Malaysia Sub-Global Assessment : Scoping and Design Workshop

The Malaysian Sub-Global Assessment (SGA) Scoping and Design Workshop was held on 14 – 15 April 2008 in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting aimed to highlight the practical experience of the Global Assessment from the MA's Sub-global Assessments (SGA's) and update participants with the status of knowledge on ecosystems assessment.

A total of 37 participants attended including participants who attended the First SGA Follow-up Meeting organised by the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU IAS), researchers from local universities and research institutes, representatives of government departments, and other international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) s.

Dr A. Duraiappah of the Ecosystem Services and Economics Unit of UNEP Head Office in Nairobi, Kenya made a presentation of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in the context of assessing and understanding the implications of change in ecosystems and their implications to human well being. This was complemented at the start of the workshop by a presentation by Dr B. Chambers of the United Nations University, Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU IAS) on the Millennium Assessment (MA) follow-up strategies and the Sub-Global Assessments (SGA). These presentations shared past experience of the SGA from the MA and provided participants with the latest developments in the MA Follow-up programme. Primarily this involves the establishment of the MA Follow-up SGA Secretariat at the UNU IAS and follow-up with the catalogue of SGA worldwide.

Presentations were made by local researchers of the background to the main areas of thrust for a proposed Malaysian SGA. Each presenter discussed the sectoral and disciplinary aspects of the assessments they propose to conduct. A high-level panel discussion examined the cross-cutting issues. These included how the assessment will be structured, governance of the assessment, the potential for associate assessments and the roles and responsibilities of researchers.

The workshop ended on an enthusiastic note. Many researchers were interested in developing proposals with funding requirements that will form the basis for the Malaysian SGA. The Workshop was closed by Prof Mazlin Mokhtar, the Director of the Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI) of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.