Achieving environmental objectives: the role and value of communication, education, participation and awareness (CEPA) in conventions and agreements in Europe

Environmental project assessments often aim to quantify the impact of projects in ecological terms, for example, how many forest hectares were preserved, how much a lake's water quality has improved, how much a species' population has grown, and so on. However, social factors are increasingly finding their way into these assessments as environmentalists and conservationists involve local communities and stakeholders in their project work. In a growing number of cases, work with these groups is found to be the source of success for their initiatives.