Environmental assessment is a process to predict environmental effects of proposed initiatives before they are carried out. An environmental assessment:

• identifies potential adverse environmental effects
• proposes measures to mitigate adverse environmental effects
• predicts whether there will be significant adverse environmental effects, after mitigation measures are implemented
• includes a follow-up program to verify the accuracy of the environmental assessment and the effectiveness of the mitigation measures

In this course, we’ll be looking at organizations created by modern treaties that fulfil environmental assessment functions.