Sustainable Development in Practice
Sustainable Development in Practice
Sustainable Development in Practice
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Contents
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv
2.4 Analysing the context: Institutions and power, politics and change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.4.1 Task 1: Scope the context analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.4.2 Task 2: Analyse stakeholders and their agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.4.3 Task 3: Analyse change and change processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.4.4 Task 4: Inform strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.4 Three main phases in dialogue: engage, explore and change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
3.4.1 Phase 1: Engage—to build trust among leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.4.2 Phase 2: Explore—to seek agreement on issues and opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.4.3 Phase 3: Change—to facilitate collaborative decisions and action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Figuress
1.1 Trends towards integration and convergence across environmental and development institutions . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2 PEI/PEA programmatic approach for poverty-environment mainstreaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
1.3 Integration trajectory: maximizing win-win impacts on poverty reduction and environmental sustainability . . 19
1.4 The policy cycle: schematic for integrating poverty-environment objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.1 Selected poverty-environment analytical frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.2 The water-energy-food nexus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3 Power/interest matrix for mapping stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.1 How progressive action is cumulatively adopted through social diffusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.2 Linking stakeholder issues to policy action: Dialogue methodology deployed by the Green Economy Coalition . 52
3.3 The sustainable development triad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.4 Phases and steps in a typical dialogue: The Forests Dialogue’s model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.5 Dialogue progression: Example from Tanzania artisanal mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.1 Cooperation in poverty-environment integration in Burkina Faso’s five-year plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.1 The fiscal triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
5.2 The national budget process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
6.1 Pull and push in the strategic communications framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
7.1 OECD project evaluation criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
8.1 Analysis of institutions’ integration: a basic checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
ix
8.2 The collaboration spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
B3.2.1 Constituent systems of sustainable development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
B3.2.2 The doughnut economy framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Tables
2.1 Environment links to three poverty dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2 PEI’s cost of environmental and natural resource degradation in Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.3 Context analysis tasks, activities and outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.1 Criteria to select priority plans and planning processes for poverty-environment objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
7.1 Examples of poverty-environment results indicators used by PEI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
7.2 Criteria and typical evaluation questions to inform national-level SDG evaluations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
8.1 From mainstreaming to institutional transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Acknowledgements
T
he authors are grateful to the following Management and oversight were provided
individuals for their valuable and timely by Jonathan Gilman, UNEP; Jacinta Okwaro,
contributions to this handbook. UNEP; Johan Robinson, UNEP; and the Poverty-
Environment Action Co-Managers Anne Juepner
Thanks first to our peer reviewers—Geraldo (United Nations Development Programme), and
Carreiro, European Commission Greening Kerstin Stendahl (UNEP).
Facility; Barry Dalal-Clayton, Environment and
Development Services International; Cherryl André Nita Congress edited the document and designed
de la Porte, United Nations Environment Programme the book; thanks are due as well to designers Anne
(UNEP); Oliver Greenfield, Green Economy Coalition; Marie Mascia and Gillian McCaney.
Paul Steele, International Institute for Environment
and Development; Karenina Velandia, independent;
and Gabriela Flores Zavala, independent—and
to Ken Kioi, independent, who helped collect and
x compile their comments.
Foreword
P
overty-Environment Action for Sustainable Eradicating multidimensional poverty is the
Development Goals (PEA), a joint project indispensable requirement for sustainable
of the United Nations Development development. Economic growth alone is not
Programme and the United Nations enough. It also requires improving management
Environment Programme, was designed of the environment and natural resources—the
to ensure that the environmental dimension is “natural wealth” of the poor.
not left behind when addressing poverty. Building
on the legacy of its predecessor, the Poverty- Sustainable Development in Practice provides
Environment Initiative (PEI), the PEA project has guidance and concrete examples of how to do this,
helped the integration and implementation of pro- drawn from PEA experience in Africa and Asia-
poor, environmental sustainability objectives into Pacific, as well as from its predecessor PEI and other
developing countries’ policies, plans, budgets and initiatives. This is a story of mainstreaming poverty
investment. These in turn have helped decision- and environment—finding integrated solutions to
development planning and financing, and how to
xi
makers at national, subnational and sectoral
levels reduce poverty and grow inclusive, green transition to more resource-efficient, resilient forms
economies. of growth that help bring multiple social, economic
and environmental benefits. Making poverty-
Since 2005, when PEI was launched, humanity has environment issues real, visible and actionable to
come to face three entrenched environmental critical actors—and promoting a strategic vision
issues: climate change, pollution and biodiversity for poverty-environment integration based on
loss. These triple planetary crises together and national development objectives—serves to expand
singly exacerbate global poverty. commitment to new poverty-environment policies
and initiatives so they have greater impact.
In “The Future We Want,” the 2012 United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) This handbook is designed as guidance for
asserted that eradicating poverty remained policymakers and practitioners to integrate
“the greatest global challenge facing the world environment, climate and poverty objectives into
today and an indispensable requirement for key development decision processes: participation,
sustainable development.” Reaching those most planning, budgeting, financing and monitoring.
at danger of being left behind requires addressing These are the processes that can shape sustainable
inequalities, related notably to gender, which development: they are led by ministries of finance,
hinder development and entrench poverty. planning and local government, and supported by
ministries of environment; they are also processes
PEI and PEA successfully tackled the that engage with communities and businesses.
multidimensional nature of poverty—not only Integration is achieved by putting poverty-
income poverty and limited access to services, but environment issues at the heart of government—in
also environmental deprivations such as lack of other words, at the national and subnational levels.
natural capital and environmental hazards such
as climate change and pollution.
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
By employing the practices and lessons gathered hope to sustain and broaden the PEI/PEA legacy
from the PEI/PEA years of experience with poverty- and inspire poverty-environment action for years
environment mainstreaming and integration, we to come.
xii
Abbreviations
CPEIR climate public expenditure and NDP national development plan
institutional review
PEA Poverty-Environment Action for
ENR environment and natural resources Sustainable Development Goals
xiii
action plan
UNEP United Nations Environment
NCSD national council for sustainable Programme
development
Introduction
B
etween 2005 and 2022, the Poverty- PEA made further progress in at least three areas
Environment Initiative (PEI) and its that PEI had realized were priorities:
successor, Poverty-Environment Action
for Sustainable Development Goals ( Aligning finance and investment with poverty,
(PEA)—both joint efforts of the United environment and climate objectives
Nations Development Programme and the United ( Developing and applying methodologies to
Nations Environment Programme—vigorously assess multidimensional poverty links related
and successfully supported the integration and to the environment and natural resources
implementation of pro-poor environmental
( Applying rights-based and gender approaches
sustainability objectives into national, subnational
to better target and engage poor and
and sectoral development policies, plans, budgets
marginalized groups
and investment to contribute to poverty alleviation
and an inclusive, green economy. This handbook
This handbook draws on successful experiences
xiv
provides guidance and concrete examples from
from countries around the world in effectively
PEI/PEA experience, focusing especially on Africa
mainstreaming poverty-environment and climate
and Asia-Pacific; it also draws on the experience
issues into development agendas. It is an updated
of other initiatives with a poverty-environment
edition of the PEI flagship handbook Mainstreaming
orientation.
Environment and Climate for Poverty Reduction and
Sustainable Development (PEI, 2015) which guided
PEI, which ran from 2005 to 2018, had an initial
PEI efforts in its second implementation phase
emphasis on influencing national plans for
(2014–2018) and PEA throughout its existence.
development and/or poverty reduction as well as
sector development plans to include environmental
In the ensuing years since the handbook’s
objectives relevant to poor groups. When it
publication, global instability has increased under
became clear that budgeting and implementation
the pressures of the triple planetary crises of climate
mattered as much as plans in terms of achieving
change, pollution and biodiversity loss—further
poverty-environment outcomes, PEI extended into
exacerbated by the global coronavirus pandemic
budgeting and implementation processes, too.
and civil and international conflicts whose origins
may be traced to the systemic failure to address the
PEA was launched in late 2018 and operated until
planetary crises.
2022. It promoted
( Attracting and managing quality foreign The Glossary defines key concepts and terms used in
and domestic private investment for poverty- poverty-environment and climate mainstreaming
environment outcomes and integration.
( Tools to deliver messages—different forms of The organization of its chapters by topics, supported
publications, (social) media and events by an array of user-friendly diagrams and
( Stakeholder-handling strategies—what works checklists, are intended to speed comprehension
for particular types of audiences and enhance application of the knowledge gained
by PEI/PEA over the course of two decades in more
Chapter 7: Monitoring and Evaluation of Poverty- than 30 developing countries.
Environment Integration delineates monitoring
xvi
to track poverty-environment integration across
the policy cycle and a robust set of relevant References
indicators to cover (i) the inputs into each stage of PEI (Poverty-Environment Initiative) (2015). Mainstreaming
the cycle, (ii) the mainstreaming process activities Environment and Climate for Poverty Reduction and
Sustainable Development: A Handbook to Strengthen
themselves, (iii) the outputs and (iv) the results of Planning and Budgeting Processes. United Nations
poverty-environment mainstreaming. This chapter Development Programme–United Nations
explores possible indicators for monitoring poverty- Environment Programme.
environment mainstreaming and introduces seven PEI (Poverty-Environment Initiative) (2018). “Poverty-
evaluation criteria to guide adoption of monitoring Environment Action for Sustainable Development
Goals.” United Nations Development Programme–
and evaluation indicators. United Nations Environment Programme.
T
he imperative to take an integrated approach to This chapter highlights key lessons from PEI/PEA experience,
poverty reduction and environmental sustainability is notably on:
growing stronger:
( The constraints imposed by fragmented and outdated
( To tackle linked problems—whether linked climate, institutional structures and information flows that reflect
nature and poverty crises at the national level, or people’s past priorities and narrower interests than face decision-
livelihoods suffering from pollution or floods makers today
( To tackle system failures that lie behind these ( The need to build trust as a precondition and driver of
problems—whether siloed governance and disciplines, integration
or the exclusion of poor people, the environment and
( The importance of addressing gender and inequality,
indigenous/traditional world views
both to generate this trust and to tackle the underlying
( To implement holistic policies—finding ways to achieve causes of many poverty-environment problems
policy goals such as the Sustainable Development Goals
( The need to offer the space and build the capacity to
or inclusive green growth in diverse sectors and localities
adopt integrated approaches
( To shape holistic plans—national development plans,
( The value of using existing in-country policy/decision-
or post-COVID green recovery strategies, will be more
making cycles—finding the right entry points into them,
robust If they consider the poverty and environmental
and then working with and enriching those processes
implications
These lessons show that five kinds of integration are needed:
( To link solutions—a systemic approach requires multiple
governance, technology and behavioural solutions ( Thematic integration—which brings together issues
working in tandem that had been separate, but should be treated as linked,
namely poverty, climate and environment
( To combine energies and resources—uniting the
stakeholders and the funds to achieve real synergies ( Horizontal integration—which links experts, disciplines
and sectors to overcome silos and realize synergies
Calls for integration have been made consistently over
50 years, since the 1972 United Nations Conference on ( Vertical integration—which links global, national and
the Human Environment, and repeated in almost all local levels and top down with bottom up
development commitments since then.
( Stakeholder integration—which links players together
In practice, integration has been more elusive. But we to build trust and collective action
can learn from the gradual evolution of progressive ( Temporal integration—which enables continuous
environmental and development institutions—which have improvement throughout the steps of the decision-
shifted from siloed approaches to safeguards and synergies making cycle
where possible, and which now seek fully integrated
sustainable development. Based on this and complementary experience, this chapter
proposes a practical framework for integration organized
We can also learn from the experience of Poverty- around the typical decision-making cycle of planning,
Environment Action for Sustainable Development Goals budgeting, investing, executing, monitoring, review and
(PEA) and its predecessor the Poverty-Environment Initiative dialogue. Integration in one step reinforces results in another.
(PEI) over 16 years on four continents, which has introduced
economic and expenditure analyses and participatory
approaches, working with national mandates and central
authorities such as finance and planning ministries to get
poverty-environment issues integrated in major decisions.
1.1 Introduction Armed with this information, readers can help
develop best-bet strategies for achieving
1.1.1 Overview and purpose of this handbook integrated results more effectively, efficiently,
equitably and at scale.
Almost every international agreement on
sustainable development and the environment
over the past half-century, beginning with the 1972 1.1.2 The need for integration
Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, has
The well-being of people and the well-being of
called for an integrated approach to environmental
nature are interdependent. On the one hand,
and poverty issues. The urgency of that call
poor people are dependent on the environment
continues to resonate, when many decisions need
for their livelihoods and economic growth, and
to be made to tackle linked climate, nature and
are vulnerable to its degradation. On the other,
poverty emergencies following the COVID-19
local environmental quality and global public
pandemic. In exploring and advocating for an
integrated approach in achieving sustainable
goods alike depend not only upon governments
and corporations but also upon women, men and 3
development, this handbook offers readers:
indigenous people to manage soils, water and
biodiversity in balanced and integrated ways.
( An improved understanding of the links between
the poverty and environmental challenges
Escalating poverty and environmental problems
that influence achievement of holistic goals
are linked and indivisible. The climate is changing,
such as the Sustainable Development Goals
biodiversity is disappearing, and pollution and
(SDGs) or an inclusive green economy
land degradation are sharply rising. Each of these
( Learning from the programmatic approach problems has knock-on effects on the others—and
used by Poverty-Environment Action for especially on poverty and inequality. Women and
Sustainable Development Goals (PEA) and men become stranded in poverty in devastated
its predecessor the Poverty-Environment environmental conditions, without access to quality
Initiative (PEI)—both joint efforts of the environmental resources, vulnerable to climate
United Nations Development Programme shocks, and finding it impossible to adapt. More
(UNDP) and the United Nations Environment recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted
Programme (UNEP)—to tackle these challenges how human interference with nature creates
on four continents over 16 years, along with conditions for diseases to leap from animals to
complementary lessons from other initiatives humans. These complex and critical problems face
global society (linked climate, nature, poverty and
( A practical framework for applying the various
pandemic emergencies), affecting everyone and
activities involved in an integrated approach,
everything—down to local livelihoods, as farmers
based around a typical policy/decision-making
and fishers, among others, find their livelihoods
cycle
have become inviable.
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
1
Note that “poverty-environment” is here used to refer
to a broad gamut of related issues, including gender
differences and inequality as well as poverty, and climate 2
For the most recent report by UNEP on the status of the
as well as other aspects of the environment. SDGs, see UNEP (2023).
