 |
Return to MEAs and Cities Contact: Hari Srinivas - hsrinivas@gdrc.org |
Key Characteristics of Selected Global Environmental Assessment Processes | ||
| ||
| 1. Mandate | ||
| Forest Resource Assessment (FRA): 1947 - | ||
| After reviewing the results of FAO's first world survey of forests in 1947, the sixth session of the FAO Conference in 1951 recommended that the Organization "maintain a permanent capability to provide information on the state of the forest resources worldwide on a continuing basis". Assessments have since been carried out at approximately ten-year intervals. Mandate and endorsement is given by the Committee on Forestry (COFO), which is the biannual meeting of FAO member countries to address and guide FAO's Forestry Programme. The latest assessment (FRA 2000) was also endorsed by the Intergovernmental Panel of Forests (IPF). | ||
| Global Biodiversity Assessment (GBA): 1993 - 1995 | ||
| The Global Biodiversity Assessment project originated in July 1992 when the GEF Technical and Scientific Advisory Panel (STAP) recommended to UNEP that a global assessment of current knowledge in the broad field of biodiversity be carried out. | ||
| Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO): 1995 - | ||
| The second meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the CBD in 1995 called for the preparation of a periodic report on biological diversity: the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO). The mandate to produce the second edition of the GBO report is highlighted in Decision 25 of the sixth meeting of the Conference of Parties. Specifically, the decision welcomed the publication of the Global Biodiversity Outlook report and decided that: By decision VI/25, the Conference of the Parties decided that the second edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook should be prepared for publication in 2004, drawing upon information contained in the second national reports, the thematic reports on the items for in-depth consideration at its sixth and seventh meetings, and on the review of progress in the implementation of the Strategic Plan to be undertaken in 2003. | ||
| Global Environment Outlook (GEO): 1995 - | ||
| Monitoring and assessment of the global environment is one of the core mandates of UNEP as the lead environmental organization in the UN system. The mandate was elaborated in the 1997 Nairobi Declaration of the UNEP Governing Council and affirmed by the UN General Assembly in resolution A/RES/S-19/2. The mandate for GEO goes back to Decision 18/27 C of the UNEP Governing Council in 1995, requesting a new, integrated, forward looking, and regionally differentiated assessment on the state and direction of the global environment. A second GEO report was requested in GC Decision 19/3 and a third in GC Decision 20/1. | ||
| Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA): 1998 - 2004 | ||
| The urgent need for an assessment of causes of environmental degradation of water areas was highlighted by the UN General Assembly Special Session on Environment and Development in 1997, where commitments were made regarding the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) on freshwater in 1998 and oceans and seas in 1999. It was conceived and designed in response to STAP and GEF Council needs for guidance regarding priorities in the international waters portfolio area, and approved as a GEF project. | ||
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate: 1988 - | ||
| Recognizing the problem of potential global climate change, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. The IPCC completed its First Assessment Report in 1990. The Report played an important role in establishing the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a UN Framework Convention on Climate Change by the UN General Assembly. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992 and entered into force in 1994. It provides the overall policy framework for addressing the climate change issue. The IPCC has continued to provide scientific, technical and socio-economic advice to the world community, and in particular to the Parties to the UNFCCC through its periodic assessment reports on the state of knowledge of causes of climate change, its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts and options for addressing it. Even if the role of the IPCC is only vaguely referred to in the UNFCCC, it has over the years been firmly established as an assessment mechanism serving the SBSTA and the COP of the convention. | ||
| Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA): Preparatory Phase | ||
| LADA responds to the need to strengthen support to land degradation assessment at international and national levels. It also responds to the needs of the joint work program between the Convention of Biodiversity (CBD) and the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) on Dry and Sub-humid Lands and was fully endorsed by the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP4) of the CCD in Bonn, Germany on 11-22 December 2000 in its Decision # 18. | ||
| Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA): 2001 - 2005 | ||
| The UN Secretary-General launched the assessment in 2001. The initial demand for the Millennium Assessment came from a Steering Committee comprised of UNEP, FAO, UNDP, UNESCO, CBD, CCD, World Bank, World Council for Science (ICSU), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD), World Resources Institute (WRI), World Conservation Union (IUCN), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). After one year of consultation with the potential users of the assessment, this Committee recommended in 1999 that the MA be established. The Conference of Parties of the CBD and CCD and the Standing Committee of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar), and their scientific advisory bodies have since welcomed the MA and called upon it to undertake activities to meet some of their assessment needs. | ||
| Ozone Assessment: 1981 - | ||
| The international stratospheric ozone assessment process originated in 1981 with a scientific assessment of the state of the ozone layer which helped pave the way for the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. In 1987 an international assessment process with an expanded scope was formally authorized by governments through the Montreal Protocol. The current Ozone Assessment is mandated by the 6th article of the Montreal Protocol, which calls for a periodic assessment, beginning in 1990, of the control measures for various ozone depleting substances. | ||
| World Resources Report (WRR): 1986 - | ||
| A collaborative report produced through mutual agreement by four partners, World Resources Institute (WRI), UNDP, the World Bank and UNEP. | ||
| World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP): 2001 - | ||
| At the urging of the Commission on Sustainable Development and with the strong endorsement by the Ministerial Conference at The Hague in March 2000, the UN Administrative Committee on Coordination Subcommittee on Water Resources (UN-ACC/SCWR) initiated a collective UN system-wide continuing assessment process, the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP).
