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Environmental Mainstreaming
Integrating environment into development institutions and decisions

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Environment Inside - 5.2 Constraints to environmental mainstreaming
 

Mainstreaming environmental issues in general, and poverty-environment links in particular, does not have a long history of success. Many constraints explain this, and they are primarily governance constraints. Better understanding of these constraints is critical, as in practice they describe and explain the way that the ‘mainstream’ itself works. More effort needs to be put by environmental interests into understanding this in specific countries or markets.

To explore this further, we examine the varied – and interacting – constraints to environmental mainstreaming highlighted by our country surveys (Box 5.2). They can be summarised as:

Box 5.2: Key constraints to environmental mainstreaming highlighted by IIED’s country surveys

Critical constraints

  • Lack of political will
  • Lack of understanding & awareness (of environmental issues)
  • Lack of data/information
  • Lack of skills

Common issues

  • Lack of human resources
  • Lack of funding
  • Lack of awareness of available tools

Less frequently mentioned problems

  • Lack of methodologies/tools that work
  • Corruption
  • Dissatisfaction with tools

Others factors

  • Lack of absorption capacity for available financial resources
  • Personal short-term interests
  • Over-complicated environmental legislation
  • Over-regulated environmental protection
  • Too much new legislation
  • Lack of absorption capacity for financial resources
  • Lack of development vision
  • Fragmentation of environmental responsibilities
  • Impediments to civil society engagement

Source: Dalal-Clayton & Bass (2009)

 
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