Chapter 1: The Integrated Approach to Poverty, Climate and Environment
More effective public policymaking, planning, learning and improving all the while, will help
budgeting, investment management and the necessary longer-term institutional reforms
governance systems are needed if linked poverty- evolve.
environment challenges are to be met. Five kinds
of integration are needed for achieving sustainable In most countries, at least some of these elements
development: of integration are already in place. They might be
at a pilot scale connected to a major sustainable
( Thematic integration—which can bring development plan or to a support programme such
together issues that had been separate but as PEI/PEA. They might be more deeply engrained,
need to be treated as linked. When we say such as where indigenous holistic governance still
“poverty-environment issues and objectives” applies. Wherever they are, these elements need to
in this handbook, we mean the full range be recognized and woven together more robustly,
of environmental issues—natural resources, informed by a good analysis of what will deliver
environmental processes, climate change, etc.— the SDGs most effectively, efficiently, equitably and
that relate to the gamut of poverty issues in sustainably.
any given context; this includes deprivations of
income, wealth, health, livelihoods, gender and
1.1.3 The drivers of integration
other aspects of equity, and/or other aspects of
well-being. Calls for sustainable development have in
( Horizontal integration—which can link themes large part been driven by intergovernmental
initiatives—which have also invariably called for an
5
and disciplines. Multi-sector, multi-theme and
interdisciplinary ways of working can transcend integrated approach. Indeed, calls for integration
sectoral silos; facilitate coherent policies have been consistently made over 50 years,
and programmes; and optimize poverty- changing little since the novel inclusion of poverty-
environment benefits across sectors, resources environment integration in the 1972 United Nations
and groups of people. (UN) Conference on the Human Environment—and
repeated in almost all development commitments
( Vertical integration—which can powerfully link since then (Box 1.1), as well in most multilateral
top-down policy vision with bottom-up societal environmental agreements.
demand and capability. Multilevel strategies
that link relevant interests—global, national The 2030 Agenda presents sustainable development
and local—facilitate coherent policies and as the integration of five global challenges—
programmes especially for public goods, and people, planet, prosperity, peace and
optimize poverty-environment benefits across partnerships. It calls for an integrated approach
these hierarchies. to implementing these multiple commitments in
( Stakeholder integration—which can build an indivisible way, placing equal emphasis on their
trust and collective action. Identifying economic, social and environmental dimensions to
relevant stakeholders; bringing them together; ensure benefits in all five areas over the long term.
and linking their capacities, resources and The other landmark global agreements of 2015—
motivations will aid in the common pursuit of including the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing
sustainable development, including through for Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
collective action. Reduction and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change—
add similar integration expectations to the 2030
( Temporal integration—can enable continuous Agenda.
improvement. Step-by-step integration
throughout the decision-making cycle,
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Box 1.1 Calls since 1972 for integrated approaches to deliver sustainable development
( 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human ( 2001 Millennium Development Goals called for
Environment: “States should adopt an integrated the “integration of the principles of sustainable
and coordinated approach to their development development into country policies and programmes.”
planning.”
( 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development
( 1980 World Conservation Strategy introduces the report calls for “Integration of the economic, social
concept of sustainable development: “[There is a and environmental dimensions of sustainable
need to] integrate every stage of the conversation development in a balanced manner.”
and development processes, from the initial setting
( 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable
of policies to their eventual implementation and
Development (Rio+20) “The Future We Want”
operation.”
outcome document acknowledges: “insufficient
( 1987 United Nations’ World Commission on progress and setbacks in the integration of the three
Environment and Development popularized dimensions of sustainable development . . . [calling for
sustainable development: “The ability to choose policy a high-level political forum to] enhance integration of
paths that are sustainable requires that the ecological the three dimensions . . . in a holistic and cross sectoral
dimensions of policy be considered at the same time manner at all levels.”
as the economic, trade, energy, agricultural, industrial,
( 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development
and other dimensions.”
Summit “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda
( 1992 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio for Sustainable Development” calls for “achieving
6 Earth Summit) defined Agenda 21 as a tool to foster a
“balanced and integrated approach to environment
sustainable development in its three dimensions—
economic, social and environmental—in a balanced
and development questions.” and integrated manner.”
( 1993 Convention on Biological Diversity requires ( 2019 United Nations Environment Assembly:
parties to “integrated, as far as possible and as Resolution on the Poverty-Environment Nexus
appropriate, the conservation and sustainable use “Urges Member States to apply integrated, innovative
of biological diversity into relevant sectoral or cross- and coherent approaches in policies, laws, plans and
sectoral plans, programmes and policies.” budgets on poverty eradication through sustainable
environment and natural resources management; to
( 1993 United Nations Framework Convention on
align with the 2030 Agenda.”
Climate Change stipulates that “policies and measures
to protect the climate system . . . should be integrated ( 2021 COP26 calls for implementing nationally
with national development programmes . . . ” determined contributions “in an integrated, holistic
and balanced manner . . . [to] enhance linkages, create
synergies and facilitate coordination.”
Figure 1.1 Trends towards integration and convergence across environmental and
development institutions
1
Development by converting
Silos
Nature without people nature
Separate, unlinked poverty and
Species and protected areas Land and natural resource
environment agendas; often in
1950s–1970s development
conflict
1950s on
2
Development doing no harm to
nature
Nature despite people Safeguards
Land/natural resource
Tackling habitat loss/pollution Aim to avoid damaging poverty-
management, environmental
1970s-1990s environment trade-offs
impact assessment
1990s on
3
Nature for people Nature co-benefits from
Synergies
development
Ecosystems approach,
8 community-based natural
resource management
Aim for poverty-environment
win-wins (but only where
possible)
Sustainable land/natural
resource/livelihoods, MDG 7
1990s–2000s 2000s on
4
Nature with people Structural reforms for Development with nature
sustainable development
Well-being of people and nature; Resilient systems; natural capital;
landscapes Transformative change to make SDGs
2010s on sustainable development new norm 2010 on
( The limits of separate, siloed action frustrate The UNDP–UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative ran
progress and leaders are driven to give from 2005 to 2018. It had an initial emphasis on
serious consideration to more collaborative influencing national plans for development and/
approaches or poverty reduction as well as sector development
plans to include environmental objectives relevant
( The public takes up campaigns on issues
to poor groups. When it became clear that
such as land rights, health and responsible
budgeting and implementation mattered as much
consumption that clearly link poverty-
as plans in terms of achieving poverty-environment
environment concerns, creating incentives for
outcomes, PEI extended into budgeting and
businesses and policymakers to respond
implementation processes, too.
( International agreements call for integration,
offering a mandate for change Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable
Development Goals was launched in 2018 and ran
( Initiatives for mainstreaming offer integration
tools, processes, and capacity that are relevant
until 2022. PEA promoted 9
to the integration level reached by the country an integrated approach which contributes to
or locality (e.g. tools that suit countries at the silo bringing poverty, environment and climate
stage will be different from those in countries objectives into the heart of national and
that are already seeking synergies) subnational plans, policies, budgets, and public
and private finance—so as to strengthen the
Besides increasing market behaviour on corporate sustainable management of natural resources
environmental, social and governance issues, these and to alleviate poverty. (PEI, 2018b)
government and civil society drivers together open
up possibilities for integration. Indeed, since 1972, PEA made further progress in at least three areas
at least 10 integrating movements can be identified that PEI had realized were priorities:
that have been most powerful in bringing us closer
( Aligning finance and investment with poverty,
to sustainable development (Bass, 2022). And, as
environment and climate objectives
the 2021 climate and biodiversity conferences of
the parties have shown, this is emboldening many ( Developing and applying methodologies to
to make a leap towards fuller integration of the twin assess multidimensional poverty links related
imperatives of social justice and environmental to the environment and natural resources (ENR)
sustainability. ( Applying rights-based and gender approaches
to better target and engage poor and
PEI and PEA responded to and mobilized many of
marginalized groups
these drivers. In fact, working for over 16 years in four
continents, they themselves became a significant PEI and PEA have been significant drivers of
driver of integration. The next section summarizes integration in developing countries. They pioneered
PEI/PEA’s establishment and experience. integrated approaches to poverty-environment
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
10
( Inform and influence national and sector
planning and monitoring working groups
( Conduct expenditure reviews and
prepare budget guidance notes Mainstreaming
Finding the in national
entry points and ( Conduct strategic environmental
planning and
making the case assessment/poverty and social
budgeting
impact analysis of policies and plans
processes
( Influence national monitoring systems
(e.g. indicators and data collection and
analysis)
( Strengthen institutional capacities of
( Conduct preliminary
stakeholders and coordination mechanisms
assessments (e.g. poverty,
social and environmental
assessments) ( Conduct strategic environmental
( Raise awareness and build assessment/poverty and social impact
partnerships (e.g. implement analysis/cost-benefit analysis of sector
communication strategies) Mainstreaming policies and plans
( Develop country-specific into sectoral and ( Conduct integrated ecosystem assessments
evidence (e.g. economic subnational planning and climate change adaptation planning
and poverty analysis and budgeting,
monitoring and ( Influence monitoring systems (e.g. indicators
of sustainable ENR and data collection and analysis)
management) private investment
( Influence budgets and financing options
( Strengthen institutional (economic instruments, expenditure reviews)
capacities of stakeholders
( Strengthen institutional capacities of
and coordination mechanisms
stakeholders and coordination mechanisms
relevant environmental issues are always Many countries benefit from the valuable legacy
considered, and safeguards are deployed in PEI/PEA helped them create. PEI/PEA helped
their planning, budgeting and spending countries begin to embed poverty-environment
methodologies and tools inside government
( Widening perspectives and metrics on
systems across the policy cycle. Governments now
poverty—with new frameworks, tools and
have new capacities, procedures, data and financial
indicators for multidimensional poverty
provisions for poverty reduction and environmental
measurement, to strengthen the poverty side
management. And all partner countries have
of environmental assessment and vice versa,
national plans—and some subnational and sectoral
and to get a better handle on SDG planning
plans and commitments—that mainstream
and monitoring
poverty-environment concerns.
( Integrating gendered and other disaggregated
social dimensions—with new data on poverty- While not yet completely embedded, this legacy
environment-gender links that influence many has begun the institutional rewiring needed for
country policies and monitoring frameworks further progress. It constitutes assets for future
(36 in Africa) integration that make each country fitter for
achieving sustainable development. Where
( Conducting economic analyses including
in-country entry points for sustainable development
climate and environment expenditure
were once uncertain, they are now clearer and
reviews—to reveal potentials to increase
function better. Where there were limited resources
income and revenue and to target public and
in-country, there are now experienced people,
11
private investment
tested methodologies—and sometimes bigger
( Taking integration to decentralized budgets and new funds. The European Commission
levels—integrating vertically across levels of cites the PEI/PEA programmatic approach
government from national to local, building as a proven means for mainstreaming within
context-specific poverty-environment data developing country systems and multi/bilateral
and capacities for district development plans, support (EC, 2016).
green villages, etc.
The good news is that there are now many
( Creating integrated knowledge—publishing
more drivers and opportunities for poverty-
well-researched stories of change, evaluations,
environment integration than when PEI began.
and guidance on poverty-environment
Holistic frameworks such as the SDGs and Inclusive
progress, growing a comprehensive body of
Green Growth accommodate poverty-environment
knowledge
issues in principle. They do not supersede the
( Pioneering One UN—mobilizing complementary poverty-environment framing—but instead enable
UN mandates and resources to address both closer attention to the decisions and actions that
development and environmental authorities work best for poor people and nature. Our guidance
and players and to improve coherence and tools should help those in charge of, for example,
( Offering continuity of support—often resulting national SDG plans and green economy strategies
in two or more five-year plans being influenced to come to grips with poverty-environment issues.
(as in Mali and Rwanda), in the process building
But there is still more to do. Plans need to be
both country expertise and institutional “wiring”
implemented. Capacity must be mobilized and
and supporting South-South exchange on
incentivized. New procedures should be embedded
poverty-environment mainstreaming
and streamlined, and pilot projects reviewed and
scaled up. To help update the approach, we explore
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
below the lessons of PEI/PEA and related initiatives the environment is not seen as core to growth
in terms of the challenges to integration and best and development. Different world views on the
practices in meeting them. environment are also often difficult to reconcile with
the economic paradigm. While the environment is
usually a safety net for poor people and sustainable
1.3 Lessons on integration: use of natural resources can be a route out of
challenges and what works poverty, some environmental paradigms are blind
to the fact that, where environmental assets are
Extensive and in-depth experience of integration
limited, they can become a poverty trap if relied
approaches that endure beyond one-off
upon too much.
mainstreaming projects has been elusive. Some of
the challenges of integration have been clear for
Good practices
some time (see e.g. Dalal-Clayton and Bass, 2009).
But now with the multi-year, multi-continent, multi- Work within the dominant economic paradigm,
agency, multidisciplinary, multi-instrument PEI/PEA, informing it with good economic evidence. A vital
we have compelling evidence of good integration starting point for making the case for poverty-
practice that overcomes the challenges and environment policy integration and investment
mobilizes the drivers of integration. is the proactive use of the prevailing economic
framing, while introducing new economic evidence
PEI and PEA have revealed a rich range of lessons. on poverty-environment issues such as the costs
Several documents have been produced in the last and benefits of unsustainable and sustainable ENR
12 few years that draw these out (e.g. Bann, 2019; PEI,
2018a, 2019a, 2019b, 2019c). These lessons offer a
management options.
credible, proven basis for practical guidance on Recognize diverse perspectives and knowledge
implementing holistic goals such as the SDGs or traditions and share their value. The three
inclusive green economies. dimensions of sustainable development—social,
environment and economic—must be equally
Relevant PEI/PEA lessons are highlighted below, emphasized in mainstreaming efforts. This means
presented in terms of the challenges faced in drawing on knowledge and disciplines beyond
poverty-environment integration. Each of these economics, which only incompletely recognizes all
10 challenges are explained, followed by good three dimensions; using the interdisciplinary science
practices that PEI/PEA identified or used for tackling that has been deployed by the Intergovernmental
them. Clearly, there is not a simple mapping of one Panel on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental
challenge to one best practice. Some of the best Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and
practices have been designed to be able to meet Ecosystem Services and others; and bringing
several challenges. in other (e.g. traditional) forms of knowledge,
especially those that are respected locally.
horizontal and vertical coherence and coordination promoting diverse sources of poverty-environment
mechanisms makes it difficult to implement cross- leadership across sectors, geographies and groups
sectoral priorities. is rewarding but takes time and political skill.
civil service authorities for executive decision- considerations into the entire policy process than
making rules—and environment ministries for if attention is given to just one or two of its stages.
environmental standards and compliance. Sometimes such analysis will suggest an integration
strategy that works with the grain of political
Key sector ministries have important roles in economy, i.e. working with current formal systems,
integration, too. Where they adopt and lead powers and vested interests; and sometimes against
on sustainability and inclusive environmental the grain, where new or marginalized players are
objectives can lead to successful integration—such beginning to win the argument better and where
as agriculture taking on gender-responsive climate informal pressures can be exerted. Because such
change adaptation and environmentally friendly issues may be sensitive, practitioners should seek
equitable land management and agricultural expert analysis and proceed cautiously.
inputs, or industries adopting sustainable
consumption and production.
1.3.5 Lack of policy space for collective
poverty-environment debate and action
1.3.4 Lack of trust and weak political will for
integrating poverty-environment issues The challenge
The relevance of poverty-environment issues to
The challenge
accepted mainstream policy priorities is barely
The actors who need to work together for poverty- recognized, and there are few mainstream policy
environment integration tend to have rarely spaces to debate them—despite growing societal
14 collaborated. Therefore they do not often know
or trust each other. There is much to overcome—
concern and lobbying on the issues.
Integration is ultimately a political process and social impact analysis, and poverty impact
subject to institutional and societal dynamics. assessment can help here. Such analyses should
Poverty-environment integration is not a formal address and involve women and men, girls and
technocratic process. While aiming at routine boys, young and old, rich and poor, in relevant
in-country planning cycles and policy processes urban and rural settings. They should also cover
does make sense for influencing the mainstream, their different roles—as producers and consumers,
there are also many informal processes, as well as holders of (traditional) knowledge on poverty-
as political events and one-off major investment environment links and sustainable pathways that
decisions outside formal plans, that can strongly could be scaled up, and as drivers and recipients
affect outcomes and can only sometimes be of environmental change. Gender gap analysis can
influenced. Again, it is important to understand the be used to identify disparities between men and
political economy. women—for example, costing the gender gap in
terms of earnings, productivity and access.
1.3.6 Gender discrimination and exclusion of Include and empower poor people in the entire
marginalized groups process of integration. Women, minorities and
indigenous peoples are not simply the subjects of
The challenge analysis but also need to be involved in decision-
Voice and power imbalances between stakeholders making. PEI/PEA experience highlights the support
make the environmental needs of marginal local communities and governments need in
groups invisible to policy. Consequently, there order to compel the private sector to see business
is weak understanding that gender equity and
other forms of equality are preconditions for
success more holistically and to become more
environmentally and socially responsible. This is
15
both environmental sustainability and poverty particularly pressing in light of increasing private
elimination. sector investment in key natural resource sectors.
yet also disaggregated (by income, gender and vertically down from the national to local levels. If
other key characteristics); strategically targeted national development aspirations are to change
(policy relevant, addressing national and sectoral substantially and reflect more interdependent
goals and targets), yet also accessible (user friendly outcomes, partnerships between statistics bureaus
including for public interest groups to support and their main user institutions need to generate
transparency and dialogue), and credible (in data that provide such metrics. Natural capital
its sources and methods). Governmental action accounting and wealth accounting can form a useful
is more likely to be triggered if the analysis is basis in this regard. In practice, it can take relatively
“owned” by government players, using data that little time to begin to develop useful accounts for
are regularly compiled by central government some poverty-environment issues.
agencies with inputs from local government.
