Environment and climate mainstreaming: challenges and successes

Abstract

This paper examines mainstreaming environment and climate change into development policy, planning, and budgeting. It looks at why we should integrate environment and climate and outlines challenges and successes. One result is that governments' progress pro-poor and equitable development. Governance gains are important too: co-benefits include more transparent decision making and better cross-government working. Ultimately, the impact of mainstreaming has increased awareness, changed perceptions, and improved the way inter-sectoral decisions are made, especially in climate adaptation. This supports countries to achieve their sustainable development ambitions -lessons which could be applied to a post-2015 development agenda.Cet article examine l'intégration de l'environnement et du changement climatique dans les politiques, la planification et la budgétisation du développement. Il se penche sur les raisons pour lesquelles nous devrions intégrer l'environnement et le climat et présente les défis et les réussites. Un résultat est le fait que les gouvernements font des progrès vers le développement pro-pauvres et équitable. Les gains sur le plan de la gouvernance sont aussi importants : parmi les co-bénéfices figurent une prise de décisions plus transparente et un travail plus efficace entre tous les niveaux du gouvernement. En fin de compte, l'impact de l'intégration a favorisé la sensibilisation, modifié les perceptions et amélioré la manière dont les décisions intersectorielles sont prises, en particulier pour ce qui est de l'adaptation au changement climatique. Cela aide les pays à concrétiser leurs ambitions de développement durable -enseignements qui pourraient être appliqués à un ordre du jour pour le développement post-2015.El presente ensayo examina la incorporación de los conceptos de medio ambiente y cambio climático en las políticas, la planeación y la financiación del desarrollo. Asimismo, analiza las razones por las cuales deben ser incorporados estos temas, señalando los retos enfrentados y los éxitos obtenidos. Resultan importantes los logros obtenidos por el gobierno, ya que los beneficios compartidos abarcan un proceso de toma de decisiones más transparente y una mejor coordinación entre dependencias gubernamentales. En última instancia, la incorporación de los temas mencionados ha elevado el grado de conciencia al respecto, ha modificado opiniones y ha mejorado la manera en que se toman decisiones a nivel intersectorial, particularmente en el ámbito de la adaptación al cambio climático. El proceso descrito podrá servir de apoyo para que los países logren sus planes orientados al desarrollo sostenible y, además, los aprendizajes obtenidos podrán ser integrados en una agenda de desarrollo pos-2015.

Advancing Environmental Mainstreaming in the Caribbean Region: The Role of Regional Institutions for Overcoming Barriers and Capacity Gaps

“…Although previous research [4,5,15,16,30] suggests focusing on national level as entry point for mainstreaming, our results showed that a combined multi-level approach to strengthen capacities at the national, departmental/agency, and individual levels is needed prior to its implementation. In terms of implementing such a multi-level approach, [21] suggests that actors at each level need different policy learning opportunities postulated by their institutional and individual needs.…”

“…Regional and national-level workshops were delivered to understand national capacities and needs and to explore the role of regional support for addressing such needs across the region. In terms of the workshop structure, [4,5,8,15,30] suggest discussing mainstreaming first at the level of linkages between high-level national development goals and priorities relevant to the region or country, and then focusing on specific sectors such as tourism, agriculture, poverty, and development, to identify approaches, barriers and capacity needs. This means workshop design and implementation need to be flexible to account for the diverse views and values of stakeholders, as well as varying levels of experience and knowledge [26,27,31].…”

Mainstreaming the Environment: Exploring pathways and narratives to improve policy and decision‐making

“…Resistance is fuelled, in part, by a prevailing economic growth model that does not take climate change into account within cost-benefit assessments, but also by a lack of understanding of impacts of everyday policy decisions at household, agency and government levels (Benson et al, 2014). According to Dalal-Clayton and Bass (2009, p. 11), this can be addressed by a mainstreaming process with includes '… the informed inclusion of relevant environmental and climate change concerns into the decisions of institutions that drive national, local and sectoral development policy, plans, rules, investment and action'.…”

Lack of Cross-Sector and Cross-Level Policy Coherence and Consistency Limits Urban Green Infrastructure Implementation in Malawi

“…Mainstreaming the environment into overarching policy documents, from local to national levels, as well as associated plans and budgets, has long been advocated as an essential condition for the effective pursuit of sustainable and more equitable development. Environmental mainstreaming, therefore, effectively refers to the integration of environmental objectives into non-environmental sectors and the "greening" of public policies (Benson et al, 2014). The literature on environmental mainstreaming distinguishes between two major approaches for realizing integration: vertical and horizontal.…”