Conclusions: Bridging Scales and Knowledge Systems

Abstract

Global environmental change is increasingly understood to have causesand effects that span multiple scales, from the local to the global.Accurate and informed assessments of what is taking place, and whatto reasonably expect in the future, are therefore critical for decision-makers.Yet, until recently, international scientific assessments typicallyfocused more on global phenomena than on processes at subglobal levels,or on interactions across scales. The MA was conducted as a “multiscale”assessment, consisting of interlinked assessments undertaken at local,watershed, national, regional and global scales.