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Pan-European Environmental Assessment

The series of environmental assessments of the pan-European region provide up to-date and policy-relevant information on the interactions between the environment and society. The assessments have been a consistent feature of the Environment for Europe process from 1995 to 2016.

The 2009 reform of the Environment for Europe process identified the pan-European assessment as one of the three substantive documents to be prepared for each ministerial conference, together with up to two theme-specific reports.  

After the Seventh Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Astana, 2011), responsibility for the drafting of the assessment shifted from EEA to UNEP and UNECE.  
During the Eighth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Batumi, Georgia, 2016), the launch of the European regional assessment of the Global Environment Outlook as the regular pan-European environmental assessment was welcomed. The Sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) Assessment for the pan-European region provided a picture of the environmental factors affecting human health and well-being at the regional level.

The UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy (after the Eighth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference) tasked the UNECE Working Group on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment with leading a consultation on the regular pan-European environmental assessment for consideration by the Committee on Environmental Policy.

Nicosia Assessment
Cover of publication

At its twenty-fifth session (Geneva, 13–15 November 2019), the Committee on Environmental Policy selected a limited indicator-based and thematic assessment from among the options for the next pan-European environmental assessment.

The main objective of the limited indicator-based and thematic assessment is to provide decision-makers with adequate information to take informed policy decisions at the Ninth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Nicosia, 5-7 October 2022), both on broader environmental issues and trends and on the two conference themes on a) “Greening the economy in the pan-European region: working towards sustainable infrastructure” and b) “Applying principles of circular economy to sustainable tourism”, in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

The full assessment was launched at the Ministerial Conference on 6 October 2022 and is reflected in the Nicosia Declaration. Europe's Environment: The seventh pan-European environmental assessment is available here. In addition, a brochure presenting the summary for policymakers from the assessment, together with key messages and recommendations on the Shared Environmental Information System is available (English and Russian).

Watch the video of the launch and discussion on selected recommendations:

Batumi Assessment - Sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6)

The Sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) Assessment for the Pan-European Region paints a comprehensive picture of the environmental factors related to human health and well-being at the regional level. Backed by a large body of recent, credible scientific evidence, region-wide consultations and a robust intergovernmental process, the assessment demonstrates that regional and global multilateral environmental agreements have improved environmental conditions in the pan-European region. It also highlights the complexity of the interlinked environmental, social and economic challenges now confronting decision-makers.
The GEO-6 Assessment for the Pan-European Region is built on existing national, subregional and thematic assessments, including The European environment — state and outlook 2015 report produced by the European Environment Agency in 2015. It provides an assessment of the current state of the environment, highlighting trends and enhancing the science-policy dialogue underpinning the policymaking and decision-making processes in the region.

During the Eighth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Batumi, Georgia, 8-10 June 2016) one of the topics for review was progress in developing the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS). Countries were invited to continue their efforts and to further develop their national information systems to have SEIS in place in the countries of Europe and Central Asia by 2021. In this regard, the value of UNEP Live and the Group on Earth Observations were noted as global knowledge-sharing platforms. The launch of the European regional assessment of the Global Environment Outlook as the regular pan-European environmental assessment was also welcomed. 

Full report: English

E-Book: Regional Assessment for the Pan-European Region

Fact Sheets: Pan-European region Factsheet

Astana Assessment

The UNECE Working Group on Environmental Assessment prepared substantive inputs to the Seventh Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Astana, 21-23 September 2011) in close collaboration with the European Environment Agency.

Europe’s Environment: An Assessment of Assessments (EE-AoA) focuses on the two themes of the Astana Conference: water and related ecosystems, and green economy. An assessment of assessments process reviews and critically analyses the existing assessment landscape across the pan-European region. It thus provides a basis to identify strengths of and gaps in existing assessments and their findings, their regional specificities, and the ways in which they can be improved to make them more policy relevant.

Access the full report: English and Russian

Belgrade Assessment

The UNECE Working Group on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, in close cooperation with the European Environment Agency, selected a core set of environmental indicators for application in the countries of Europe and Central Asia To make the core set of environmental indicators operational for the countries of Europe and Central Asia., the Working Group agreed to prepare practical guidelines for their application. 

Europe’s Environment: The Fourth Assessment presents a list of guideline indicators for the European and Central Asian countries, demonstrating the relevance of each indicator to other international indicator sets. The guidelines highlight the importance of the environmental issues for which particular indicators have been designed.

Full report: English

Kyiv Assessment

Europe’s Environment: The Third Assessment was prepared by the Working Group on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment in close collaboration with the European Environment Agency as substantive input to the Fifth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Kyiv, May 2003).

The main aim of the report was to provide an overview of progress in the Environmental Programme for Europe. The report covered Europe, the whole of the Russian Federation and the Caucasian and Central Asian countries for the first time. The intention with this third report was to develop it as a fully fledged indicator-based assessment.

Full report: English

Second Assessment

Europe's environment : the second assessment, published on 23 June 1998. Available from the European Environment Agency. An overview is also available.

Dobris Assessment
Cover of Dobris Assessment
Europe's Environment: The Dobris Assessment" covers the state of the environment. Available from the European Environment Agency. An overview is also available.