The TDA and SAP are parts of the GEF project cycle where GEF-eligible countries are able to secure financial assistance for LME projects, the TDA and SAP are also processes towards ecosystem-based management allowing for non-GEF eligible countries to participate in the TDA and SAP. Non-GEF eligible countries can apply the TDA and SAP as a methodology towards achieving a global plan for polar bears. Transboundary issues are jointly identified and prioritized through the TDA, which allows countries to examine and isolate the causes affecting sustainability issues in polar bear regions. A TDA is based on scientific and technical information, which necessarily includes Aboriginal Knowledge for polar bears, and is developed by a country appointed Technical Task Team. The TDA is considered to be a fact-finding analysis used to scale the relative importance of transboundary problems and challenges across all five polar bear nations. Subsequent to a TDA, a SAP is a negotiated joint program of action that identifies political, legal, and institutional reforms needed to address the priority problems identified in the TDA. The SAP also outlines thematic strategies and investments needed to tackle the challenges brought forth in the TDA. SAP development is linked to specific National Action Plans (NAP) regardless of receiving GEF-funds, which provide direct and feasible strategies to implement. In this manner, the five polar bear nations are accountable for their NAPs and SAPs.