Challenges and Opportunities for Integrated Environmental Assessment

The first workshop of the European Forum on Integrated Environmental Assessment(EFIEA) took place in Amsterdam on 12-14 March 1998. Integrated EnvironmentalAssessment is loosely defined as policy-relevant, multi-disciplinary research into complexenvironmental issues. The EFIEA aims to improve the scientific quality of IEA (in itsMethodology Programme) and to improve the interactions with and usefulness for policymakers (in its Policy Programme). This first workshop formed the start of both programmes.This workshop also formed the official start of the EFIEA, although the idea was launched atan EU-sponsored workshop in Toulouse, October 1996. The workshop provided anopportunity for EFIEA members to get acquainted with one another and one another’s work,and to discuss the goals and challenges in the field of Integrated Environmental Assessmentfor the next five years.The meeting was hosted by the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of the VrijeUniversiteit in Amsterdam. IVM is the co-ordinator of the concerted action through which theEFIEA is financed by the Environment and Climate Programme of the EuropeanCommission, Directorate-General XII. IVM is the chair and secretariat of the EFIEA. Over45 members of the EFIEA participated in the workshop and all contributed to the discussionsand planning activities. Participants included researchers from the natural and social sciencesas well as policy makers, DG’s and EEA representatives. These various contributionsprovided the basis of the workshop report. The keynote speeches of the workshop will bepublished in a special issue of the journal Environmental Modelling and Assessment (EMA).They are briefly summarised here. This report cannot present a comprehensive and detailedoverview of all contributions and discussions. This would hardly be feasible given theoverwhelming input provided. The reports of the various discussions, are to be considered asan overview of the discussions aimed at reflecting the general findings and major concl usions.The organisers wish to thank all participants for their generous input that has contributed towhat we believe was a constructive and open minded debate.