indicators for water, atmosphere, biodiversity, etc., as summarized in the GEO Global Environmental Outlook Year Book of the United Nations Environment Programme.
References
The following is a compilation of selected web sites of stakeholders involved in environment outlook assessments, accessing relevant materials that have been produced over the years: