International Institute for Environment and Development 
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| International Institute for Environment and Development |
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
IIED Links: |
|
Strategic Planning and Assessment Project Summary |
|
Related Links: |
|
|
Theme: Environmental assessment Project Name: User Guide to tools for environmental integration Dates / Duration: 2007-2009 Geographic Region(s): Global The challenge to integrate environment into developmenthas never been more urgent. Infrastructure and agriculture must be climate-proofed. Industry must be energy- and water-efficient. Poor people’s environmental deprivations must be tackled in development activity. Their environmental rights must be recognised and supported. Environmental institutions need to work more closely together with other institutions – for too many of which the environment is treated as an externality. Change will be slow without adequate stakeholder pressure to link institutions and learning from experience of ‘what works’ for environmental mainstreaming. There has been little sharing of experience on conducting ‘environmental mainstreaming’ tasks in advocacy, analysis, planning, investment, management, and monitoring. In contrast, there is too much untested guidance on how to go about the tasks.Objectives: In response, IIED has begun an initiative to produce a ‘User Guide’ to environmental mainstreaming, steered by an international Stakeholders Panel. The initiative is based on discussions at meetings of the Poverty Environment Partnership (PEP) in 2006 and 2007), with a range of developing country stakeholders and PEP members, and following a first meeting of a project Working Group in London in March 2007. IIED’s preliminary work has been supported by Irish Aid and DFID. The international Stakeholders Panel will comprise a mix of decision-makers and practitioners in government, business, development assistance and civil society who are faced with the task of linking environment and development interests. The initial task for this Panel will be to steer and oversee the production of a ‘User Guide’ to the large array of tools and methods available for ‘environmental mainstreaming’, building on stakeholders’ experiences of the range from technical approaches such as EIA to more political approaches such as citizens’ juries. Our contention, reinforced through several consultations to date, is that environmental mainstreaming capacity will be much stronger if stakeholders are able to select appropriate tools and methods. Some tools and methods are widely used and others still in development; some are easy to do and others demanding of skills and money; some are effective but others are not. Too many tools are being ‘pushed’ by outside interests, and too few locally developed (and more informal, or less expensive) approaches are widely known. There is not enough ‘demand-pull’ information from potential users. Neither is there enough information available that helps them to select the right tools themselves – as opposed to taking what others want or suggest/promote. Therefore the initiative will aim to identify which tools work best, for what purpose and for which user. This guidance will be based on evidence submitted through a series of regional and country-based stakeholder/user consultations and workshops, and the Panel’s own experience. A core of about 30 such tools will be profiled and reviewedaccording to common criteria. The user-driven approach means that the Guide is likely to include an expanded set of tools and approaches, beyond those that tend to emphasised by technical experts, e.g. those used for civil society/business action. A decision-making ‘tree’ will be offered to help users select the approach that is right for particular problems or tasks. And an overview of areas for which all tools tend to be weak or missing will also be prepared, to guide further tool development. The Panel’s work will help people to make more informed choices, whether they are working on internationally recognised initiatives such as MDG-based national strategies, or national budgetary processes, or local level plans. It will also inform development assistance agencies, researchers and others who are in the business of tool development and promotion, by offering much-needed ‘demand-side’ information. The net result of the user-first approach will be more empowered stakeholders, who are able to develop a stronger change strategy in their own circumstances.For details of this initiative, see User Guide proposal document (PDF 140k) Key findings/progress to date: A dedicated website has been set up as a home to learn much more about the project and to allow people to contribute directly to the work: The results of the first meeting of the project working Group have been used to update the project document – this will be further revised, as necessary, as a rolling document. The meeting:
Copyright © 2005 International Institute for Environment and Development. |
|
||
|
