How does the MA relate to the Global Environment Outlook (GEO)?
Both the MA and GEO are integral parts of the environmental assessment activities undertaken in connection with the UN system. The MA serves a role similar to IPCC – it is designed to respond to needs of a particular user audience (the ecosystem-related conventions) on a particular set of environmental issues (ecosystem-related) and is intended to provide a summary of the state of the science for that audience. If successful, the MA will be repeated but it may only be repeated at 5-10 year intervals. In contrast, GEO reports every two years on all aspects of the environment to a broad audience. Just as GEO would turn to the IPCC reports for the state of the science on climate, it would be expected to be able to use the MA findings as a means of enhancing the information that it is able to report on ecosystem-related issues. The MA is also being designed to link closely with the GEO network of collaborating centers, in part to help directly strengthen the capacity of that network in the