Proactively use economic and financial evidence 1.3.8 Inadequate capacities and powers,
on the costs and benefits of unsustainable and notably at decentralized levels, to handle
sustainable ENR management. Targeted, detailed
poverty-environment issues
economic evidence of the development benefits
The challenge
of implementing poverty-environment objectives
has proven to be a powerful tool. Presenting Inexperience, weak skills, and lack of mandate
environmental losses in financial terms also helps and capacity in the tasks required for poverty-
provide an entry point to discussions. Public climate environment integration mean that poverty-
and/or environmental expenditure reviews shine environment issues often remain stuck at the broad
16 a strong light on the gap between the economic
benefits of sustainable ENR management and the
level of awareness rather than action. The lack of
capacity and powers is often especially acute at
amount currently spent. Multidimensional poverty local levels—precisely where poverty-environment
indices that include environmental aspects can issues are most keenly felt.
assess if and how increased public expenditure
has led to improved poverty and environmental Good practices
outcomes.
Targeted capacity building of relevant ministries
should be approached with urgency, but also
Focusing on critical sectors or localities can
as a long-term process of institutional change.
motivate policymakers to act. When the negative
Because institutional weaknesses are a key barrier
effects of unsustainable use of, for example, natural
to effective change, addressing the capacity gaps
resources and gender inequity on the targets and
for vertical (national, regional, local) and horizontal
goals of a key economic sector are made apparent,
(cross-sectoral) planning and implementation
there is more motivation for that sector to adopt
of sustainable development is a foundational
an integrated approach to policymaking and
need—especially for SDG localization and
budgeting. Evidence demonstrating how poverty-
implementation. While short-term exercises such
environment linkages in a sector affect its goals and
as training can break some logjams, poverty-
targets—and also, importantly, the objectives of
environment integration is a longer-term task of
other sectors—can galvanize cross-sector support
institutional strengthening that should be able
to address poverty-environment challenges.
to withstand personnel and political changes.
Using SDG metrics in routine data systems can Continuous but adaptable support over time is
support integrated monitoring. The global SDGs vital.
and associated targets can offer a holistic view,
both horizontally across sectors and themes, and
Chapter 1: The Integrated Approach to Poverty, Climate and Environment
Strengthen the capacity of ministries of is to include integration tasks in defining new jobs
environment. While the focus has shifted to and revising others, and in officers’ job descriptions
ministries of planning and finance as leads and staff contracts, performance incentives and
in integration, it is nevertheless important to assessments.
strengthen the analytical and policy engagement
capacity of ministries of environment. Ministries of
1.3.9 Lack of concerted investment in
environment need to be able to address poverty-
integrated poverty-environment initiatives
environment issues both within their own mandates
and by engaging with planning, finance and key
The challenge
sector ministries.
The cost of tackling some of the deeper or most
Establishing environmental and/or poverty widespread poverty-environment problems and
focal points in sector ministries can be helpful. associated policy/institutional reform tends to
Environmental focal points or units in sector exceed the typically low budgets for mainstreaming.
ministries can help integrate environmental
sustainability into respective sector policies, plans Good practices
and budgets. Similarly, gender focal points in
Initiatives for driving integration need to be
environmental and natural resource ministries can
strategic and catalytic. With its relatively small
help weave together environmental and poverty
budget, PEI had to target the most strategic entry
agendas and action.
points for change as well as for catalysing support
Objectives must be translated into action.
National poverty-environment objectives must be
from strategic partners to ensure sustainability
beyond project end. 17
transformed into concrete actions through sector
Partnerships with larger and better-resourced
and district plans and the guidelines for producing
actors are essential for bringing in more resources.
these plans, if any real change is to be achieved.
The needs for institutional reform and capacity
Realistically, substantive and simultaneous
development, for strengthening data and analysis,
engagement in multiple sectors, districts or
and for piloting and scaling new integration
provinces is unlikely; it was certainly beyond PEI/
approaches demand a major undertaking well
PEA staff and financial resources. Engaging in
beyond the capacity and resources of single
pilot districts and sectors, together with seeking
programmes. For this reason, PEI/PEA coordinated
to integrate poverty-environment objectives
with UNDP, UNEP, UN Women, and the Food and
more broadly by including poverty-environment
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
elements in central government guidelines for
as well as development cooperation partners at
planning and monitoring in all localities and
the country level, among others, on joint initiatives
sectors, proved to be the most realistic strategy in
and projects. This underscores the need to identify
Africa. In Asia and the Pacific, the strategy selected
relevant larger entities and programmes engaged
was to invest in local government, given active
in complementary poverty and/or environment
decentralization taking place in the region.
initiatives as partners, so each can play to its
The tasks of integration must become embedded strengths.
in individual officers’ work. Many mainstreaming
Public environmental and climate expenditure
initiatives in the past simply added integration tasks
reviews have proven to be particularly useful to
temporarily to the duties of a few officers, perhaps
leverage investment. These reviews can highlight
with a project-related incentive. But the tasks were
the discrepancy between investments required for
dropped when the project ended. The main lesson
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
work, even if it originally focused on integrating Using existing integration procedures, adapting
poverty-environment issues into assessment and them and enriching them with tools that are better
planning tasks, soon moved on to work in the suited for integration will improve ownership of the
budgeting, expenditure and implementation integration process and its results.
phases of the policy cycle in order to become
fully embedded. This reflects earlier lessons on Figure 1.3 illustrates the desirable trajectory of
environmental mainstreaming (e.g. Dalal-Clayton poverty-environment integration. The aim is to
and Bass, 2009) and integrated policymaking for move towards impacts in poverty reduction and
sustainable development (e.g. UNEP, 2009). PEI/PEA environmental sustainability that are mutually
stand out for ensuring the longer-term continuity of supportive, and away from situations where either
support to integrate poverty-environment into all poor people or the environment (and sometimes
decision-making phases. both) continue to lose out. The upstream test of
integration en route to such impacts would be
policy coherence between poverty objectives and
1.4 The integrated environmental objectives. But the downstream test
approach—a strategic of integration will surely be improved well-being of
Informed by the above lessons, we can confidently We propose a schematic that embraces all the
propose a strategy of using locally mandated poverty-environment integration tasks, tools and
decision-making processes/cycles as the main tactics involved in a typical decision-making cycle.
vehicles for integration. This will mobilize multiple
actors and their many disciplines to reach robust
Figure 1.4 summarizes effective decision-making as
seven broadly cyclical activities from analysis to
19
decisions at the national, local or sector level that institution building, which are the foundations of
will achieve the poverty-environment impacts an integrated approach; this also anticipates the
sought by pursuing holistic goals such as the SDGs. organization of this handbook.
Figure 1.3 Integration trajectory: maximizing win-win impacts on poverty reduction and
environmental sustainability
Sustainable ENR management
WIN-LOSE WIN-WIN
Sustainable ENR management that excludes local Sustainable livelihoods (e.g. sustainable agriculture,
communities (e.g. lack of benefit sharing, dislocation of forestry, fisheries, ecosystem management, adaptation
communities) to climate change)
LOSE-LOSE LOSE-WIN
Unsustainable ENR management negatively affecting Short-term livelihoods (e.g. overgrazing, overfishing,
the poor (e.g. lack of adaptation to climate change, poor deforestation)
environmental health conditions)
Poverty reduction
Figure 1.4 The policy cycle: schematic for integrating poverty-environment objectives
Chapter 8 Chapter 2
Institution
building Analysing
Chapter 3
Chapter 7 Chapter 1
Monitoring Dialogue
and and
evaluation Integrated engagement
approach
Communications
Planning Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Finance
20
Chapter 5
Note: This is a generic cycle. Individual governments and ministries will have their own; and so will relevant businesses, civil
society organizations/non-governmental organizations and community groups.
The schematic is based on the premise that should improve decision-making efficiency and
opportunities for poverty-environment sustainability, because sustainable development
integration may be found at every stage in concerns are anticipated and addressed early on
policymaking. Further, coordination among rather than reactively.
different policymaking stages is critical to
ensuring that an integrated approach is followed
through. This framework aims ultimately to lock 1.5 Getting started with
poverty-environment considerations into policy the integrated approach
processes from the onset—before a policy issue
The subsequent chapters in this handbook provide
is even brought into government agendas and
practical, operational guidance on the typical
certainly before proposals are put on the table.
tasks, tools and roles for integrating poverty-
By internalizing poverty-environment assessment
environment objectives at each stage in the policy
without identifying it separately, the assessment
cycle. The chapters are addressed to national,
becomes a natural and organic component of the
sectoral, local and development assistance
policy process. By thinking about the whole cycle
policymakers and senior officials, particularly those
from the beginning, gaps in capacity and procedure
charged with responding to holistic demands such
between stages are identified in advance. All of this
Chapter 1: The Integrated Approach to Poverty, Climate and Environment
as the SDGs, green growth, or post-COVID recovery set of social, environmental, economic and
with new policies, plans and reforms. governance data that will support integrated
approaches.
The handbook is also intended to support
( Armed with this information, make the basic
practitioners who are designing and/or
case for an integrated approach to your
implementing projects in environment or
initiative—its benefits, costs and risks compared
development who may want to adopt more
to a more traditional siloed approach.
integrated approaches, such as integrated
Show where it will lead to positive poverty-
landscape management, community-based
environment impacts across mainstream policy
conservation, or joint environmental and social
priorities and the SDGs.
protection schemes.
( Identify the best entry point for influencing
Following is a brief scoping checklist with some relevant decision-making with your case—for
initial prompts to help those working on initiatives example, national, local, sector, organizational—
with poverty-environment implications to scope and at which policy cycle stage—for example,
an action plan towards achieving truly integrated monitoring, debating or planning decisions.
outcomes:
( Select from a range of analytical and
( List the linked poverty-environment problems communications tools that suit the entry point
you face and/or outcomes you seek in your and its level of sophistication in handling
sector, social group, locality or ecosystem integrated issues.
service.
Analysing Poverty-
Environment Issues
Chapter overview
A
nalysing poverty-environment issues seeks to improve This chapter focuses on analysing:
the quality of evidence on poverty-environment
( Poverty-environment linkages using frameworks
links, their importance—particularly for achieving
for scoping out what the relevant issues are and an
social and economic development objectives—and their
introduction to ways to analyse them in more detail: i.e.
causes. Such evidence is needed to properly inform dialogue
vulnerability, spatial and economic analysis
(Chapter 3), planning and action on poverty-environment
(Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7), and ultimately the shape of ( Social difference and impacts on poor groups using
institutions (Chapter 8). frameworks for understanding who experiences poverty-
environment issues and the differences among them,
The interactions of poverty and environment are
including gender
critical but complex and too often have been ignored.
Development work and environment work are siloed, with ( The institutional and political context by examining the
narrow “magic bullet” solutions that often clash with each interests and powers of those who create or can resolve
other—conservation work that excludes poor people, and poverty-environment interactions
development that degrades the environmental foundations ( Change and change processes by looking at the policy
needed to secure food, water and energy supplies. It is time space, capacities, timing, framing and procedures
to better understand how problems of poverty and the that enable positive change so poverty-environment
environment relate, and to fill significant knowledge gaps on objectives are achieved
the priority poverty-environment issues of specific countries
and sectors. A big-picture analysis of poverty-environment As far as possible, poverty-environment analysis should be
links can get all actors on the same page and point to helpful undertaken by existing statutory or regulatory assessment
collaboration. provisions such as environmental and social impact
assessment, working with and through the institutions
To ensure we have a clear big picture of the multiple poverty- mandated to run these processes. This approach can be more
environment links at the national, local or sector level, we effective than voluntary approaches, but often will need
first focus on analytical scoping. This scoping will yield a to be supplemented with analysis of poverty-environment
sound view of the poverty-environment issues in a country aspects to which current procedures are blind.
or sector, the stakeholders involved, and how the political
and institutional context affects their interactions and the Analyses are only as useful as their application. While an
prospects for improvement. We need this big-picture view initial big-picture analysis is useful for framing dialogue,
to catalyse the right kind of stakeholder engagement and visioning and high-level policy, more detailed analyses
focus policy dialogue. also need to be done and applied across the decision-
making cycle. These analyses are covered in other chapters,
The Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) and its successor, notably Chapter 3 for participatory, field-based inquiry
Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable Development and citizen science; and Chapter 5 for expenditure reviews,
Goals (PEA), have made major contributions to analysis, environmental cost-benefit analysis, poverty and social
including the development of multidimensional poverty impact analysis, and assessing the distributional impacts of
analysis linked to the environment and natural resources, fiscal decisions.
environmental and natural resource economic analysis
at the national level, and institutional analysis. These PEI/
PEA approaches are explained here, along with other
methodologies, notably in political economy analysis.
2.1 An integrated, methods that offer ways of understanding
how the environment, economic activities,
inclusive, iterative stakeholders and institutional contexts interact.
approach to analysis
( Be inclusive. By involving stakeholders and
The United Nations Development Programme– government officials, and not only independent
United Nations Environment Programme (UNDP- analysts, collective ownership of joint analysis
UNEP) Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) and is created. Even if this tactic challenges current
its successor, Poverty-Environment Action for discourse and practice, it is more likely to
Sustainable Development Goals (PEA), invested motivate action on improving the status quo.
considerable time and resources in improving the
( Use dialogue. Engaging stakeholders in
level of analysis in many countries. Drawing on
inquiry-based dialogue is a very effective way
lessons from PEI’s experiences in Africa (PEI, 2019),
to respond to independently produced analysis
the following elements are recommended for
and to enrich it (Chapter 3). Indeed, analysis
effective analysis of poverty-environment issues.
Taken together, these components make for an
without seeking stakeholder perspectives and 25
validation proves to be of limited value in
integrated, inclusive and iterative approach to
influencing decision-makers.
analysis.
