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MODULE 3:

Frameworks for Environmental

Assessment and Reporting
 The DPSIR Framework
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The UNEP Human-Environment

Interaction analytical approach is built
on:

the Driving Forces-Pressure-State-Impact-

Response (DPSIR) framework,
the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)
Conceptual Framework, and
vulnerability considerations.

It is multi-scalable and indicates

generic cause-and-effect relations.
 Components of the GEO-4 Analytical
Framework
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DRIVERS:

Sometimes referred to as indirect or underlying

drivers or driving forces and refer to
fundamental processes in society, which drive
activities having a direct impact on the
environment.
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PRESSURES:

Sometimes referred to as direct drivers, as in the

MA framework. They include, in this case, the
social and economic sectors of society (also
sometimes considered as Drivers). Human
interventions may be directed towards causing a
desired environmental change and may be
subject to feedbacks in terms of environmental
change, or could be intentional or unintentional
by-products of other human activities (i.e.
pollution).
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PRESSURES (cont’d):
 increase stress on the environment, e.g. rapidly
increasing population, high per capita
consumption of resources, overuse of forest
resources, (negative) imbalance of trade,
overgrazing.
 Are considered:
 from a policy perspective as the starting point for
tackling environmental issues, and
 from an indicator viewpoint, where they are the
most readily available, since they are derived
from socioeconomic databases.
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STATE:
 the condition of the environment resulting
from the pressures outlined above, e.g.
polluted water resources, degraded land,
deforested areas.
 Is important in affecting human health and
well-being, and socioeconomic activities
either directly or indirectly, e.g. degraded
land  reduced food production increased
food insecurity malnutrition
 Knowledge about the “state” and “pressures”
is the staring point for planning how the
environment can be influenced to improve
human well-being.
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STATE (cont’d):

Also includes trends, that may reveal

environmental change, which could be both
natural and human induced. One form of
change, such as climate change (referred to as
a direct driver in the MA framework), may
lead to other forms of change, such as
biodiversity loss (a secondary effect of climate
gas emissions).
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IMPACTS:

 These are functional changes resulting from

changes in the characteristics of the
environment.
 E.g. in deforestation: the “State” of the
forest may change to a forest with reduced
canopy cover. A rise in the price of
fuelwood resulting from this change would
be an “impact”.
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IMPACTS (cont’d):
May be environmental, social or
economic, contributing to the
vulnerability of both people and the
environment.
 For people, the magnitude of impact may
depend on a society’s vulnerability.
Vulnerability to change varies among social
groups depending on their geographic,
economic and social location, exposure to
change and capacity to mitigate or adapt to
change.
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RESPONSES:
 Societal or individual actions taken to
overcome, reduce, correct or prevent
negative environmental impacts; correct
environmental damage; or conserve natural
resources.
 May include regulatory action,
environmental or research expenditures,
public opinion and consumer preferences,
changes in management strategies, and the
provision of environmental information.
 Satisfactory indicators of societal response
tend to be the most difficult to develop and
interpret.
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RESPONSES (cont’d):

May be made as elements among the drivers,

pressures, or impacts which may be used for
managing society in order to alter the human-
environment interactions.
 May be made at different levels, for example,
environmental laws and institutions at national
level, and MEAs and institutions at the regional
and international levels
 Local IEAR
Alemaya lakes in the Ethiopian Highlands
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The Alemaya lakes in

the Ethiopian
Highlands originally
covered more than
175.14 ha but had
shrunk to 87.91 ha in
1985 and to a mere
58.60 in 2002. It is now
believed that the lakes
have all but completely
dried up.
 Local IEAR
Alemaya lakes in the Ethiopian Highlands (cont’d)
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The loss of the lakes,

which were a source of
drinking water and
were used for
irrigation and
fisheries, has affected
the livelihoods and
well-being of more
than 550 000 people in
the Ethiopian towns of
Alemaya and Harar.
 Local IEAR
Alemaya lakes in the Ethiopian Highlands (cont’d)
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Some pressures and impacts responsible for

the reduction of Alemaya Lakes:

A dramatic increase in both urban and rural

settlements has put tremendous pressure on natural
resources in the area, including water resources
Engineering works, including the construction of
roads and other infrastructure, loosened topsoil,
leading to soil erosion and siltation of the lakes
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DPSIR Model
 Global
Regional
Local HUMAN SOCIETY
D – DRIVERS: I – IMPACTS
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Material, Human and Social Capitals Change in human well-being

broadly defined as human
freedoms of choice and actions, to
Human development: achieve, inter alia:
- Population demographics - security
- Economic processes (consumption,
R – RESPONSES - basic material needs
production, markets and trade) to environmental challenges: - good health
- Scientific and technological innovation formal and informal adaptation to, - good social relations
- Distribution pattern processes (inter- and and mitigation of, environmental which may result in human
intra- generational) change (including restoration) by development or poverty, inequity
- Cultural, social, political and institutional altering human activity and and human vulnerability.
(including production and service sectors) development patterns within and
processes between the D, P and I boxes
through inter alia: science and Demographic, social
technology, policy, law and (institutional) and material
P – PRESSURES: institutions. factors determining human
well-being
Human interventions in the
environment:
- Land-use
Environmental factors
- Resource extraction
determining human well-being
- External inputs (fertilizers,
- Ecological services such as
chemicals, irrigation)
Provisioning services
- Emissions (pollutants and
(consumptive use), Cultural
waste)
services (non-consumptive use),
- Modification and movement
Regulating services and
of organisms
S – STATE and trends: Supporting services (indirect use)
ENVIRONMENT

Natural capital: atmosphere, land, water and biodiversity - Non-ecosystem natural

resources i.e. hydrocarbons,
minerals and renewable energy
Natural processes: - Stress inter alia diseases, pests,
- Solar radiation Environmental impacts and change: radiation and hazards
- Volcanoes - Climate Change and Depletion of the Stratospheric Ozone Layer
- Earthquakes - Biodiversity change
- Pollution, degradation and/or depletion of air, water, minerals and
land (including desertification)

TIME: 1987 2007 - 2015(short term) 2050 (medium term) (long term)
 The Opportunities Framework
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AEO-2 used an analytical model referred to

as the Opportunities Framework. It:

Starts by developing an inventory of existing

resources
Looks at these as offering opportunities for
developing policies and strategies for
sustainable development
Evaluates the effort required to improve
existing opportunities to reach sustainable
development
 The Opportunities Framework (cont’d)
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The opportunities framework methodology tries to

address the following questions:

 What resources are available at the regional and

sub-regional levels (resource state-and-trends)?

 What opportunities exist for using the resources to

promote poverty reduction and sustainable
development (value/opportunities and potential)?

 What are the main challenges that face Africa in

capitalizing on the opportunities to utilize the resources
(demands/pressures)?
 The Opportunities Framework (cont’d)
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 What policy and institutional actions should be

taken in order to capitalize on the opportunities?

What is the impact (including potential) of each

policy on the assets and the environment? (policy
actions)?

 What would be the consequences of Africa’s

success/failure to seize the opportunities? What would
be the consequences of Africa’s seizing the
opportunities (outlook)?
 AEO-2 Opportunities Framework Model
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GLOBAL
REGIONAL
SUB-REGIONAL
NATIONAL

Global
conditions

STATE POLICY
ACTIONS
DE
GR Option
Demands AD s
and ED
OPPORTUNITIES
Pressures
CURRENT

TRENDS

IMPACTS/NEW
STATE:
Ecosystems,
human and
economic
vulnerability
 Other analytical frameworks
The Issues Framework
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 Highlights priority issues such as land

degradation, loss of biodiversity, etc., in its
assessment

 Lacks a systematic and comprehensive

basis for analysis

 However, focus on priority issues may

easily increase public awareness and
receive political support for emerging
issues
 Other analytical frameworks (cont’d)
The Resource Sector framework
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 Uses a human activity classification (e.g. agriculture,

tourism, forestry) as a basis for organizing
environmental assessment.

 Takes advantage of the way national governments

and statistical systems are organized.

 Provides information on benefits and products

derived from the environment and the economic
consequences of environmental trends.

 However, it is narrow in focus and may neglect

broader ecosystems linkages and implications.
 Other analytical frameworks (cont’d)
Environmental Media Framework
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 Represents the traditional way of reporting on the state of

the environment.

 Reflects the way we commonly divide the environment into

components and the way environmental monitoring is
undertaken.

 Reflects legislative mandates and national goals.

 Facilitates comprehensive analysis within each

environmental component.

 However, it is weak at accommodating ecological processes

or problems affecting more than one environmental
medium.