| ||
| 2. Scope | ||
| Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) | ||
| The FRA has a global, regional, and national scope that is thematic in nature and looks particularly at forests, other wooded lands and trees outside of forests. The report assesses the driving forces of pressures and change in the resource, including the uses of forest resources at local, regional and global levels. The FRA also examines the pressures on forests, such as fires, human population growth, and agriculture. | ||
| Global Biodiversity Assessment (GBA) | ||
| The GBA is an independent, critical peer-reviewed, scientific analysis of all the current issues, theories and views regarding biodiversity, viewed from a global perspective. It was, at the time, the most comprehensive analysis of the science of biological diversity ever attempted, focusing on assessing the scientific understanding of biodiversity's various components - ecosystems, species, and genes - and on identifying gaps in the knowledge base that should be targeted for future research. Specific sections of the report include the characterization of biodiversity, the magnitude and distribution of biodiversity, basic principles of the functioning of biodiversity and ecosystems, human influences on biodiversity, and economic values of biodiversity. | ||
| Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) | ||
| The GBO is the first comprehensive attempt to assess the status of biodiversity and the state of implementation of the CBD at the national, regional and international levels. It examines and provides a summary of the status and trends of biological diversity, as well as trends in the implementation of the objectives of the CBD on the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources at both global and regional levels. The summary of implementation of the CBD at the national level is provided on the basis of information contained in national and thematic reports and other relevant national level assessments. | ||
| Global Environment Outlook (GEO) | ||
| GEO is a comprehensive State of the Environment report with a broad environmental scope that is global, regional and subregional. The assessment focuses on the environmental components of sustainable development based on the following thematic breakdown: socio-economic background, land, forests, biodiversity, freshwater, coastal and marine areas, atmosphere, urban areas, and disasters. Key issues are examined by theme and region, and the report also provides a global overview. The assessment also contains a forward-looking "outlook" component. | ||
| Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) | ||
| GIWA has a thematic global and regional scope and looks specifically at international (transboundary) waters comprising marine and freshwater areas, both ground water and surface water. It aims to produce a comprehensive and integrated global assessment of international waters, the ecological status of and the causes of environmental problems in 66 transboundary water areas in the world, and focus on the key issues and problems facing the aquatic environment in transboundary waters. The report identifies priorities for action for water-related environmental issues in the subregions, and recommends needed changes. GIWA also advocates methodologies for assessments, specifically protocols for the conduct of Causal Chain Analyses and Transboundary Diagnostic Analyses. | ||
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) | ||
| The role of the IPCC is to assess the state of the climate system, including the influence of human activities, the impact of climate change on human health, socio-economic sectors and ecological systems, and policies and technologies to adapt to climate change and to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The scope of the assessment is therefore thematic, and takes place at the global, regional and subregional levels. | ||
| Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) | ||
| The Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) will generate up-to-date ecological, social, and economic and technical information, including a combination of traditional knowledge and modern science, to guide integrated and cross-sectoral planning and management in drylands. LADA will develop and implement strategies, tools and methods to assess and quantify the nature, extent, severity and impacts of land degradation on ecosystems, watersheds and river basins, and carbon storage in drylands at a range of spatial and temporal scales. It will also build national, regional and global assessment capacities to enable the design and planning of interventions to mitigate land degradation and establish sustainable land use and management practices. It will produce - with country participation - a scientifically valid and objective standardized methodological framework for the assessment and monitoring of land degradation causes at global and national levels, including identification of key indicators of the causes of land degradation. | ||
| Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) | ||
| The scope of the MA is ecosystem services and the links between ecosystems services and human well-being. It will assess ecosystem condition, plausible futures and response measures at the global level, and pilot a series of assessments at the regional, national and community level in order to provide the types of information needed by a wide range of users. All major ecosystem types will be covered, as well as the important services provided by those systems for people. Other topics to be assessed include the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems at multiple scales under multiple pressures, as well as the availability and quality of data for integrated ecosystem assessments at the global scale, and at the scale of the various sub-global components of the MA. The report will also identify global hotspots of change (areas of rapid land cover and land use change), and gaps in knowledge relating to ecosystem assessment. | ||
| Ozone Assessment | ||
| The Ozone Assessment has a global, thematic scope. The assessment is quite broad and explores on a range of issues including the natural processes and human activities that affect stratospheric ozone, the impacts of ozone depletion on human health and ecological systems, and technologies that can be used to reduce or eliminate the use of ozone-depleting chemicals. The Parties to the Montreal Protocol are also able to request the panels to address specific issues. | ||
| World Resources Report (WRR) | ||
| Overall, WRR has a broad global and regional environmental scope, with more specific themes that change with every volume. Using data tables and explanatory text, the report provides an overview of several current global environmental trends including, biodiversity and protected areas, forests and grasslands, coastal, marine and inland waters, agriculture and food, freshwater, atmosphere and climate, and energy and resource use. | ||
| World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) | ||
| WWAP specifically examines the world's freshwater resources at global, regional, and basin levels. The report assesses a wide range of variables related to the state of freshwater resources and their management, and recommends methodologies for carrying out assessments based on river basins and aquifers
| ||
| 3. Periodicity | ||
| Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) | ||
| FRA is a series, with reports produced every 10 years, however it now plans to change to 5-year intervals. FRA 2000 came out in 2001. The next report will be FRA 2005. | ||
| Global Biodiversity Assessment (GBA) | ||
| GBA began in 1993 and the report was published in 1995. | ||
| Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) | ||
| First volume was published in November 2001. The 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (2002) decided that the second edition should be ready for publication in 2004 | ||
| Global Environment Outlook (GEO) | ||
| Biennial global state of the environment report series. GEO-1 was published in 1997; Geo-2000 in 1999 and GEO-3 in 2002. | ||
| Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) | ||
| GIWA began in 1999 and the final report was originally due in 2002. Recently the Steering Group has agreed to extend GIWA until June 2004, so the comprehensive assessment will come out at a later date. Currently there exists a series of unedited draft reports, and the priority at this time is to complete between 5 and 8 sub-regional comprehensive scaling/scoping reports to be ready between March and April 2003. | ||
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) | ||
| The IPCC produces a series of assessment reports at approximately five-year intervals. Its First Assessment Report was completed in 1990, its Second in 1995, and its Third in 2001. | ||
| Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) | ||
| In development from 2001 under a GEF-financed PDF-B project. PDF-B duration is 24 months beginning in December 2001. It is anticipated that the main project duration will be 4 years beginning in December 2003. | ||
| Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) | ||
| MA began in 2001; final report is due in 2005. | ||
| Ozone Assessment | ||
| A standing decision requires that all panels update the Parties every year in a small report, with a comprehensive assessment published and distributed every four years as part of a series. Altogether there have been eight scientific assessments prepared under the international auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and/or UNEP, with three comprehensive reports published in 1991, 1994 and 1998. | ||
| World Resources Report (WRR) | ||
| Biennial report series. So far 9 volumes have been published in the series, from WRR 1986 to WRR 2000-2001. WRR 2002-2004 is due in early 2003. | ||
| World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) | ||
| WWAP began in 2001 and the first report is due in 2003.