( Be iterative. While big-picture analysis as
( Focus on systems. Poverty issues and here presented as an initial stage in the typical
environmental issues are each multidimensional, decision-making cycle, it is not a one-off step. It
and they interact with each other in diverse needs iteration when dialogue, plan options or
and dynamic ways. Single disciplines are blind budget decisions require new angles or specific
to many important factors. Some poverty- issues to be explored—for example, cost-benefit
environment problems have in fact been analysis to generate project- and programme-
caused by a “silo“ effect, with institutions acting level evidence for preparing business cases.
on narrow views—environmental activities
( Generate quality. It is useful to have a set of
that end up pushing poor people off their land,
criteria for the kinds of analytical outputs
or poverty reduction projects that result in
required. Typically, we look for credible,
deforestation, for example. A multidisciplinary
integrated, disaggregated, strategically
perspective is therefore a minimum
targeted and accessible evidence. The quality
requirement—although some disciplines,
criteria will need to be lined up against the
often economics, end up dominating. Ideally,
typical challenges facing a country or sector—
an integrated approach to analysis should be
for example, unavailability of adequate data
established from the beginning.
and inadequate capacity—to determine if
( Use interdisciplinary analytical frameworks external support is needed.
and tools. Matrices, checklists, accounting
( Integrate analytical machinery with decision-
systems and models that include the relevant
making machinery. It can be best to start with
interactions are among the means and
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
the existing mandated analytical and decision- 2.2.1 Scoping poverty-environment issues by
making systems in a country or sector, such as applying visualizing frameworks
most countries now have in place for projects
Poverty-environment issues are complex, and it
(environmental and social impact assessment)
is easy to become overwhelmed by their multiple
and many countries have for policies (strategic
dimensions. Moreover, poverty-environment
environmental assessment). This technique is
mainstreaming is a “wicked” problem that resists
more likely to lead seamlessly into productive
resolution: it is non-linear, has several connected
dialogue, visioning and planning, because the
elements with many interdependencies and
evidence produced will be expected, relevant
interacting causes, requires action from multiple
and less contested. It is much harder to push
parts of government, and can become more
and encourage uptake/application of optional
demanding as progress is made. For example,
or voluntary approaches than to use, build
PEI Africa, in an internal regional team exercise,
on and improve those that are in place and
carried out a problem tree analysis and found more
formally required.
than 80 factors that needed to be addressed for
But there will be gaps that will need to be filled successful poverty-environment outcomes.
using new methods, tools and capacities—
We should first begin by defining our terms:
which, if successful, will need to be embedded
in the machinery of government. Over time, this
( By poverty, we mean the full range of deprivation
process will help build the kinds of institutions
issues in any given context—deprivations of
that regularly generate and embed quality
26
income, wealth, health, livelihoods, gender and
evidence in decision-making. Building a natural
other aspects of equity, and/or other aspects of
capital accounting system is one way to do this,
well-being.
enabling linked economic and environmental
analysis to be recurring and timely, supporting ( By environment, we mean the full range of
evidence-based policy adaptation. natural resource, environmental functioning,
environmental degradation, climate change
Armed with this approach, we can turn attention and natural disaster issues that pertain in a
to analysing the linkages between poverty and given context.
the environment; social differences and impacts,
including gender; and the institutional and political A useful starting point in coming to grips with the
context, including change and change processes. complexity of poverty-environment linkages is
an integrated framework that puts the different
dimensions on the same page. This helps analysts
2.2 Analysing linkages and others with different interests come together
between poverty and on that page. A few such frameworks are suggested
Simple frameworks may often be enough Table 2.1 Environment links to three poverty
to understand the big picture of poverty- dimensions
environment issues and to begin to explore these
Poverty dimension Environment links
issues. More comprehensive matrices are also
available with multiple dimensions, some of which Livelihoods Natural resource quantities
(agricultural, urban, etc.) and qualities: soil, water,
are discussed in this section. The Sustainable
biomass, biodiversity, etc.
Development Goals (SDGs) have an overarching
objective of eradicating poverty in all its forms— Health Air, land and water
(nutrition, disease pollution
including environmental and natural resource
burden, etc.) Security of food, energy,
deprivations—wherever they occur, and some
shelter, sanitation and
frameworks lay out comprehensive interactions water, etc.
among all the SDGs.
Vulnerability Extreme climatic events
(to climate change, of heat and cold
Mapping along three or more dimensions of natural disaster) Floods and drought
poverty Natural disasters, etc.
Poor groups are dependent on good management
of the environment and natural resources for at
( Poverty analyses can miss crucial well-being
least three elements of poverty reduction:
strategies that underpin the relationship
( Enhancing livelihood security between ecosystem services and human
well-being.
( Reducing health burdens
( Well-being is a well-rounded interpretation
27
( Reducing vulnerability to climate change and
of a person’s life, which avoids labelling poor
natural disasters (DFID et al., 2002)
people as hapless victims.
Too many initiatives have tended to focus on just ( Well-being provides a holistic, person-centred
one of these elements, assuming its overriding analysis incorporating social and subjective
importance. For example, PEI’s work initially assessments of life. This was a conclusion of
emphasized livelihood and natural resource links, the influential 10-year research programme
and PEA later picked up climate change priorities. Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation,
But today, climate change—although very funded by the UK Government and involving
important—is too frequently the only lens being many scientists from developing countries
applied by many initiatives. (Coulthard, McGregor and White, 2018).
It is helpful to scope out all three types of links for Existing frameworks can be adapted to specific
a nation, locality or specific livelihood or social contexts. Figure 2.1 shows four particularly flexible,
group (Table 2.1). The three basic poverty dimensions tried-and-true frameworks that can be applied
may be adjusted to suit a country’s own mandated in a given country/sector’s scoping of poverty-
poverty definition or monitoring framework. environment linkages:
Millennium
Ecosystem
Assessment
(MEA, 2005)
Multidimensional
Poverty Index
(OPHI, 2018)
Sida Poverty
Framework
(Sida, 2017) Nutrition
& institutional c
itical on
te
28
l Health
Po How & Why xt
Child mortality
Ec
Con
Opportunities Human
ono
Years of schooling
Who Three
Dimensions Education
Power Resources of Poverty
& voice School attendance
on
nte
te
xt
xt
Cooking fuel
H ow & W hy
En
xt
Sanitation
viro
n m e n t a l co n t e Living Drinking water
Standards
Electricity
Housing
Assessment Tool
(IFAD, 2014) 1 Food & Nutrition Security
1.1 Consumption
10 Gender & Social Equality
1.2 Access stability
10.1 Access to education
1.3 Nutrition quality 2 Domestic Water Supply
10.2 Access to health care
10.3 Social equality 2.1 Quality
uality
2.2 Availability
Fu
Eq
9 Exposure & 2.3 Access
Resilience to Shocks
, n
9.1 Exposure e 3 Health & Health Care
da
r
m ent al N
MPAT
3.3 Health-care quality
8 Non-Farm Assets
8.1 Employment & skills
s, E
29
PEI/PEA and their government partners developed and income and consumption. Important information on
tested new approaches and tools for multidimensional soil nutrient levels or the state of fisheries stocks, for
poverty assessment in order to strengthen the poverty example, needs to be collected separately, typically
side of environment mainstreaming (e.g. meeting the from environmental authorities, and analysed alongside
need for gender- and household-disaggregated data) household data at disaggregated levels and then
and, in turn, to improve the environment side of poverty communicated convincingly to decision-makers.
measurement (e.g. identifying major environmental
Guidelines. PEI partnered with the UNEP World
dependencies and deprivations). The tools help to
Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), the
highlight the most critical poverty-environment links.
universities of Cambridge, Southampton, East Anglia
In particular, PEI Africa commissioned the Oxford Poverty and Sheffield, and the Ecosystem Services for Poverty
and Human Development Initiative to assess whether Alleviation programme in Malawi and Rwanda to develop
environmental and natural resource issues could be country-specific poverty-environment indicators,
integrated into its Multidimensional Poverty Index. This guidelines and capacities to integrate environmental
work established that it was technically possible to do so, and natural resource concerns into multidimensional
but that there are challenges. poverty measurements. The guidelines show how
poverty-environment indicators can be incorporated in
Challenges. Methodologies to integrate national statistics and reporting, supporting government
environmental and natural resources systematically efforts to achieve the SDGs and monitor progress.
into multidimensional poverty measurement were
essentially not available when countries started asking Added value. PEI/PEA’s innovative work in measuring
PEI if this could be done. The challenge was to develop multidimensional poverty is highly applicable to the
such methodologies. Some key environmental–natural monitoring and achievement of the SDGs, which
resource-poverty data cannot be practically collected themselves are multidimensional. Better measurement
through household surveys, which are the main way of of what really matters can improve both environmental/
collecting poverty-related data. Such surveys are focused natural resource–related programmes and poverty
on a limited range of socioeconomic factors, particularly reduction programmes.
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
links discussed above, and explores cause and The SDG Interlinkages Analysis & Visualisation Tool
effect interactions. The nexus approach can be (V4.0), maintained by the Institute for Global
used for tracing the interaction of environmental Environmental Strategies, maps potential synergies
needs significant for poor groups. For example, within and between the SDGs and demonstrates
there are important positive and negative links the indivisibility of the targets. The tool can be
and feedbacks across three critical needs: water, tailored to examine different nexuses and has
energy and food security. The Water, Energy and Food the potential to map similar interactions at the
Security Resource Platform offers many resources for national level (ADB and UNEP, 2019).
visualizing and analysing this nexus (Figure 2.2).
If used extensively, the nexus approach enables
The nexus approach can, of course, cover more stakeholders to shift their thinking from a simple
than three needs. The Global CLEWS (Climate, Land, sectoral perspective to one that is more cross-
Energy and Water Strategies) model provides useful sectoral, coherent and integrated. As such, it
insights about relationships among five needs: can stimulate multipurpose investments in the
water, energy, climate and land and material use at environment and natural resource sustainability
the global scale. A Stockholm Environment Institute that realize economic and social synergies. But
study proposes expanding and applying the nexus because the nexus approach often challenges
approach to improve cross‐-sectoral integration of existing siloed structures, policies and procedures,
all the SDGs (Weitz, Carlsen and Trimmer, 2019), it must be introduced judiciously.
which cover far more than five issues.
30
Figure 2.2 The water-energy-food nexus
Water
gy
er
W
en
at
ce
er
du
is
ro
ne
r
p
ed
te
Fo
to
wa
ed
o
ed
dt
to
ply
ed
ra
g
ne
ns
up
ro
po
w
is
s
to
fo
er
rts
ed
o
at
vir
d
W
ed
tu
ne
al
is
wa
gy
te
er
r
En
Source: United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources.
Chapter 2: Analysing Poverty-Environment Issues
Table 2.2 PEI’s cost of environmental and natural resource degradation in Africa
Mozambique 17% of GDP Estimated cost to remediate these damages is 9% of GDP, implying a
(2012) Equivalent to $370 million positive rate of return
Malawi 5.3% of GDP Costs are more than GDP allocated to education and health in 2009
(2011, 2017) Equivalent to $191 million A 1% ($300,000) increase in public expenditure on the environment and
natural resources could increase GDP by $17 million
PEI/PEA also conducted economic studies at local range of interrelated and mutually reinforcing
and project levels that influenced key decisions. deprivations; and drawing attention to the stigma,
In Rwanda, an environmental economic analysis discrimination, insecurity and social exclusion
showed that the degradation of the Gishwati Forest associated with poverty. Rights-based approaches
and the Rugezi wetland increased electricity costs also emphasize active and informed participation
by up to 167 percent per unit. Siltation from soil by the poor in the formulation, implementation and
erosion (which also affects agricultural productivity) monitoring of poverty reduction and environment
and reduced water inflows to the hydropower strategies as well as access to productive resources
reservoirs decreased electricity generation; this and participation in public life.
had a direct cost of $65,000 per day when fossil
fuel–generated electricity was needed to replace
2.3.2 Understanding gender
hydroelectricity (PEI, 2019).
Gender analysis aims to identify differences
between men and women. This includes, for
2.3 Analysing social example, identifying and costing the gender gap
differences and impacts in terms of earnings, productivity and access.
It draws attention to the conditions needed for
2.3.1 Understanding the poor
equitable and sustainable environmental and
Environmental and development issues are deeply natural resource management. UNDP (2016) offers
local and can be deeply personal; they affect useful practical guidance. Gender analysis can
33
particular people in particular places. So that explore the following, ideally using participatory
development interventions can adequately address methodologies:
these needs of different places and people, we need
( Differentiated roles and needs of women and
to fully understand the differences: are we talking
men, including gender-based labour division
about urban communities or rural? Those with assets
or the homeless? Men or women? The old or young? ( Gender-differentiated systems for access
What kinds of social differences are there within to resources, labour, uses, rights, and the
each group? What are their roles—producers and/ distribution of benefits and products
or consumers, holders of (traditional) knowledge
( Gender relations, not only focusing on women
on poverty-environment links and sustainable
but also looking at differences, inequalities,
pathways that could be scaled up, drivers and
power imbalances and differential access to
recipients of environmental change?
resources between women and men
Several methodologies can be used to identify and ( Gender as a factor in influencing how people
understand poor people. These include income respond to change individually and collectively
poverty assessments through household surveys,
( Gender dimensions of institutions at all levels
participatory survey techniques and assessments,
of society
gender analysis and multidimensional poverty
assessments (discussed above). Household The basic tasks involved in gender analysis are as
surveys conducted by national institutions have follows.
increasingly captured links between income and
livelihoods regarding access to and use of natural 1. Identify current and potential impacts of
resources. There is also growing use of a rights-based policies, processes and institutions on women’s
approach: this underlines the multidimensional and men’s livelihood strategies and outcomes.
nature of poverty, describing it in terms of a This analysis should look at policies, legislation
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
34 poverty-environment issues, studying the cost stated incomes below the poverty line, including
of the gender gap to the relevant sector is an the elderly, the uneducated and women. However,
because ISPAAD was not able to increase grain
effective way to promote gender equality. For
production and yields, these groups remained food-
example, a study by UN Women and PEI (2018)
insecure. Annual expenditure on ISPAAD operations
examined the implications of the gender gap
exceeded annual proceeds (estimated total
in agriculture productivity on gross domestic
value of production) in all crop seasons since the
product and poverty reduction efforts in five programme’s inception. The analysis recommended
African countries. making ISPAAD more clearly targeted, means-
based, and focused on agricultural packages
offered on an incremental cost-sharing basis; and
2.3.3 Understanding differential poverty and
for it to distribute seeds (sorghum, maize, millet and
social impacts
cowpea) according to land suitability and resilience
Poverty and social impact analysis comprises a useful to climate change.
set of analytic tools to apply in policy elaboration,
Source: Marumo et al. (2014).
implementation (e.g. midterm reviews) or post-
strategy evaluation. These tools can determine the
anticipated or actual outputs and outcomes of the
sector strategy to intended beneficiaries in terms of
poverty reduction, livelihoods and gender, and to 2.4 Analysing the context:
the environment and ecosystems. Their findings can Institutions and power,
lead to refinements in sector policies or programmes politics and change
to mitigate against unintended negative economic,
social or environmental results, and to maximize Having scoped the poverty/environment issues
expected pro-poor environmental benefits. See and their interactions (discussed in Section 2.2)
Box 2.2 for an example of such an analysis. and scoped the players involved (discussed in
Chapter 2: Analysing Poverty-Environment Issues
Section 2.3)—both the main groups influencing those There are four linked tasks for context analysis (Bass
issues (government, civil society and business) and et al., 2021):
the particular poor people who experience them—
we need to understand what drives those issues and 1. Scope the context analysis, defining a clear
what enables or blocks change. purpose and plan for the analysis, based on
scoping of the poverty-environment issues and
Institutional and context analysis provides a way players.
to identify the most effective entry points for
2. Analyse stakeholders and their agency,
mainstreaming poverty-environment objectives
identifying and understanding key stakeholders,
into the machinery of government and other
individuals and organizations, their interests
processes. It can help inform who to involve in
and ideas, authority and powers, and the
dialogues and how to involve them (Chapter 3).
relationships between them.
It also helps find potential catalysts for change:
changes in the ways institutions are structured; and 3. Analyse change and change processes,
changes in the ways departments and ministries exploring the policy space, capacity, timing,
interact, communicate and cooperate. framing and processes that lead to positive or
negative change.
Even though politics can be, and often is, a major
4. Inform strategy, building on the understanding
driver of poverty-environment outcomes (Box 2.3),
gained in tasks 2 and 3 above, develop a
people in the environmental field are often
strategy that will inform decisions of planning
reluctant to assess political issues in their work.1
(taken up in Chapter 4), budgeting (Chapter 5), etc.,
We propose a simplified approach to political
economy analysis, based on a 2021 guide by the
to improve poverty-environment outcomes. 35
UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre These tasks are not strictly linear or chronological.
(UNEP-WCMC) and the International Institute for Rather, they are iterative and dynamic, which is
Environment and Development (IIED),2 that will why we have not called them steps. For example,
enable us to scope the issues and produce an initial, formulating the precise change strategy (task 4)
big-picture analysis. Where such a scoping reveals might appear to be the culmination of PEI/PEA
a complex range of political issues, professionals activity, but that strategy may call for a little more
with more formal skills in political economy analysis focused analysis of the particular actors involved
may need to be engaged. in the strategy (back to task 2) or of a particular
change process (task 3). Each task entails a number
of activities; these are summarized in Table 2.3 along
with their main outputs and detailed below.
1
This handbook uses “politics” as a catch-all term that
includes simple human nature, how people negotiate
with each other and how decision-making processes
work, as well as party politics. There are many reasons 2.4.1 Task 1: Scope the context analysis
why such politics need to be understood—and certainly
not ignored. The scope of the context analysis should be
determined based on project goals, available
2
The guide (Bass et al., 2021), aimed at non-specialists,
draws heavily on political economy analysis, a long- resources and the specific poverty-environment
standing and broad field of study which provides problem to be addressed. A context analysis is
many tools that can help with institutional and context intended to shed light on the causes of problems,
analysis. It seeks to explain the political, economic, social
so it is important that the questions asked look for
and cultural reasons why things work the way they do,
and the incentives and constraints affecting stakeholder explanations of why and how rather than only
behaviour—including that of decision-makers—in a descriptions of who and what. When the scope
given context.
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Many environmental and natural resource problems There are useful lessons for poverty-environment
have political roots. They relate to the ways power and integration from narrower environmental mainstreaming
resources are secured and used in a country or society, efforts. For example:
and are intimately linked with problems of poverty and
( Environmental mainstreaming strategies have
inequality.
often not worked, particularly if they were not built
( Natural resource ownership, access and use rights, on an understanding of real-world interests, the
use patterns, and benefit sharing of associated complexities of politics and power dynamics, and
public goods all have political economy roots. real-world decision-making processes. They have
tended to make a technical environmental case, while
( Environmental degradation and the unsustainable
ignoring key issues that have political backing such
use of natural resources are very often associated
as the jobs and growth nature can support. They cite
with inequality. They are driven either by elites
environmental evidence (e.g. species information)
seeking wealth (greed) or by poor people seeking
rather than the economic evidence (e.g. gross
survival (need). What we perceive as people exploiting
domestic product contribution and job creation) that
nature often turns out to be people exploiting other
is more influential in decisions. And those who are
people to access nature.
behind environmental mainstream strategies often
( Many conflicts emerge over access and use of give up prematurely on decision-makers, bemoaning
natural resources, and from people weaponizing
36
a lack of political will.
these resources.
( Successful mainstreaming approaches have had
( The political economy is more complex when there a clearer eye on issues of the political economy.
are significant exploitable natural resources such Being aware of important unwritten rules or those
as forests, minerals and fossil fuels—that is, where with the power to change things for the better can
there are significant financial gains to be made and help in locating political will or creating it, to engage
transparency challenges. with the right decision processes at the right time,
( Stakeholders who are most dependent on the and to develop strategies to mobilize champions and
environment and natural resources are often bring blockers onside. Sometimes political economy
marginalized, lacking resource access and analysis will point to an integration strategy that
representative, procedural or distributional rights works with the grain of political economy—such as
and justice. For too many of them, environmental working with current formal systems, powers and
conservation entails a loss of rights. vested interests; and sometimes against the grain—
where new or marginalized players are beginning to
( Policy, fiscal and market measures can create win the argument better and where informal pressures
incentives for more sustainable and equitable can be exerted. Formal political economy analysis
development. But they are not “magic bullets,” and has not been routinely deployed in mainstreaming,
their effectiveness is highly context-specific. That but informal or intuitive approaches have also had
context therefore needs to be better understood. success; for example, people in-house simply having
( Progress on management of public environmental the right connections, asking the right questions,
and natural resources requires collective action having conversations about how things really work—
among diverse players. Collective action depends in summary, thinking and acting politically.
upon trust: this may be lacking, but sources of trust
need to be identified so they can be nurtured.
Task/activity Output
1 Scope the context analysis: Define purpose, issues and work plan for analysis
1.1 Establish why the analysis is being conducted
1: Scoping document and work plan
1.2 Clarify the audience/users of the analysis laying out the purpose, rationale,
1.3 Scope the political issues audience, issues, analytical questions,
and roles and work plan for conducting
1.4 Agree on questions the analysis will explore—why and how questions, the analysis
not simply who and what
1.5 Write up the work plan for the context analysis
2 Analyse stakeholders and their agency: Understand key institutions and
potentially other stakeholders (e.g. individuals); their mandates, policies and
processes that affect poverty-environment integration; their interests and
ideas, authority and agency; and their relationships
2: Summary institutional analysis of
2.1 Identify the main interests in support of or against poverty-
interests for or against good poverty-
environment outcomes
environment outcomes, institutions and
2.2 Map the institutions that hold these interests their powers—revealing champions,
blockers, etc., and any particular
2.3 Identify institutional powers to pursue interests stakeholder analysis that is needed
2.4 Prepare a synthesis output on institutions
2.5 Conduct a supplementary stakeholder analysis if needed on key 37
organizations/individuals
3 Analyse change and change processes: Explore the capacity, timing,
framing and processes behind positive and negative change
3: Change and change process
3.1 Identify relevant recent changes that have been positive and negative report including a table outlining
for poverty-environment outcomes those supporting and blocking the
3.2 Map decision-making processes involved in the changes environment
of the context analysis has been determined, the and other power relations and incentive
terms of reference for a research team can be structures that underlie current practices.
drawn up.
( Identifying constraints within and between
institutions that may undermine good
2.4.2 Task 2: Analyse stakeholders and their poverty-environment outcomes—in internal
agency processes, relationships among institutions and
system-wide: are the tools used appropriate for
An institutional analysis involves: assessing, planning, managing and monitoring
multidimensional poverty?
( Scoping what is actually being done to
reduce poverty and improve the environment ( Highlighting the political factors that affect
relevant to poor groups—that is, assessing poverty-environment outcomes either
the local context in terms of economic and positively or negatively—for example,
environmental issues, national and sector corruption and rent-seeking around valuable
policies and plans on these issues, political natural resources, which may be controlled by
drivers, key institutions, governance processes certain political groups for their own benefit
and actors. with few benefits for poor people.
38
poverty-environment reform and/or those
— Finance and planning ministries likely to obstruct it.
— Environmental ministries ( Determine where more detailed stakeholder
— Sector ministries and subnational bodies analysis is needed to support particular
— Office of the head of state poverty-environment goals—these goals will
likely relate to poverty-environment integration
— Parliament
in planning (Chapter 4) or fiscal processes and
— National statistics office budgets (Chapter 5).
— Media
— Civil society organizations Stakeholder analysis is related to institutional
analysis, but places far more emphasis on
— Development cooperation agencies and
United Nations agencies individual motivation and/or collective interest
than on structures and procedures. It is used to
( Mapping how the machinery of government identify actors or stakeholders within the rule
works—how the government makes its decisions systems or institutions (both formal and informal)
relevant to poverty-environment objectives that can influence a particular process and to
in planning, budgeting, etc., across the whole understand their interests, constraints and ability
policy cycle, and the links and coherence to influence the outcome of a project. Stakeholders
between the parts. can be individuals, organizations or other groups
and can include international actors (e.g. donors),
( Assessing both formal institutions and informal
government officials, civil society or faith-based
institutions—examples of the former include
organizations, interest groups and citizens in
rules, resource allocation and authorization
general.
procedures; examples of the latter include
unwritten rules, kinship and patronage systems,
Chapter 2: Analysing Poverty-Environment Issues
High power
Potential Potential
blockers champions
Engage and raise Encourage and
awareness to influence
bring on board
Low power
government, aid agencies and businesses as ( At what levels do the processes operate—
well as from civil society organizations. local, sectoral, national, regional or
international? Were they separate or did
( New funds and expenditures, principally in
they interact?
government and aid but also in business,
that invest more in poor groups’ roles in ( What stages in those processes are the
protecting and restoring the environment most critical in contributing to change—for
than in the past. example, Information provision, analysis,
debate, approval, planning, budgeting,
( Stakeholders’ changed understanding,
review?
attitudes and behaviours that recognize
their dependence on the environment and ( Which mandated formal inputs into decision-
commit to reducing negative impacts on it. making processes on poverty-environment
were particularly useful—for example,
When you have identified the relevant public expenditure reviews, environmental
processes, explore the following: and social impact assessments? Were any
ignored?
( How far do stakeholders agree these changes
are positive, and what alternative views have ( How did the processes contribute to the
been put forward? positive poverty-environment outcomes?
For example, perhaps these were supported
( Where is there demand and/or pressure for
by particular entry points, people or criteria
further positive change?
41
that favoured certain stakeholders and/
( What have been the most negative changes or environments and offered leverage
recently in poverty-environment impacts? opportunities? Or because there were
provisions for ensuring voice, debate and
( What things are on the horizon—for
consensus? Or because new capacities and
example, elections, expected major foreign
tools were available?
investment, and national commitments to
multilateral environmental agreements— ( How did the processes contribute to the
that could drive further change? negative poverty-environment outcomes?
Are these associated with legal or attitudinal
2. Map the processes that were influential in precedents that exclude some stakeholders?
making the above changes. Knowing how Or perhaps with a lack of data that would
desirable changes have been achieved in a given have highlighted the need for change?
situation can greatly help in deciding which
approaches to take. It is useful to understand 3. Prepare a synthesis of the change analysis.
which processes of debate, decision-making, Include a summary table of processes—of
review, and so on, contributed to the positive analysis, debate, decision-making, review,
and negative outcomes you have identified. etc.—that you assess as (i) promising, (ii)
Examples include government policy shifts or presenting surmountable barriers or (iii)
pronouncements, multi-stakeholder policy having insurmountable barriers that could
spaces or dialogues, business task forces and make desired poverty-environment outcomes
lobbying, civil society movements and societal impossible to achieve. The synthesis output
attitudes. should be written to inform a strategy for
bringing about change towards better poverty-
When you have identified the relevant environment outcomes (see task 4).
processes, explore the following:
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Similarly, avoid contentious terms. For example, MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) (2005).
Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: A Framework for
in some countries, the use of the word “political”
Assessment. Island Press, Washington, DC.
is problematic, as it may connote a narrow
political domain in which civil servants are OPHI (Oxford Poverty and Human Development
Initiative) (2018). Global Multidimensional Poverty Index
not supposed to engage or where civil society 2018: The Most Detailed Picture to Date of the World’s Poorest
interaction may not be welcome. In such cases, People. Oxford Poverty and Human Development
Initiative, University of Oxford.
you may want to talk about “context analysis”
rather than political economy analysis. Also PEI (Poverty-Environment Initiative) (2018a). “Accelerating
Sustainable Development in Africa: Country Lessons from
recognize that particular findings of the
Applying Integrated Approaches.” United Nations
analysis may be sensitive or confidential and Development Programme–United Nations
not appropriate to share with all stakeholders. Environment Programme.
43
United Nations Environment Programme World Schreckenberg, K., G. Mace and M. Poudyal (eds.) (2018).
Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK. Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation. Trade-offs and
Governance. London: Earthscan.
Boas, I., F. Biermann and N. Kanie (2016). “Cross-sectoral
Strategies in Global Sustainability Governance: Towards Sida (2017). “Dimensions of Poverty: Sida’s Conceptual
a Nexus Approach.” International Environmental Framework.” Sida, Stockholm.
Agreements (16) 449‐464.
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) (2016).
Coulthard, S., J.A. McGregor and C. White (2018). “How to Conduct a Gender Analysis: A Guidance Note for
“Multiple Dimensions of Wellbeing in Practice.” In UNDP Staff.” UNDP Bureau of Policy and Programme
K. Schreckenberg, G. Mace and M. Poudyal (eds.), Support Gender Team.
Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation. Trade-offs and
UN-Habitat (2010). “A Training Package: Improving Gender
Governance. London: Earthscan.
Equality and Grassroots Participation through Good Land
DFID, EC, UNDP and World Bank (UK Department for Governance.” UN-Habitat, Nairobi.
International Development; Directorate General
UN Women and PEI (Poverty-Environment Initiative)
for Development, European Commission; United
(2018). “The Cost of the Gender Gap in Agricultural
Nations Development Programme; and World Bank
Productivity: Five African Countries.” UN Women Regional
(2002). “Linking Poverty Reduction and Environmental
Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, United
Management: Policy Challenges and Opportunities.” World
Nations Development Programme–United Nations
Bank, Washington, DC.
Environment Programme PEI Africa.
IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development
Weitz, N., H. Carlsen and C. Trimmer (2019). “Delivering
(2014). The Multidimensional Poverty Assessment Tool: User’s
on Agenda 2030: A New Approach for Integrated Planning.”
Guide. Rome: IFAD.
Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm.
Marumo, D.S., N.M. Tselaesele, U. Batlang, G. Nthoiwa
and R. Jansen (2014). “Poverty and Social Impact
Analysis of the Integrated Support Programme for Arable
Agriculture Development in Botswana.“ Working Paper
No. 2. Poverty-Environment Initiative, Gaborone,
Botswana.
Chapter 3
Dialogue and
Engagement
Chapter overview
P
articipatory dialogue with all relevant stakeholders ( What dialogue is and does. The chapter explains the
can expand insights and generate ideas by improving range of dialogue functions, levels and types that bring
mutual understanding and trust and by bringing different actors together into a safe space to exchange
about broad agreement. Engaging with and listening to and generate knowledge and options.
stakeholders to shape poverty-environment analyses, visions
( Characteristics of effective dialogue. These
and plans ensures their diverse perspectives and demands
characteristics comprise inclusion, respect, agency,
are heard and their capabilities and insights drawn upon.
exchange, openness, collaboration, practicality, iteration,
This process is much more likely to lead to the fundamental
transparency and embeddedness. The information
reforms needed for poverty-environment integration than
presented here is based on lessons from the Poverty-
top-down policymaking or technocratic efforts alone.
Environment Initiative (PEI) and its successor, Poverty-
A formal dialogue process is therefore a particularly helpful Environment Action for Sustainable Development Goals
stage between analysis (Chapter 2) and planning (Chapter 4). (PEA), as well as other sources offering strong innovation
It helps to get the vision “right” and broadens understanding, and experience, notably in forest policy and green
trust and ownership of the poverty-environment strategy. economy.
However, dialogue is not just confined to a one-off stage; ( Involving stakeholders. The chapter explores who to
dialogue approaches and related participatory mechanisms involve in dialogue and the barriers to participation that
should be brought into the other stages of analysis, planning, need to be overcome. Distinguishing the different needs
review, etc., as they can both enrich them and mobilize for dialogue in “uni-stakeholder” groups as well as multi-
stakeholders to act. stakeholder, tactics are suggested to engage effectively
with both well- and poorly represented groups.
This chapter focuses on engaging stakeholders in contributing
to the big picture of poverty-environment policymaking at ( How to run dialogues. The chapter explores ways to plan
the level of vision and principles. It specifically covers the dialogues, tactics to engage specific stakeholder groups
following: and methodologies that work for running dialogue
sessions, and the main steps entailed: engage—to build
( Why dialogue? In the face of too few people having a trust among leaders, explore—to seek agreement, and
voice in poverty-environment decisions, or different world change—to facilitate collective action.
views on poverty-environment issues keeping people
apart with resulting poverty-environment decisions
being ignored and impotent, dialogue offers an inclusive
approach to generating common understanding, vision
and commitment that can make real progress.
