Subglobal Ecosystem Assessment

In addition to its distinct focus on ecosystems and human well-being, the MA includes another pioneering aspect that distinguishes it from past ‘global’ assessments. It is being conducted as a ‘multi-scale’ assessment with integral assessment components being undertaken at local community, watershed, national and regional scales, as well at the global scale. Each of the assessments at subglobal scales contributes to decision-making in the regions and communities where they are being undertaken, and each will be strengthened by the information and perspectives gained from each other and from the global assessment. Assessments at sub-global scales are needed because ecosystems are highly differentiated in space and time, and because sound management requires careful local planning and action. Local assessments alone are insufficient, however, because some processes are global, and because local goods, services, matter, and energy are often transferred across regions. The sub-global assessments will directly meet the needs of decision-makers at the scale at which they are undertaken, strengthen the global findings with on-the-ground reality, and strengthen the local findings with global perspectives, data, and models.