| ||
| 4. Working Modalities of the Assessment Process | ||
| Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) | ||
| The FRA is organized and produced by the Forestry Department of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in collaboration with international partners and countries. The assessments are mainly made from a collection of harmonized and quality-controlled national information sets. The agenda, major issues and ways of compiling information are developed through formal expert consultations. A global advisory group provides scientific guidance at the global level. Regional teams of specialists provide advice on the regional level. Policymakers are provided with an opportunity to review the assessment - all countries review and validate results through a formal procedure. Overall findings are reviewed by formal expert consultations. Non-scientists are also involved in the process. National correspondents and professionals working for their national agencies contribute to the majority of data. | ||
| Global Biodiversity Assessment (GBA) | ||
| This independent and peer-reviewed assessment is the work of over 1 100 scientists and experts from all parts of the world. The process of producing the GBA was lead by a Chair of the Assessment, Executive Editor, a Task Manager in UNEP supported by four Honorary Advisers, and a Steering Group, and followed a procedure similar to that used in IPCC and the Ozone Assessment. The work was organized into thirteen teams of experts who worked with some 300 authors from over 50 countries who contributed to the report. In addition several hundred scientists from more than 80 countries and covering many different disciplines in the biological, economic and social sciences peer-reviewed various parts of the text. Although the GBA has had no formal intergovernmental component or direct links to the CBD or other intergovernmental processes, governments were continuously kept informed about the process, and governments were asked to nominate peer reviewers. | ||
| Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) | ||
| The GBO is not a new assessment of the status and trends of global biodiversity, but draws on existing assessments in order to illustrate the urgency of the issues relating to the loss of biodiversity, and how the Convention - through implementation by Parties of its thematic and cross-cutting programmes of work and through cooperation with other bodies - seeks to address these issues, thereby providing a basis for sustainable development in all countries. The Executive Secretary constituted an advisory group to help guide the process of developing the report and to review drafts. | ||
| Global Environment Outlook (GEO) | ||
| GEO reports are produced through a participatory, consultative Integrated Environmental Assessment process especially established by UNEP for this purpose. A coordinated global network of collaborating centres (CCs) forms the core of the process. Regional centres are now responsible for almost all the regional inputs, combining top-down integrated assessment with bottom-up environmental reporting. Other institutions provide specialized expertise on cross-cutting or thematic issues. Working groups provide advice and support to the GEO process, particularly on integrated assessment methodologies and process planning. Other United Nations agencies contribute to the GEO process, mainly by providing substantive data and information on the many environmental and related issues that fall under their individual mandates. They also participate in the review process. Other environmental assessments are also very important as source material. The process is coordinated globally from UNEP's headquarters in Nairobi and at the regional level from outposted regional offices. Drafts are reviewed internally and externally by scientists and policy experts, with governments, NGOs and other stakeholders being invited to provide feedback in regional consultations. Capacity building in Integrated Environmental Assessment is an important component of the GEO process, provided to institutions from developing regions through learning by doing and more formal training. Another important output of the GEO process is the GEO Data Portal, which is the authoritative source for data sets used by UNEP in the GEO reports, as well as other environmental assessments. | ||
| Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) | ||
| The GIWA is a highly scientific assessment that is administered by a Secretariat, which is based at the University of Kalmar, Sweden. It uses several frameworks for analysis, including Descriptive Analysis, Causal Chain Analysis and Policy Option Analysis. The Core Team is supported by a Steering Group and the Assessment Protocol is divided into three main stages that include Scaling/Scoping, a Detailed Impact Assessment, and a Causal Chain Analysis. The initial phase of the assessment included the establishment of the GIWA Core Team, as well as a global network of collaborating institutions/ organizations and individuals in governmental and non-governmental organizations within the public and private sectors, as well as in the scientific community. During this first phase, the GIWA Assessment Protocol was also developed, including an approved methodology for making causal chain analyses. In the making of the Global International Waters Assessment, full use will be made of existing assessments and all other available information about the 66 subregions. Only data required for a step-by-step, iterative analysis of transboundary water-related problems and their causes will be gathered. The findings of past water-related programmes will be incorporated in GIWA, and the assessment work will be carried out in close partnership with ongoing programmes to maximize the overall benefit. | ||
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Chante (IPCC) | ||
| IPCC has three working groups and a task force and follows an agreed set of principles and procedures for selection of experts, conducting assessments and adoption of reports. Working Group I assesses the scientific aspects of the climate system and climate change. Working Group II addresses the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change, negative and positive consequences of climate change, and options for adapting to it. Working Group III assesses options for limiting greenhouse gas emissions and otherwise mitigating climate change. The Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories is responsible for the IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme. Over 2000 experts from nearly 100 countries were involved in the preparation and peer-review of each of the Second and Third Assessment Reports. A 30-member Bureau of nationally/regionally-nominated government representatives oversees the management of the assessment process, but all major decisions are made by the IPCC Panel (all governments) in plenary. In addition to three comprehensive assessments, a number of Special Reports on specific issues have been prepared at the request of the governments. For example, governments requested IPCC prepare a report on Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry in order to provide the scientific and technical basis for implementing certain Articles within the Protocol. The Assessment Reports and Special Reports undergo expert and expert/ government review, and a final government review of the summaries for Policymakers before approval by Plenary. Governments approve the scope of the assessments, nominate lead authors and peer-reviewers, are involved in the peer-review process and approve the Summary for Policymakers. | ||
| Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) | ||
| As the Implementing agency of GEF and the assessment, UNEP will play a key role in steering and implementing this project. The full technical, scientific and operational co-ordination of the project development (PDF-B) stage of the LADA project will be done by FAO as the executing agency, with direct support of its technical divisions and decentralized offices and its Inter-departmental Working Group on Desertification. The overall implementation of PDF-B activities will be monitored through, and when necessary cleared by, the International Technical Steering Committee (ITSC). LADA will generate new data, knowledge and processes of land degradation and its repercussions. During the PDF-B, the project will develop and test novel integrated approaches and methods for assessing land degradation in dry areas, that link biophysical and technical with socio-economic (especially policy and institutional) factors, with scientific reliability and robust application to different kinds of land degradation at different scales. It will generate methodologies, information and data for the implementation of the full LADA project. This will include establishing an International Technical Steering Committee (ITSC), reviews and synthesis, thematic studies, development, testing, and revision of integrated assessment approaches and methods, capacity and network development, pilot studies, implementation-related strategies, project development, and others. Some of LADA methods include: expert opinion, remote sensing, field monitoring, productivity changes, sample studies at farmer level, based on field criteria and the expert opinion of land users, modelling. | ||
| Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) | ||
| The MA will not be creating its own data, but will use existing data to consider the current condition of ecosystems and their capacity to provide goods and services. It follows a procedure similar to that of IPCC. The Condition and Trends Working Group will assess current condition of ecosystems and the services provided by those ecosystems. The Scenarios Working Group will consider plausible futures of ecosystem services and implications for human well-being in the form of scenarios, as well as response options available to affect these futures. The assessment will use an analytical framework that is a modified DPSIR, which will be applied at multiple scales through the assessment of current conditions (and recent trends), scenarios and response options. The MA is non-governmental and is administered by a secretariat that is provided by dispersed support organizations (including ICLARM, Malaysia; UNEP-WCMC, UK; Institute of Economic Growth, India; WRI, USA; Meridian Institute, USA; SCOPE, France; UNEP, Kenya; CIMMYT, Mexico). Its Assessment Panel is composed of 13 leading natural and social scientists, and representatives of each of the stakeholder groups comprise a 40+ member Board of Directors, which approved the scope of the assessment, the geographic balance of the authors and which will approve the Summaries for Policymakers. All MA documents will undergo governmental and expert review. MA Board and MA Authors include individuals and organizations from the private sector, indigenous peoples, civil society, policymakers, decision-makers. | ||
| Ozone Assessment | ||
| The Ozone Assessment is primarily research-based, with scientists conducting laboratory, field, and industrial research. It is a highly scientific process that is overseen by three panels (the Scientific Assessment Panel (SAP), Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP), and Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP)) whose Co-Chairs are selected by the MOP. The panels are made up of experts who are chosen solely on the basis of their professional competence, and come into this process as individuals rather than as affiliates of a specific organization. There is a balance of scientists from developing and developed countries, in order to insure truly "global" documents, reflecting the thinking of the international scientific community. The panels are purely technical, and although the assessments provide policy options, they are non-prescriptive and policy decisions are left to the governments. UNEP's Ozone Secretariat receives reports from the panels (reports that are also presented to the MOP) and coordinates the assessment, but does not interfere with the process. The governments themselves suggest key issues to be assessed, but are not involved in the preparation or peer-review process. These assessments have served as the scientific and technical basis of national and international policy formation, including the Montreal Protocol and its subsequent adjustments and amendments. | ||
| World Resources Report (WRR) | ||
| WRR is produced and managed by WRI. The other partners, UNDP, UNEP, and the World Bank are involved at the planning stage and participate in the review process, and may provide more substantive inputs. Draft chapters of the report are mainly prepared in house by WRI and then undergo extensive peer review and revision. Specific sections of the assessment also involve non-scientists, including economists, social scientists, activists, and policy specialists. WRR has a panel of Senior Advisers that acts as a Scientific Advisory Group. | ||
| World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) | ||
| The analytic framework for WWAP involves assessments of human water stewardship, the state of the global water system, and critical problems. The programme has three main components, the first of which involves the preparation of the periodic report and resultant advice, when requested, to governments. The report will include: a thematic component (in the first edition this will focus on developments in water management since the Rio Earth Summit and subsequent editions will include cross cutting themes such as "water and poverty", "water in cities" among other possible themes); a methodological component involving analyses and the production of indicators of water-related stress; and a case study component, which will develop an integrated, cross-sectoral methodology and support its progressive dissemination in countries and river basins worldwide. The second major component is a Water Information Network, comprising a global-scale meta-database; knowledge management systems to facilitate the assessment and dissemination of information; and an online library, website and newsletter. The network will allow communication with governments and water related non-government groups, facilitate capacity building and raise awareness about water. The third component involves capacity-building, the prime purpose of which is to promote the ability of governments to conduct their own assessments through human resource development, education and training, provision of methodologies, institution and infrastructure development and development of data and information networks.
