Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response Framework (DPSIR)

The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) Framework provides a structure within which to present the indicators needed to enable feedback to policy makers on environmental quality and the resulting impact of the political choices made, or to be made in the future. The DPSIR framework assumes a chain of causal links starting with ‘driving forces’ (economic sectors, human activities) through ‘pressures’ (emissions, waste) to ‘states’ (physical, chemical and biological) and ‘impacts’ on ecosystems, human health and functions,eventually leading to political ‘responses’ (prioritisation, target setting, indicators). Establishing a DPSIR framework for a particular setting is a complex task as all the various cause-effect relationships have to be carefully described and environmental changes can rarely be attributed to a single cause.