3.1 Dialogue: Creating field have tended to skip straight from formal
analytical work to technocratic planning;
common ground, vision in the process, they engage only a narrow
and commitment range of officials and consultants. They may
have included a few participatory processes—
3.1.1 Why dialogue?
such as working groups representing
When policy interventions fail, any of four major different disciplines and sectors, or brief field
reasons tends to be cited. Each reason is linked to consultations extracting some information
weak or absent dialogue: from certain stakeholders—but did not invest
sufficiently in dialogue. Dialogue provides a
( An apparent lack of political will. The necessary basis for stakeholder exchange to
intervention did not take the time to find expose fundamental beliefs and ideas, allow
political will, to mobilize it or to create it, stakeholders the time and opportunity to learn
47
especially if it engaged just a few officials from each other, absorb new ideas and change
and imported external ideas. Dialogue is an perspective where needed, and create multi-
opportunity to raise the level of common stakeholder consensus and buy-in.
understanding and political will, to generate a
vision that many share. Dialogue is an essential normative step between
analysis and planning. It is needed to build
( An apparent lack of capacity and resources
trust, encourage societal ownership, crowd-
to implement the change. The intervention did
source inputs and ideas, and generate wider
not engage the very groups that could otherwise
commitment to a high level of ambition. This basis
have been mobilized for implementation.
is more likely to trigger the reforms needed for
Dialogue is an opportunity to find the right
poverty-environment integration than top-down
partners and motivate them.
policymaking or technocratic efforts. Above all, it is
( Apparent technical failures in the plan. The a manageable way that helps everyone appreciate
intervention did not explore options that and work with the world views of others (Box 3.1).
were more relevant, better understood and in
demand. Too frequently, interventions fail to
address fundamental differences in perspective
3.1.2 Learning from dialogue experiences
addressing poverty-environment issues
on environment and poverty issues—
perspectives that are often deep-rooted and The United Nations Development Programme–
taken for granted. Dialogue is an opportunity to United Nations Environment Programme (UNDP-
help people see things from others’ viewpoints, UNEP) Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) and
and so ensure a shared vision emerges with real its successor, Poverty-Environment Action for
resonance locally or sectorally. Sustainable Development Goals (PEA) have made
( Ineffective consultation, one-off at best. significant contributions in finding the right entry
Interventions in the poverty-environment points for engaging in poverty-environment policy
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Multi-stakeholder processes usually focus on bringing and financial capital, driven by profit and economic
different types of actors together from different ministries, growth imperatives.
sectors, professional disciplines, etc. While they can often
( Ethics. Modern societies have lost the traditional
agree in principle, they are just as likely to remain divided
values and behaviours that respected nature.
at a fundamental level. For complex, “wicked” problems,
airing different world views can be more significant than In practice, there are truths behind each of these world
different sectors or disciplines. Diverging geographic and views, and bringing them together in dialogue can
cultural backgrounds, development or environmental encourage both more nuanced diagnosis and a richer
paradigms, values and experiences mean that issues of menu of solutions.
poverty and environment are often seen in fundamentally
The significance of an individual’s local context—
different ways. For example, people tend to adhere to one
people’s deep knowledge of where they live and work, and
or two standard perspectives on poverty-environment
their lack of experience beyond it, is well expressed in the
issues, and are biased to solutions that fit these particular
famous Saul Steinberg cartoon illustrating an archetypal
views:
New Yorker’s view of the rest of the country and the world.
( Scarcity. There are too many people, so environments A cartoon view from China—or from one discipline or
are destroyed to meet needs for scarce resources. another—would be similarly skewed. Yet it takes this same
diversity of world views, disciplines, religions, languages
( Power. Inequalities create environmental problems as
and culture to generate robust, authentic solutions that
rich people grab the best environments and push the
48
are credible to all. This diversity can also lead to distrust
poor into marginal places.
between groups unless there are incentives and means to
( Capitalism. Markets incentivize the liquidation of improve the ways that people connect. Good dialogues
natural capital to produce higher-value physical are designed to enable such improved conditions.
( The Forests Dialogue (TFD), which has organized 3.1.3 Feeding a process of societal change
over 90 multi-stakeholder dialogues aimed
at making policy and investment progress on Effective dialogues both map out and begin to
forest issues all over the world (TFD, 2020) accelerate societal change. There is a natural
process of social diffusion for any positive change
( The Green Economy Coalition, which has
(Figure 3.1). Dialogues can identify what is needed
organized national dialogues on inclusive green
Chapter 3: Dialogue and Engagement
Figure 3.1 How progressive action is cumulatively adopted through social diffusion
49
Note: This example is for climate action, but could apply to other progressive change, such as poverty-environment
integration.
Source: Zhao et al. (2021).
for social diffusion to work and catalyse it: getting The choice of the policy space to create change
more people to act faster, increasing the driving needs to have a clear entry point. Such space can
forces in favour of positive change and reducing be an established forum for reviewing development,
the restraining forces. national political processes, mandated planning
procedures, etc.; it should welcome the actors
Societal change is the opposite of a “magic bullet.” concerned, be conducive to considering relevant
No single poverty-environment intervention will knowledge, be sufficiently free and creative to
work for everyone, because people hold different generate new knowledge, and allow enough time
and sometimes opposing views, and their reasons to go through a process of change.
for inaction are different. We need a comprehensive
set of interventions that target different subsets Time matters. In much development and
of the population—from those most concerned conservation work, short meetings can sometimes
about change to the sceptics—so that no one is left be optimistically labelled dialogues, but rarely
behind and no one stands in the way (Zhao et al., afford sufficient time for people to reflect, possibly
2021). Dialogues are about exploring this level of change views, inquire and together create change.
social change—bringing the affected actors into a
supportive policy space with relevant information
for an adequate amount of time to agree on
changes needed.
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
3.1.4 Eight functions of dialogue imitation, avoids the pitfalls of past mistakes
and stimulates collaboration. Small-scale
Effective dialogues deliver at least eight functions interaction becomes translated into large-
that can support better poverty-environment scale networks.
integration across the policy cycle. They start with
the premise that dialogue is active conversation 7. Catalyse legitimate leadership and
(Monzani, 2020; TFD, 2020; Worsley, 2017): organization. When people actively converse
and purposefully explore what they can do
1. Stimulate relevant and useful conversation. about issues important to them, leaders
People from diverse sectors, disciplines and emerge and action groups coalesce. Their
world views make for more challenging—but form and actions are subscribed to by affected
potentially more productive—conversations stakeholders, conferring legitimacy.
than one-way advocacy, two-way consultation, 8. Make for smart policy. Evidence generated
or narrow interest groups talking only to through local inquiry-focused conversations
themselves in echo chambers. provides important insights for policymakers,
2. Foster active involvement. The act of especially for bottom-up and alternative
conversation reveals people’s interests and solutions. Resulting policy and actions provide
energies far more than passive consultation important entry points for stakeholders to take
around preset questions. Facilitated well, good the initiative.
conversation leads to commitment and action
by more people.
50 3.2 Characteristics and
3. Offer safe spaces enabling stronger voice of
marginalized groups. Dialogue, especially with
types of effective dialogue
field components, improves understanding Ten characteristics of constructive and respectful
of local actors’ needs, capabilities and multi-stakeholder dialogue need to be encouraged;
motivations; this is important when many these are drawn from Monzoni (2020); TFD (2020);
poverty-environment challenges are hidden and Worsley (2017).
from the view of capital cities.
1. Inclusion. Effective dialogues explicitly include
4. Foster mutual understanding and learning.
genuine representatives of the groups affected
Conversations with people involved in a
by the issue in question and are especially
particular action enable reflection and
proactive in engaging with the issues of
evaluation of the action and its consequences. A
marginalized groups.
moment of deliberate pause and conversation
stimulates thoughtful reviews of what worked 2. Safe spaces and mutual respect. Dialogues are
and what did not. consent-based and recognize stakeholders’
rights and views.
5. Generate more credible evidence and ideas.
Interlocutors in conversation can challenge or 3. Equity and agency. Dialogue participants
validate both established facts or new evidence. should be able to affect decision-making in
They can bring ideas together and use their own the dialogue process and its outcomes. No
perspectives and experiences to develop ideas participant should be favoured over another.
and frame new ones. 4. Exchange. Dialogues aim to exchange opinions
6. Increase networking. Conversations enable and ideas in a spirit of learning between people
lessons learned by action groups to become with different world views and disciplines; they
visible to one another. This gives rise to are not debates between opponents.
Chapter 3: Dialogue and Engagement
5. Openness. Dialogues support stakeholders in joint analysis and collective solutions that live on
voicing their opinions and in making their own beyond any single dialogue event. They mobilize
decisions, and do not prematurely conclude people for change.
matters before there is adequate agreement.
Dialogues can take many forms. Some dialogues
6. Joint inquiry. Dialogues involve a conversation,
may be a single meeting, while others are a longer
facilitated with open prompts, that helps to
sequence of engagements. They may comprise
identify, validate and “resonance test” issues.
single stakeholder groups or multiple stakeholders.
Once validated, the inquiry is used as an
As shown in Figure 3.2, they can be held at three
agreed-upon basis for action.
broad levels to bring local and national players
7. Rooted and practical. Dialogues are shaped together over time (Mohammed, 2020).
by local priorities, kicked off by field visits and
engagement with locals where relevant and ( Micro-level dialogues occur in specific
focused on practical ways forward. They bring locations where groups of concerned people are
to life real-world issues and are not simply mobilized to address issues that concern them.
theoretical arguments. Issues that arise are typically local problems
that people want to address or opportunities
8. Multifaceted and iterative. Dialogue is long
they want to exploit. It is important to give
term, continuous and iterative and can switch
such dialogues considered attention, as the
between different approaches and styles. It
results often form the substrate for higher-level
takes time to achieve the changes needed for
dialogues, and micro-level dialogues alone
51
better poverty-environment outcomes.
usually will not be enough to shape big-picture
9. Transparent and accountable. All aspects visions and major policy changes.
of a dialogue, including the goals, rationale,
( Meso-level dialogues focus on a particular
process and conclusions, should be transparent
sector or theme. Across a nation, there may
to all stakeholders. The organizers and all
be many micro-level dialogues. The data and
participants should be accountable for the
evidence arising from this sea of inquiry can
commitments they make and the actions they
be overwhelming. Meso-level dialogues are a
take.
mechanism to distil the evidence, particularly
10. Embedded in existing processes and by looking for the wider resonance of the issues
capabilities. Dialogues build on existing raised at local levels.
processes including entry points in government
( Macro-level dialogues tend to be national
consultation and planning processes as well as
policy platforms where national policymakers
local and traditional forums where they can
and influencers engage with evidence
offer these positive characteristics. They should
received, preferably from micro dialogues
support these processes and forums, not usurp
and resonance-tested meso dialogues. To
them; but they should also avoid duplication.
be effective, macro-level dialogues need a
If there really is no suitable forum or process
commitment to take some kind of action on the
on which to build, a special dialogue process
basis of the evidence received, and to feed back
may be designed. That process should make
to the other levels.
provision for reflection on its successes and
weaknesses in order to inform improvements to
existing forums.
Figure 3.2 Linking stakeholder issues to policy action: Dialogue methodology deployed by the
Green Economy Coalition
Policy
ew
As
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vi
es
Re
Eviden
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A
id
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As
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es
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es
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es
As
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ew
s
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te
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de
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vi
en
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e
A
ct
id
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id
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id
ec
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ew
As
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Resonance
Stakeholder issue groups testing groups
es
Re
Policy action
s
As
ew
group
vi s As
vi
ew s ce
en
es
Re
es
Re
s
ct
A
s
id
id
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De
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ed
st
e
ct
A
id
te
c
e
De ct
ce
A
id
c
De
ew
As
nan
Reso
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As
ew
es
Re
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s
es
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e
ct
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3.3.2 Deciding on the breadth of stakeholder Figure 3.3 The sustainable development
participation triad
approve and promote interventions that reflected. For example, in PEI/PEA’s multidimensional
uphold laws and standards poverty assessment of some of the districts around
— Experts and peers—may have similar Lake Victoria, surveys took a disaggregated
interests to those leading the poverty- approach and identified how single female–
environment initiative, but complementary headed households had lower incomes and higher
knowledge, skills or perspectives food insecurity. But this difference was not reflected
in the dialogue design. In the dialogue, the voices of
the men dominated, and the workshop outcomes
3.3.3 Tactics to involve specific stakeholder included requests for more government support for
types raising cattle—the men’s preference—but not for
Because the priority stakeholders differ greatly growing crops—the women’s preference. Yet cattle
from one other, a single approach to participation here are unproductive and non-marketed, resulting
in dialogue is needed that works for all (see in ever-worsening land degradation and neglect of
Subsection 3.4.1). However, specific tactics may also the crop-growing sector that could have provided
be needed to dialogue with particular groups and women with greater food security.
their priorities.
Civil society groups
Marginalized and poor groups in general Civil society covers a huge and non-uniform
Access and participation are essential to asserting range of entities. It may include social movements;
every person’s right to live in an environment volunteer, indigenous peoples, mass-based
55
globally. Stakeholders have come to know what to
standards upheld, notably human rights and
expect of the dialogue process, can identify diverse
environmental standards. They offer several
opportunities to participate, and trust there are
entry points for poverty-environment dialogue
equitable chances to influence the outcome. The
in their law-making, scrutiny of government
model is presented in Figure 3.4, which shows the
budgets and activities, and as an enabler of civic
dialogue flow as a wheel to indicate its non-linear
interaction with government. Public hearings
and iterative nature. Each phase, has distinct steps
and public meetings organized by parliament,
(displayed in blue) for achieving its objectives. The
parliamentary cross-party groups—for example, on
objectives are displayed as arrows because they
poverty, environment or audit—and parliamentary
should be achieved in sequence. The three phases
caucuses all offer legitimate forums for poverty-
are summarized below in terms of the top tasks
environment dialogue. “Engaging Parliaments on the
involved in each.
2030 Agenda and the SDGs: Representation, Accountability
and Implementation: A Handbook for Civil Society”
(Together 2030, 2018) provides a comprehensive 3.4.1 Phase 1: Engage—to build trust among
overview of how parliaments worldwide can and leaders
do engage in integrated issues such as those of
poverty and environment. It provides guidance on Based on an initial stakeholder mapping with a
the many established means of engaging through strong political economy lens (Chapter 2), bring the
cross-party groups, etc. right people who properly represent stakeholder
groups to the table. Select two to four dialogue
co-chairs from among the dialogue hosts, field
locations and decision-makers. Prepare an expert
scoping paper that outlines the context of the
poverty-environment issues, summarizes good
practices to learn from, and suggests the ways in
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Figure 3.4 Phases and steps in a typical dialogue: The Forests Dialogue’s model
Work With
Create Key Local and
Advisory International
Groups Partners
TFD Steering Scope the
Committee Issue
st among lead
Identifies Local or ld tru ers Through
Ree Global Challenge bui Dialogue
ENGAGE
val
uat
e&
Red
irec
tW
ork
Network Phase 1 Share
With Partners Information
to Promote and
Collaborative
Solutions
TFD’s Perspectives
facilitate co
Initiative
OR E
CH A
Phas
e 2
Flow
nt
Identify
eme
Advocate for Key Issues
3 as
Ph
e
Agreement and
GE PL
gre
Based Policy “Fracture
llab
EX
at All Levels Lines”
ka
or
ve
at
ac ee
s
i
tio Analyze
Identify n Conditions
Stakeholder Underlying Key
Actions and Challenges
Next Steps
Identify Opportunities
Prioritize for Resolving
56
Challenges “Fracture Line”
Issues
which dialogue can be useful for moving towards 3.4.2 Phase 2: Explore—to seek agreement on
possible solutions. Hold a multi-stakeholder issues and opportunities
scoping discussion, based on the scoping paper, to
This follows the same kind of process as in Phase 1,
look for areas of possible resonance—important
but is aimed more at agreement (not necessarily
issues and their fracture lines (areas riven with
consensus1) on the causes of problems and possible
conflict), information gaps and the role sought
solutions. The phase is informed by a more detailed
from dialogue. Throughout, have a neutral
independent diagnostic of those issues that
convenor and a multi-stakeholder advisory group
were agreed upon in Phase 1 as priorities. Where
to ensure the process is well designed and carried
relevant, it then moves into field dialogues to get a
out. As far as possible, have stakeholders co-create
stronger sense of the real incentives and impacts
the dialogue’s rules of engagement. Summarize
the conclusions of Phase 1 with a short co-chairs’
written statement; at this stage, no solutions are
promoted or are off the table. 1
Consensus is often very time-consuming or impossible
to achieve, and may be compromised or forced by
some people on others. A co-chairs’ agreement with
participants has been found to be the most productive
way forward, with as much or even more ownership than
formal consensus.
