CHALLENGES OF ENVIRONMENTAL
MAINSTREAMING
Barry Dalal-Clayton
Learning and Leadership Group: Uganda 24-25 July 2012
Outline of presentation
Why do we need EM?
What is EM and what does it achieve?
Making choices about EM – entry points
& tactics
The drivers/constraints of
EM
RAPIDLY GROWING ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ……
… is breaching ecological limits…
Loss of biodiversity
Deforestation
Soil erosion
Rapid population growth
Climate change
Pollution
MAINSTREAMING ENVIRONMENT NEVER MORE URGENT
Arctic sea ice, Sept ‘07
•
60% of ecosystems
are degraded
(MA 2005)
•
Cost = 11% of GDP
UNEP, 2010)
From article in “Nature”, 2009
• Inner
Breaching planetary boundaries
blue shading represents the
proposed safe operating space for
nine planetary systems.
• Red wedges represent an
estimate of the current position for
each variable – 3 exceeded
Environmental trends remain negative
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005
GEO 4 2007
Human produced N
Fisheries collapse – Atlantic Cod
Changes in species abundance by region
Pollutants – residence in atmosphere
Soils with high water erosion risk
Condition of planet?
World is suffering from
“Environmental Deficit Disorder”
(taking a Gaia (organism health) perspective
– James Lovelock)
Foolish
environmental devaluation &
asset liquidation
(taking an economic/business perspective)
“The planet will strike back as a result
of bad decisions by people” WHO
ENVIRONMENT IS STILL AN EXTERNALITY IN DECISIONS
ENVIRONMENT is
Not certain
Not predictable
UK: Top national political concerns
Not valued
Not priced
Not traded
Not owned
Not scrutinised
Not on the political agenda
Climate
change
concern
The political economy of environment
is weak
•
Envir. and dev‘t institutions separate – different worlds!
•
Finance dominates dev’t – $/day, 0.7% aid, budget support
•
But finance ‘missing’ from environment
in national budgets (c. 1%)
? City budgets (10% Quezon)
•
Envir. is treated as technical – but its politics are toxic
(Greenpeace)
•
Envir. language confuses – goods/bads? science/values?
•
Envir. stakeholders ‘push’ – don’t understand mainstream
Environmentalists – not always listened to
‘Who are the bossiest people on earth?’
 Politicians
 Religious leaders
 Right-wing newspapers
 Environmentalists
I’M AN
ENVIRONMENTALIST.
THINK LIKE ME!
Donors are also demanding EM,
and are key drivers
• Upstream policy/budget issues and not only projects
• Thus donors focus on SEA, ‘country systems’ and climate
change integration
• Need to move beyond env ‘safeguards’ towards positive
ENR use
• But ‘mainstreaming’ can be a turn-off word:

too many issues being ‘mainstreamed’

assumes the mainstream is on the right track

‘integration’ may be better (as in Spanish, French)
Beware upsetting the fine balance
Environmental Mainstreaming is critical for sustainable development and green economy
Social
Environment
Economic
Environment
CHALLENGE
Integrating environment into development policy,
planning and investment never more urgent, eg

Climate-proofing infrastructure
and agriculture

Making industry water-efficient
and clean

Tackling environmental deprivations of
poor people
ENVIRONMENTAL MAINSTREAMING – A definition
“The informed inclusion of relevant
environmental concerns into the
decisions and institutions that drive
national, sectoral, city and local
development policy, rules, plans,
investment and action”
(IIED, 2009)
EM: spectrum of outcomes
Improved awareness of environment
Improved information base on environment
Improved participation and voice on environment
Improved policy, law, plan, strategy on
environment
Improved capacity to address environment
Improved budget and finance to tackle
environment
Improved environmental conditions
 In any country , who are the different actors best
placed to promote and help mainstreaming?
Choice of ‘entry point’
Where to build bridges between environment and
development worlds?
1.
Govt authorities, or non-govt (business, watchdogs)?
2.
Env authorities, or development authorities?
3.
Env as a sector, or cross-cut, or one issue e.g. climate?
4.
Existing decision-making (national /city plans), or special (SD
strategy)?
5.
Plan, or upstream (economic policy / rights) or downstream (pilot
projects)?
6.
National level, or a district, or a sector?
7.
Stop bad practice, or support existing good, or innovate?
Choice of tactics for mainstreaming
Language:
1.
2.

