The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has launched an initiative toproduce a ‘User Guide’ to approaches (tools, methods and tactics) for mainstreaming (or integrating) environment into development decision-making (environmental mainstreaming), steered by an International Stakeholders Panel.

	Explanation of key terms Environmental mainstreaming / integration Understanding of what environmental mainstreaming (or integration) means or entails varies considerably. In this initiative, we take these two terms to mean the same thing - encompassing the process(es) by which environmental considerations are brought to the attention of organisations and individuals involved in decision-making on the economic, social and physical development of a country (at national, sub-national and/or local levels), and the process(es) by which environment is considered in taking those decisions. Approaches  A variety of approaches can be used to carry out the above processes. They include: broad tactics (ways of raising issues and making a case/getting heard); specific instruments, technical tools and analytical methods (eg for gathering information, planning and monitoring); methods for consultation and engaging stakeholders; and also a range of more informal, voluntary and indigenous approaches.

The focus is on those approaches which directly help to shape policies, plans and decisions; NOT the wider array of secondary tools applied to implement those decisions (eg market delivery mechanisms and instruments, field management tools). Such approaches might be applied at a range of levels (eg national, district, community) and by a range of users (government, non-governmental and community-based organisations, the businesses and private sector organisations).

The user-driven approach means that the User Guide is likely to include an expanded set of approaches, beyond those that tend to be emphasised by technical experts, e.g. those used for civil society/business action.

IIED’s contention is that environmental mainstreaming capacity will be much stronger if stakeholders are able to select appropriate tools, methods and tactics. Some of these 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 approaches 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 approaches themselves – as opposed to taking what others want or suggest/promote.

The initiative will aim to identify which approaches work best, for what purpose and for which user. The guidance will be based on evidence submitted through a series of regional and country-based stakeholder/user consultations and workshops, interviews and questionnaire surveys, and the Panel’s own experience.

This guide will cover the large array of tools, methods and tactics 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.

The project process will offer three main products:

(a) A core of about 30 approaches will be profiled and reviewed according to common criteria.

(b) A guide to choosing approaches for specific tasks - to help users select the approach that is right for particular problems or tasks.

(c) An overview of areas for which all approaches tend to be weak or missing will also be prepared, to guide further tool development.

Several organisations are partnering with IIED to undertake a country surveys in different regions of the world to secure on-the-ground user feedback about the challenges faced by those using environmental mainstreaming approaches, their needs related to integrating tools, and their perspectives of which approaches are found to be useful or not.

Click project document for a full description of the initiative.