Chapter 3: Dialogue and Engagement
57
collaborative decisions and action issues. All of these should be selected because
they are known and trusted in the local or
This phase reflects on what information and ideas thematic context, and/or they are strong
the dialogue process has produced so far, agrees facilitators and able to inspire participants
on prioritization criteria and applies them to to engage. They must be able to put their
identify priority solutions. Stakeholders then look personal views aside and faithfully represent all
to who could apply the prioritized solutions and stakeholders in managing the dialogue.
how they should do it. Stakeholder interaction in
( An advisory group can expand this leadership
the full dialogue process to date—hopefully having
where necessary, drawing from a slightly wider
improved trust (Phase 1 onwards) and agreement
group of stakeholders, and including external
(Phase 2)—means specific organizations and
people with dialogue experience.
people will have emerged naturally as leaders in
collaborative change. These leaders then advocate ( A secretariat is needed to organize the entire
for the agreed-upon changes and may then decide dialogue process—the invitations, logistics,
to contribute their own resources to implement the presentations, rapportage and outputs. During
changes. dialogue sessions, the secretariat supports the
co-chairs’ facilitation through pre- and mid-
Through a feedback survey towards the end of this dialogue check-ins and guidance.
phase, all participants contribute to reviewing
dialogue results; this clarifies areas where further
iteration is needed to handle tougher issues not yet 3.5.2 Careful selection of dialogue
agreed upon or prioritized. participants
Successful dialogues bring together a diversity
of voices, especially those who have traditionally
been marginalized. The stakeholder analysis done
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
around poverty-environment issues (Subsection 2.4.2) 3.5.5 Inclusive frameworks for kicking off
helps to select the stakeholders for a dialogue, dialogues
but questions should now be asked about their
With very diverse groups with differing perspectives,
willingness to participate in a particular dialogue
it is useful to kick off dialogue in a way that all
and any barriers to such participation:
can see an entry point for their interests. While
( Who needs to be involved to work on this some rather complex frameworks are available
problem credibly? (see Subsection 3.3.2) to help formal technical analyses (such as those in
Figure 2.1), two frameworks have proven useful for
( Would they participate, and under what
helping non-specialist stakeholders come to grips
conditions?
with poverty-environment issues. These are also
( Who has not participated in the past, or has broadly acceptable to professionals from different
been excluded, and why? disciplines and agencies. They are the sustainable
development Venn diagram of environment,
( What needs to be on or off the table for people
society and economy, and the doughnut economy
to participate?
framework (Box 3.2). Both are simple and highly
( Is there an existing process or procedure that visual, which usefully supports group work on
can provide for the above, or would a stand- flipcharts and whiteboards.
alone dialogue process be needed?
Box 3.2 Two inclusive frameworks for kicking off poverty-environment dialogue
The Venn diagram of environment, society, and The doughnut economy. This is a normative framework
economy. This simple visualization of the three (Figure B3.2.2) that looks for effective policies and action
constituent systems of sustainable development is within a safe operating space that neither exceeds a
recognized by many disciplines and can help kick off ceiling of environmental limits nor descends below a
conversations (Figure B3.2.1). floor of basic human needs. The doughnut economy
framework is a useful device for plotting poverty-
Figure B3.2.1 Constituent systems of sustainable environment issues and policies that has proven to be
development
rich for dialogue. Doughnut paper tablecloths have been
made for groups to map critical issues and develop ideas.
For example, a South African doughnut map produced
Environment through multi-stakeholder dialogue revealed priority
problems that relate to (i) climate, biodiversity, water
and marine harvest limits having been breached; and
(ii) socially acceptable minima on issues such as safety,
income and access to electricity that have still not been
met. This helped dialogue around possible solutions.
Society Economy
Figure B3.2.2 The doughnut economy framework
59
The approach puts environment, society and economy on
the same page, allowing those who work on, in or with
any one of these to contribute to an integrated approach.
It can be a useful first step in initiating dialogue—for
example, by having economists talk about sustainable
development through the economic policy lens that
is most familiar to them; then gradually moving the
conversation to the intersection of economic and social
policy, and economic and environmental policy; and
finally to the interaction of all three. Environmentalists
and social groups can then be invited to contribute in
similar ways, through the lens that is most familiar to Source: Raworth (2012).
them.
and the aims of the dialogue can be invaluable. discuss difficult issues and potential solutions, or
Pre-dialogue visits to design the field dialogues begin to unlock issues where progress is stuck.”3
with local stakeholders are strongly recommended.
Site visits not only build rapport and connection 3.5.10 Effective conversation leaders
between participants but can also help bring Inclusion is a sine qua non for dialogues.
to life issues that are less apparent, or ignored, Conversation leaders should be selected for their
in research. Sometimes this can work in indirect experience in nurturing inclusion—people who can
ways. For example, a seasoned dialogue facilitator encourage new connections, ensure that everyone
commented, “In preparing a mining issues scoping in the group is heard and help the group navigate
study, our researchers did not want to include contentious issues constructively.
gender issues because they felt that there were
other more pressing challenges. During our first
field trip, the dialogue group realized there were no 3.5.11 Progression through each meeting
toilets for the women participants. This led to a very
Short, inspiring opening and closing speeches can
fruitful discussion about who makes decisions at the
provide the political and strategic context. But
site that we visited and to a much more grounded
dialogue progress is made more through inquiry-
discussion about how gender issues are felt locally.”2
based and facilitated conversation, delving into
the issues raised in the background paper and
3.5.9 Ground rules and expectations field visits, and aiming to prioritize key challenges
2
Source: Gabriela Flores Zavala, personal communication. 3
Ibid.
Chapter 3: Dialogue and Engagement
of capturing the broad agreement reached, such as 3.5.14 The Chatham House Rule
a road map for poverty-environment action.
The Chatham House Rule is used around the world to
encourage inclusive and open dialogue in meetings
3.5.13 Time that aim to better understand and resolve complex
problems. The guiding spirit of the rule is to share
Much can be done in one to three days for the
the information you receive, but do not reveal who
scoping dialogue, field dialogues and issue/
said it outside the meeting. In polarized settings,
thematic dialogues needed to come to agreement
used effectively, the rule helps bring people together,
on priority poverty-environment actions. However,
break down barriers, generate ideas and agree on
the whole dialogue process might be spread out
solutions. While many meetings are best conducted
over several months between the first scoping
“on the record,” as full transparency is usually
meeting and the final dialogues.
important to the process, the rule can usefully be
The overall timing will not be dictated only by invoked for subjects, or for stages in a dialogue,
the meetings: the process needs to build in time where opinion is too polarized for people to feel
between meetings for particular stakeholder bold or comfortable enough to discuss matters
groups to meet by themselves if necessary, to reflect freely. It allows people to speak as individuals, and
and possibly change position; and should include to express views that their organization may not
key events that are controlled by other processes share. People usually feel more relaxed and ready
such as parliamentary meetings. Much depends for free discussion if they do not have to worry
on context and what else is happening in the about their reputation or the implications of being
field. See Figure 3.5 for an example of a four-stage quoted publicly.
61
dialogue process that, over several months, resulted
in consensus recommendations to reform the
contentious artisanal mining sector in Tanzania.
Communication, trust, strengthened voice of ASM in decision making Locally owned dialogue
Knowledge and information sharing process
3.5.15 Supporting active involvement: World nurture a learning and leadership group. This
Café technique is based on the theory that good
dialogue will revolve around mutual learning and
This methodology can help in running breakout
that, from this learning, leadership will emerge.
groups during dialogue sessions. It enables a
Through the dialogue process, the learning and
structured conversational process based on
leadership group technique brings together a core
predefined questions. The key feature in World Café
group of participants who will increasingly run with
is that individuals switch periodically between
the process and its follow-up. Figure 3.5 presents an
several simultaneous conversation tables and
example of an artisanal mining dialogue in which
are introduced to the previous discussion by the
the dialogue participants voted for some of their
table host. Participants make notes on a large,
members to form a learning and leadership group
shared paper covering the table so that when
to converge around a co-constructed road map—a
they change tables, participants can see what
vision for the future of a contentious sector and its
previous discussions covered. This enables more
stakeholders—and promote its implementation.
people to get more closely involved (at any one
time, there are only a few people around the table)
and creates a cumulative discussion that can shift 3.5.18 Supporting communities as key
people’s conceptions and encourage collective informants and actors: Participatory learning
action. Guidance is provided in “A Quick Reference and action methodologies
Guide for Hosting World Café“ (World Café Community
Over the last 30 years, a suite of tools and
Foundation, 2015).
methodologies has evolved that initially challenged
62 existing orthodoxies about the role of local people
3.5.16 Supporting agreement: Consensus- in the ownership and dissemination of ideas. These
building techniques methodologies became associated with a political
and social movement for transformational change
Although agreement rather than full consensus across the development world and is now often
is generally the more feasible aim—since the mainstream practice. These methods include
issues taken to dialogue are often new and participatory mapping, storytelling, timelines,
rarely conclusive—there are times when multi- transect walks (where researchers and other
stakeholder consensus is needed, for example, on a external participants accompany community
vision or policy wording. The online Consensus Building members on a route through their local area), and
Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement visioning (where communities map their vision for
(Susskind, McKearnan and Thomas-Larmer, 2012) the future).
documents best practices in the field and includes
a step-by-step overview of the consensus-building Some of these methods use local and traditional
process. Seventeen case studies illustrate successes consultation mechanisms and forums, but more
and failures in consensus building, highlighting the modern approaches can also help. Citizen science
impact of cultural differences in decision-making has taken off with increasing access to information
processes and on handling technical disputes. and communication technologies (ICTs) and is
contributing to democratic decision-making.
Citizen science is a means of crowdsourcing
3.5.17 Supporting momentum: Learning and
information, with citizens acting as sensors,
leadership groups
perhaps relaying issues such as pest or pollution
One way to leave a useful legacy of dialogue incidences via mobile phones, or simply responding
processes, and to generate more continuity to surveys. Citizen science and ICTs generally
between each dialogue event, is to develop and can also crowdsource distributed intelligence,
Chapter 3: Dialogue and Engagement
with citizens serving as basic interpreters of the Mohammed, N. (2020). “Inclusion Matters: Policy Insights
and Lessons from the Green Economy Coalition’s National
implications of poverty-environment changes.
Dialogues.” Green Economy Coalition.
And in some circumstances, they enable citizens to
work in groups with scientists to collect data, define Monzani, B. (2020). “The Use of Dialogue within IIED’s Work:
What Works and Why.” International Institute for
problems and co-construct solutions. However, Environment and Development, London.
there are also downsides of social media—notably,
Raworth, K. (2012). “A Safe and Just Space for Humanity: Can
in spreading misinformation. We Live within the Doughnut?” Discussion Paper. Oxfam
International, Oxford, UK.
Increasingly, many methods have been developed
Susskind, L., S. McKearnan and J. Thomas-Larmer (2012).
with or by groups of poor men and women Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to
themselves. The IIED Participatory Learning and Reaching Agreement. Originally published 1999.
Action (PLA) journal has a searchable archive of TFD (The Forests Dialogue) (2020). “Addressing Natural
downloadable tools and case studies from 25 years Resource Conflicts through Dialogue: A Guide to The Forests
Dialogue’s Model.”
of issues. It helped set a radical new development
agenda and facilitated the development of a Together 2030 (2018). “Engaging Parliaments on the 2030
Agenda and the SDGs: Representation, Accountability and
vigorous international community of practitioners
Implementation: A Handbook for Civil Society.”
(Buytaert et al., 2018). All of these methodologies
can be especially helpful with field dialogues, as United Nations Food Systems Summit (2021). “Step-by-
Step Guide for Convenors of Independent Dialogues.”
well as in the detailed analysis discussed in Chapter 2.
Weldegiorgis, F., and A. Buxton (2017). “Informing Dialogue
on Artisanal and Small-scale Mining in Tanzania: A Thematic
Review of Challenges and Solutions.” International
3.6 References Institute for Environment and Development, London.
63
Bass, S. (2013). “Scoping a Green Economy: A Brief Guide World Café Community Foundation (2015).“A Quick
to Dialogues and Diagnostics for Developing Countries.” Reference Guide for Hosting World Café.“
International Institute for Environment and
Development, London. Worsley, S. (2017). “An Approach to Dialogues.” Unpublished
paper. Green Economy Coalition, London.
Buytaert, W., B.F. Ochoa-Tocachi, D.M. Hannah, J. Clark
and A. Dewulfet (2018). “Co-generating Knowledge Zhao, J., R. Rumi Naito, Y. Yu Luo and N. Deans (2021).
on Ecosystem Services and the Role of New “Getting Everyone to Act on Climate Change.” SDG Action
Technologies.” In K. Schreckenberg, G. Mace and M. online article. 13 October.
Poudyal (eds.), Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation.
Trade-offs and Governance. London: Earthscan.
Chapter 4
Integrating Poverty-
Environment Objectives
into Plans
Chapter overview
T
his chapter offers guidance on integrating poverty- This chapter covers:
environment objectives into national, subnational,
( The importance of understanding existing plans and
sectoral and thematic plans, focusing on the
planning processes, their significance for poverty-
mainstream planning processes that are typically in place
environment outcomes and their common drawbacks
in a developing country. There are several reasons to focus
on mainstreaming planning processes: ( Means of stakeholder involvement in plans and planning
processes
( Influence. National plans are foundational: they are
mandated and tend to shape what comes next, such as ( Lessons and three brief case studies from PEI/PEA on the
sector plans, government budgets and roles, financing above
and aid. It also presents six practical steps for integrating poverty-
( Opportunities. There are many entry points into environment objectives into planning processes, with
planning; some of them now demand, or are at least associated checklists and tools that can be applied in and
open to, poverty-environment inputs—especially tailored to individual countries:
national Sustainable Development Goal plans, climate
1. Identify which plans and planning processes have
adaptation plans and green economy strategies.
significant poverty-environment implications.
( Neglect. Many regular development plans do not take
2. Map the players and procedures involved in the target
poverty-environment issues into account.
plan and process.
( PEI/PEA legacy. The Poverty-Environment Initiative
3. Develop a strategy for integrating poverty-environment
(PEI) and its successor, Poverty-Environment Action
issues into the target plan and process.
for Sustainable Development Goals (PEA), effectively
supported the integration of poverty-environment issues 4. Engage with the target plan process, drawing in poverty-
into hundreds of plans in developing countries, often environment stakeholders and information.
using the national development plan as the starting
5. Write up the plan, integrating poverty-environment
point, but also mainstreaming into sector and local plans
objectives and opportunities for implementation.
as well. PEI/PEA’s extensive lessons form the basis of the
guidance in this chapter. 6. Identify how to embed poverty-environment concerns in
planning systems for the future.
4.1 Understanding national vision statements or policies covering 20
or more years, many of which thus may be quite
planning processes aspirational in terms of sustainable development.
A good understanding of the main plans and NDPs normally set macro-level targets for a range
planning processes that affect poverty and the of economic and social indicators over a period
environment is essential for integrating poverty- of five years; in many cases, they also set broad
environment objectives. In order to successfully sector objectives. NDPs are the main reference
integrate poverty-environment objectives into document for prioritizing programmes for inclusion
government-led national development efforts, in the national public budget and for government’s
we need to identify and understand the various efforts to seek other financing from international
planning processes and their associated timelines, and private sector partners. They also inform other
institutions and actors. We also need to know what plans: annual plans, sector plans and subnational
policies and plans are already in place and their plans through guidance which is usually issued by
67
status (i.e. if they are due for review or revision). ministries of finance and/or planning.