Speak ‘economics’ (still the main language of policy discourse)
not ‘environmentalese’

Speak ‘development’ (jobs and growth) not ‘no growth’

Work with politicians and offer solutions, not speaking at them
Focus: on financial decisions (budget is key)

3.
Attitude: potentials, not only negative safeguards

4.
Present costs, benefits, risks of env integration
‘Glimpses’ of desirable outcomes, plus enabling conditions
Authority: further strengthen our moral and scientific


Involve poor groups; public opinion surveys; accountability
Offer specific evidence/cases, not only generic
DRIVERS of environmental mainstreaming
Major drivers
Increasing stakeholder
awareness & demands
National legislation & regulations
Values of progressive
organisations (eg big companies)
Donor conditions
Moderately important
International commitments
Major environmental events and
disasters(eg floods)
Company business plans & objectives
Risk management
Traditional cultural reasons
Company/business regulations /
requirements
Others
Personal values
Visible ‘real’ issues
Link between development/poverty reduction & environment
Requirements of clients
EU accession and approximation process
Membership of international business groups (that embrace E M.)
Desire to address rising poverty and inequality
Need to protect ecosystems and stem environmental degradation
MAIN ACTORS
Environmental organisations


As regulatory authorities, service delivery organisations, environmental
NGOs,
Civil society groups – representing people especially dependent on the
environment



Improve efforts to influence ‘the mainstream’ to integrate environment
Lobbying, case-making, collaboration, providing information
Assert broad vision of Environmental Mainstreaming
Mainstream development organisations






Central, sectoral & cityplanning and finance authorities
Delivery organisations
Corporations
National + local levels
Need to understand how environment affects development interests; +
associated costs-benefits-risks + their distribution
How to meet international / national environmental obligations
Mainstreaming approaches
Broad tactics (ways of raising issues and making
a case/getting heard, eg campaigns, lobbying)
Promoting/enabling institutional change (strategic level
approaches);
Specific (more micro) instruments, technical tools and
analytical methods (eg for gathering information,
planning and monitoring);
Methods for consultation and engaging
stakeholders; and also
Range of more informal, voluntary and
indigenous approaches
Stuck?
Confused?
Looking for tools to help?
CATEGORISING APPROACHES/TOOLS
INFORMATION
Economic & financial assessment

CBA, green accounting
DELIBERATIVE & ENGAGEMENT
Participation & citizens’ action

Impact assessment & strategic
analysis

EIA, SEA, SoE, Natural Step
Spatial assessment

LUP, poverty mapping
PLA, citizens’ juries
Political analysis & action

Discourse-shaping, coalition-forming,
manifestos, commissions
Conflict management

Dispute resolution, arbitration
Monitoring & evaluation

Indicators, audits, SD reporting
Policy analysis

Stakeholder, institutional, governance
mapping
PLANNING & ORGANISING
Legal tools

Public interest litigation, rights regime
Visioning

Scenarios
Management planning & control

QMS/EMS, ISO, risk assessment,
threshold analysis
TOP APPROACHES/TOOLS IDENTIFIED BY USERS
IN COUNTRY SURVEYS
Environmental impact
assessment (EIA)
Cost benefit analysis (CBA)
ISO standards
**********************************
Strategic environmental
assessment (SEA)
Monitoring (general)
Indicators
**********************************
Land use planning
Environmental audits
Environmental management
system (EMS)
Public participation (general)
Geographic information system
Green/natural resource accounting
State of environment report
Certification
Life cycle analysis
Eco-management & audit system
(EMAS)
Workshops & seminars
Public hearing
Public consultation
Community meetings
Community-based NR management
Conflict management
Multi-stakeholder consultation /
processes
Risk assessment
Media (campaigns)
Economic valuation
Legal frameworks / guidelines
Facilitation & enabling
mechanisms
Linking tools and the
Policy/planning cycle
– opportunities &
leverage points
Environmental mainstreaming in planning
& policy-making?
The two best options are:
merged processes
integrated processes
Planning
EM
Linking EM tools/approaches
Better PPP.
Decisions &
Investments
Influence
Green economy
Information
Deliberation
& engagement
= Dialogue
Planning &
organising
Key constraints to environmental mainstreaming
Lack of political will
Lack of understanding & awareness (of environmental issues)
Lack of data / information
Lack of skills
****************************************
Lack of human resources
Lack of funding
Lack of awareness of available tools
********************************************************
Over-complicated/overlapping environmental legislation
Lack of (access to) methodologies/tools - that work
Corruption
Fragmentation of environmental responsibilities
www.Environmental-Mainstreaming.org
Environment
Inside
Environment Inside - - builds on:
For your attention !