GEO Matters August 2020

Through the mandate of keeping the global environment under constant review, the United Nations Environment Programme is tasked by its member states with ensuring the latest science and technical advice on the environment is brought to the attention of policy makers and other stakeholders in a timely manner. One aspect of ensuring compliance to this request has been through regular assessments and reporting on the global environment. These assessments aim to report on the statuses and trends of selected global environmental themes but also project their future. Recently, there has been an attempt to assess policies and consider their effectiveness for appropriate actions. The duration of such an undertaking is often longer and varies depending on the mandate, however, over time the process itself has proven valuable through ensuring that key stakeholders dialogue and collaborate to develop the final assessment report. This is a key step in addressing the science policy interface since through the production of these reports, independent experts are involved in the writing and reviewing of the findings of the report which are then presented to policy makers for action. The process is as important as the final product.