GEO-5 summary for policy makers

The GEO-5 assessment report has three distinct, yet related parts: Part 1 is an assessment of the state and trends of the global environment in relation to key internationally agreed goals such as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed in 2000 and goals of various multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) based on national, regional and global analyses and datasets. It provides an evaluation of the gaps in achieving internationally agreed goals and their indicative implications for human well-being. Part 2 of the assessment prioritizes a varying number of environmental themes per region and selected internationally agreed goals under each theme through a consultative process. The regional assessments focus on identifying policy responses that would help speed up the achievement of internationally agreed goals. It has been observed that there are many policies that have been shown to work in more than one country, but these policies need to be more widely supported, adopted and implemented according to national conditions to speed up the achievement of internationally agreed goals. The analysis is presented using case studies that illustrate the application of policies at a national or transboundary level within each region and presents the benefits and drawbacks of implementing the policies and the enabling factors and barriers that enhance or impede their uptake. Limited evidence of the potential for policy transfer to other countries or other regions is documented, as often there is insufficient empirical evidence to make categorical statements on policy success or transferability.