| ||
| 5. Costs of the Assessment and Funders | ||
| Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) | ||
| The assessment is funded out of the FAO regular budget, multilateral trust funds and in-kind contributions from countries. | ||
| Global Biodiversity Assessment (GBA) | ||
| The GBA is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and by UNEP. The total budget for the project was approximately US$ 3 300 000. | ||
| Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) | ||
| The first edition of the GBO was funded from the regular budget of the Secretariat of the Biodiversity Convention. The total budget for the publication was approximately US$ 140 000. Additional support came from the British Government specifically to cover the costs of a meeting of the Advisory Group. | ||
| Global Environment Outlook (GEO) | ||
| GEO is primarily funded by UNEP's Environment fund. Additional funding has been received from time to time in support of specific elements of the GEO process (for example, capacity building and developing region's participation) from national governments, UN Foundation, and in-kind contributions by Collaborating Centres. The cost of one comprehensive GEO report is approximately US$ 5.500 000 (including capacity building). | ||
| Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) | ||
| The GIWA is funded by the GEF (50%), Government of Finland, City of Kalmar, University of Kalmar, NOAA (in-kind), SIDA, the Norwegian Government and UNEP. The cost of the project is approximately US$ 27 000 000. | ||
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) | ||
| IPCC is funded by UNEP, WMO, UNFCCC and voluntary contributions to the IPCC Trust Fund. The cost of the IPCC is approximately US$ 5 000 000 per year. | ||
| Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) | ||
| LADA is funded by UNEP/GEF and the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD (Ms A. Tengberg, DGEF/UNEP) and receives in kind contributions from the UNCCD Secretariat. The estimated total cost of the PDF-B is US$ 1 375 000 and the estimated total cost of full project. US$ 9 000 000. | ||
| Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) | ||
| The MA is funded by the GEF, United Nations Foundation, David and Lucille Packard Foundation, and The World Bank. Additional support is provided by CGIAR, FAO, Government of Norway, Rockefeller Foundation, UNDP, UNEP, NASA, the Government of China, the European Commission, and others. The core funding of the MA is approximately US$ 21 000 000. | ||
| Ozone Assessment | ||
| The actual publishing and distribution of the report is funded by the Secretariat for the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Ozone Secretariat), which allocates a budget of US$ 400 000 every four years for this purpose. The research for the report is funded by in-kind and monetary contributions from various industries, individuals and organizations including NOAA, NASA, WMO and the European Commission. | ||
| World Resources Report (WRR) | ||
| WRR is funded by its four partners UNDP, UNEP, World Bank and WRI (with some foundation and bilateral support). The cost for WWR 2000-2001 was approximately US$ 2 500 000. | ||
| World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) | ||
| WWAP is funded and administered by a Secretariat, which is located at UNESCO HQs. The programme was taken over by UNESCO with a large amount of funding provided by the Japanese Government. Further small contributions for work writing the broader WWAP umbrella have been provided by DFID (UK), as well as the Dutch. In kind contributions have been provided by the UN agencies themselves. Therefore WWAP is currently funded by donors, in terms of cash and project funding, with in kind contributions from UN agencies. The cost for WWAP is approximately US$ 5 000 000 for three years.
| ||
| 6. Links to Assessments | ||
| ||
| Source: UNEP, 2004 |
|
Return to MEAs and Cities Contact: Hari Srinivas - hsrinivas@gdrc.org |