Documentation on the EVI website is generally in Adobe Acrobat Reader format. To be able to view these documents requires Adobe Acrobat Reader software. The software is free and can be downloaded directly from the Adobe website http://www.adobe.com/ or from our website from the Links page.

In a second phase, the EVI was tested in 5 countries, and a workshop to expand application of the EVI to a representative set of countries from around the world was hosted by UNEP in Geneva, Switzerland, on 27 - 29 August 2001. Further work on the EVI resulted in the presentation of the first functional results with the Demonstration EVI.

Work then continued refining the index and assembling the necessary data sets, leading to the launching of a preliminary EVI based on 50 indicators at the 12th UN Commission on Sustainable Development in New York on 15 April 2004 and a second EVI Think Tank in Suva, Fiji, 4-6 October 2004, before the final presentation at the Mauritius International Meeting on 12 January 2005. More than 300 experts contributed to the development of the EVI. While further refinements and improvements will always be necessary, the index is now ready for application at the country level. It is designed for use in all countries, not just small island states.