The institutional and context analysis methodology
NDPs are prepared by groups of technicians who
described in Section 2.4 can help in identifying and
tend to be organized in sector working groups
understanding these.
and coordinated by a core secretariat from the
Here we address national, subnational, sectoral ministry responsible for national planning. The
and thematic plans, focusing on the mainstream plans typically focus on economic growth, poverty
planning processes that are typically in place in a reduction, and job creation and incorporate
developing country. targets that address gross domestic product (GDP),
rates of employment and poverty levels. As such,
they have implications both for reducing poverty
4.1.1 National development plans and for how the environment and natural resources
National development plans (NDPs) are the (ENR) are managed. Nonetheless, poverty and ENR
umbrella planning framework commonly used are not often accorded a high profile in NDPs—a
in developing countries. They are usually the notable exception being the NDPs of several
paramount national planning instrument. They countries that have been supported by the United
are mandated at high levels, with an established Nations Development Programme–United Nations
government machinery behind them; they link Environment Programme (UNDP-UNEP) Poverty-
directly to budget and implementation measures; Environment Initiative (PEI) and its successor,
and they provide an agreed-upon basis for much Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable
development cooperation. They are often also a Development Goals (PEA).
high-profile focus of debate and lobbying.
In spite of the major opportunity for change that
NDPs are a bridge between vision and action. NDPs offer, the political and institutional context
They may take their overall goals from long-term has tended to resist the kinds of major change
needed to include poverty-environment issues.
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
But if the critical, cross-cutting, complex issues of which poverty-environment integration efforts
poverty-environment are not well reflected in an should engage.
NDP, it is all too easy for them to become invisible
and to draw little mainstream attention to them. Some countries produce ENR sector plans. Treating
Rectifying this situation is the challenge that PEI/ ENR as a sector in itself has the advantage of
PEA has addressed in several developing countries, offering clear links to budgets and investments for
helping them make significant strides towards otherwise marginalized environmental authorities.
coherence and coordination of ENR sustainability There is growing experience with integrating
and poverty-linked issues within their NDPs. poverty issues into ENR strategies and plans. The
UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre
(UNEP-WCMC) and the International Institute for
4.1.2 Sector and subnational plans Environment and Development (IIED) have helped
several countries integrate development issues into
Sector and subnational plans usually relate
national biodiversity strategies and action plans
closely to the NDP, but also have their own roles
(NBSAPs) and environmental issues into NDPs—
and attributes that make poverty-environment
giving rise to reciprocal mainstreaming, which
integration necessary. In many countries, NDPs are
has networked planners across environmental
primarily implemented through sector plans and
and development authorities. This closer working
strategies as well as local development plans. PEI/
relationship has helped stakeholders understand
PEA’s experience found that poverty-environment
the need to treat ENR as both a cross-cutting
integration in NDPs had unsatisfactory outcomes
theme and a sector in its own right (IIED and UNEP-
68
unless it was followed by activities aimed specifically
WCMC, 2017).
at poverty-environment integration in sector and
subnational plans.
Local plans
Sector plans Local authorities and other local organizations
are highly significant in ensuring poor people can
In most developing countries, sector plans direct
access and benefit from ENR services. Local plans
investment within key economic sectors. They are
translate national policy and plans and sometimes
a major determinant of the quantity and quality
sectoral plans. They identify and make the case
of ENR management, as well as the quantity
for government budgets to address local needs,
and quality of goods and services produced,
and are the principal framework for mobilizing
associated livelihoods, employment and consumer
local resources and capabilities. They also provide
benefits. Integrating poverty-environment issues
an agreed-upon framework for civil society and
into sector plans can help tackle the negative
business to make local intentions clear. All of this can
poverty-environment impacts of some investment
be favourable to prioritizing poverty-environment
options—and, more positively, improve the quality
outcomes, which tend to be deeply local in their
of planned investments in ENR management. Ways
manifestation and impacts. Subnational plans
to do this are usually established in a country’s NDP
may be accorded special priority where there is
and sector planning guidelines.
an intention to decentralize governance, improve
The sector plan is not simply a more detailed equity between regions, and mobilize local
articulation of the national plan, but the result of a populations and their resources. Participatory
two-way process. Sector challenges and objectives planning processes involving local stakeholders
come to influence the NDP, the formulation of which and intended beneficiaries, sometimes with
is often done with sector working groups set up field-based consultations (see Subsection 3.3.3),
under the NDP preparation architecture, and with can ensure rights-based approaches and gender
Chapter 4: Integrating Poverty-Environment Objectives into Plans
The African countries that worked with PEI/PEA today in Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,
have national plans and several subnational and Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. This
sectoral plans and commitments that mainstream effort was particularly extensive in Rwanda, with 30
poverty-environment concerns. In the process, they also district development plans; and in Mali, with 11 local
strengthened planning capacities, procedures, data and economic, social and cultural five-year development
financial provisions for poverty-environment outcomes. plans. As with sector plans, PEI/PEA realized
This legacy has established a strong precedent for that decentralization—while a strong political
poverty-environment inclusion in future planning that imperative—was often weak in practice and that
makes each country fitter for achieving sustainable “trickle down” from the NDP could not be assumed.
development. PEI/PEA gave considerable support to participatory
dialogue and diagnosis in forming the local plans.
( National development plans with integrated
poverty-environment goals and targets were ( Green villages are an integrated spatial planning
produced in all PEI/PEA countries except Kenya. and development approach pioneered with PEI/
Integration in these NDPs was not simply one-off: PEA support in Rwanda. Centred on participatory
poverty-environment objectives were mainstreamed planning with the community and cross-government
into two successive NDPs in most countries; and collaboration, green villages aim to improve
in Mali and Rwanda, into three NDPs. Since the environmental management alongside strengthening
development path of most African countries remains community governance and organizational
capacities. The aim was to have at least one green
70 driven by NDPs, and government machinery revolves
around NDPs, this mainstreaming is a real gain—but village in each of the country’s 30 districts; there were
implementation needs to be ensured. already 44 by late 2018.
( Sector plans with mainstreamed poverty- ( Gender mainstreaming was driven by the clear
environment issues and specific goals and targets identification of women as both the principal
were developed in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi, focus of, and major solution to, many poverty-
Mauritania, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania. environment challenges. By 2018, 36 policies and
PEI/PEA realized that it was not enough to assume monitoring frameworks across Africa had gender
that the NDP would be translated into each sector, mainstreamed into them. The PEI/PEA partnership
and so made special efforts to become fully involved in with UN Women was invaluable in this achievement.
the planning of relevant sectors, notably agriculture, With time, the depth and level of ambition for poverty-
forestry and fisheries. environment integration in PEI/PEA countries increased.
( District and other subnational plans with For example, in Rwanda, integration of these objectives
mainstreamed poverty-environment issues in successive NDP processes led to poverty-environment
and specific goals and targets were completed being central in the National Strategy for Transformation
(see Subsection 4.4.1).
plan. Moreover, there are often mandated Once such objectives are integrated in the
environmental and social assessment respective plans, existing coordination and
procedures—such as strategic environmental accountability mechanisms can be used to
assessment and environmental and social incentivize and monitor implementation—
impact assessment—that can potentially for example, through job descriptions,
identify poverty-environment issues (Section 2.1). staff performance contracts and sector
performance reviews. This then feeds into
Chapter 4: Integrating Poverty-Environment Objectives into Plans
continual improvement. PEI was able to support present environmental potentials, environment
up to three successive five-year planning cycles authorities need to understand mainstream
in some countries, with each iteration raising policy aims. Effective poverty-environment
ambitions. With each iteration, too, many integration requires integrating relevant
countries prioritized new issues that had risen poverty perspectives into environment plans,
in prominence, such as gender equality, climate and not only integrating relevant environment
change, disaster risk reduction and other cross- perspectives into poverty plans. This reciprocal
cutting issues that will catalyse sustainable mainstreaming ensures the two types of plans
development. are coherent.
( Poverty-environment integration is an
( An effective central coordinating mechanism
ongoing task that requires dedicated capacity.
is critical for poverty-environment integration,
Poverty-environment integration does not
with strong leadership of central authorities,
end when the relevant objectives have been
notably planning or finance agencies.
integrated into national plans. Instead, the
Earlier poverty-environment mainstreaming
workload may increase geometrically from a
efforts had tended to focus on ministries of
single NDP to multiple local plans and sector
environment, but this faltered as such ministries
plans, with considerable communication
are often poorly resourced and function largely
and participation tasks entailed. Getting the
outside the centre of government power. The
guidelines and procedures right can help with
PEI/PEA emphasis shifted to planning and
efficiency, but it is critical to build local capacity
finance as lead ministries, and to ensuring
they had dedicated capacity to understand
and handle poverty-environment issues and to
so poverty-environment integration is in the job
descriptions and key tasks of many planners.
71
communicate with identified contacts in line ( Poverty-environment outcomes are not
ministries. This shift also helped ensure that determined by the formal plan alone. Political
poverty-environment objectives in the national attitudes, hot issues in society and the media,
plan were reflected in sector and subnational transactional opportunities and unforeseen
strategies. events can all derail preset planning processes
and plans. Further, entrenched policies can limit
( Improve the environmental mainstreaming
or distort how poverty-environment issues are
strategy of environment authorities. To
included in plans.1 We thus cannot rely on formal
strengthen the capacity of environmental
planning and plans alone to ensure poverty-
ministries to support poverty-environment
environment needs are addressed. For this
issues, it was often necessary to improve
reason, Section 2.4 emphasizes the informative
their willingness and ability to engage with
power of political economy analysis. It is also
the main planning and sector ministries,
departments and agencies. This entailed PEI/
PEA’s supplementing environmental authorities’
1
Current policies and laws can constrain practical
commonly deployed one-way arguments for
poverty-environment action. Changing them can be
environmental mainstreaming, and dispelling catalytic for achieving good outcomes. However, the
their assumptions that any funding labelled scope of work needed for policy revision is significant.
“environment” or “climate” is best assigned Depending upon the context it may involve parliament
and parliamentary bodies, statutory commissions,
to them alone. The environment is, to a large
civil service reviews, think tanks, public inquiries, public
extent, a shared and cross-cutting affair and opinion surveys and various forms of lobbying. This
not a silo; all agencies need to conduct some handbook does not focus on national policy and legal
environmental work. Moreover, in order to truly formulation and review processes, but its guidance can
be usefully applied to policy review and development.
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
why this handbook encourages continual with ongoing planning processes, mandated
improvement, using poverty-environment procedures and the relevant planning authorities.
evidence judiciously and engaging with other Where no such processes exist, they may need
stakeholders tactically to influence politics, to be developed—although extensive processes
policies and transactions. parallel to mandated planning should be avoided.
While the steps are broadly sequential, some may
These and other lessons inform the “how-to” need to be iterated; there are no hard and fast
guidance on integrated planning provided in the rules. Studying relevant case studies, such as those
next section. presented in Section 4.4, can help decide the steps to
take in a particular situation.
1. Scope which major plans and planning 4.3.1 Step 1: Identify which plans and
processes have a significant poverty- planning processes have significant poverty-
environment implications
72 environment focus or poverty-environment
implications.
This may involve the following activities:
2. Map the players and procedures involved in the
target plan and process.2 ( Bring together relevant analyses (from
Subsection 2.4.3). Sum up the relevant poverty-
3. Develop a strategy for integrating poverty-
environment problems and potentials for the
environment issues into the target plan and
country, locality, planning theme or sector.
process.
( Bring together elements of the stakeholders’
4. Engage with the planning process, drawing in
vision (from Subsection 3.4.2). Sum up their sense
relevant stakeholders and information.
of poverty-environment consensus, preferences
5. Write up and review the poverty-environment and disagreements, drawing on dialogue
integrated plan, highlighting opportunities for results.
implementation.
( Identify which plan(s) are relevant. Examine
6. Identify how to embed poverty-environment current plan objectives and approaches that
concerns across relevant planning systems in touch on the above poverty-environment
the future. problems, potentials, debates and visions. Do
they potentially help poverty-environment
These steps need to be adapted to the individual outcomes or hinder them? Look at any previous
country, local, sector and stakeholder context. plans that may have tackled these problems
This is especially important so they will work and potentials, identifying what worked and
what did not.
planning processes limit the possibility of guidance on who could make a significant
deploying them to achieve better poverty- difference to the planning outcome.
environment outcomes.
( Clarify the mandated planning procedures,
( Select the target plan or planning process. See stages and timing. It is helpful to know which
Table 4.1 for guidance on prioritization. stage in the planning cycle is coming up next—
for example, evaluation of a plan that is coming
( Write up the results. Document the results of
to a close, or scoping a new plan—and what the
Step 1 as Strategic Input 1: Scoping.
expectations for poverty-environment inputs
might be.
4.3.2 Step 2: Map the players and procedures
( Reflect on political economy issues that tend
involved in the target plan and process
to influence the planning process. Issues to be
This may involve the following: considered include whose interests are included
and whose are excluded, change processes
( Identify stakeholders involved in the that work, and what the outcomes tend to be
mandated planning process. Be clear how they (Section 2.4).
are involved—as planning authorities running
( Check previous analyses of poverty-
the process, technical experts providing advice,
environment issues. This includes determining
local and sector groups being consulted or
if they have met the procedural and quality
advocating for change, or process coordinators
stipulations of the planning process (Section 2.1).
who can handle multiple linked issues.
73
Clarify any differences, and identify further
( Identify potential poverty-environment analysis needed.
champions or blockers. See Subsection 2.4.2 for
Table 4.1 Criteria to select priority plans and planning processes for poverty-environment
objectives
( Write up the results. Document the results of ( Create a compelling vision for poverty-
Step 3 as the Poverty-Environment Integration environment integration early on. The
Strategy. importance and promise of poverty-
environment outcomes, and the need to work
together, must be made clear to all. This can be
4.3.4 Step 4: Engage with the target plan
critical for motivation—especially in contexts
process, drawing in poverty-environment
where repeated promotion of single issues
stakeholders and information
has led to “mainstreaming fatigue” and “box-
This step involves implementing the Poverty- ticking” responses.
Environment Integration Strategy produced
in Step 3, usually by supporting the mandated All players need a good idea of what differences
planning process and the players involved. Because poverty-environment integration will achieve:
pre-existing procedures and those involved for example, higher agricultural productivity and
in them may not initially be fully receptive to fisheries yields and associated higher incomes,
poverty-environment issues, the aim is to improve new green jobs, green small enterprises, more
stakeholder understanding and openness through rights and rewards for those who look after the
the process, so that it grows and is capitalized upon. landscape. But the vision should be more than
a few separate promises. It should also point
Be constructively assertive and tactfully persistent, to the poverty-environment additionality at
as and when appropriate, based on good evidence system and structural levels—changes for the
and with attention to detail throughout. longer term, greater resilience for people and
( Conduct relevant, inclusive and motivating poverty-environment issues. The checklist in Box 4.3
communication throughout the process. covers typical items for the writing team and peer
Communications should profile the poverty- reviewers to take into account.
environment integration initiative, so
stakeholders know what it is for and how The plan is best presented as a starting point
to engage; offer information on poverty- for mobilizing future activities rather than the
environment issues in non-technical language, culmination of the planning process. As far as
including news on which poverty-environment possible, various opportunities for implementation
issues are being picked up; call for evidence should be indicated. For example, the statutory
so communication is not just one way; point planning process typically has a direct link to
to poverty-environment leaders and best government budgets (Subsection 5.1.3) and to some
practices and encourage others; and engage monitoring and evaluation functions. Such links
the media to encourage their commentary. should be addressed when writing the plan.
The following list is not exhaustive, but includes useful sector-level modelling is also important). PEI/PEA has
examples. used general equilibrium modelling to estimate the
economic impacts of unsustainable natural resource
( Multidimensional poverty assessment. Such use on GDP and the poverty impacts of soil erosion.
assessment widens the lens on poverty, revealing
both ENR co-benefits and environmental hazards that ( Theory of change development. This approach
entrench poverty. Poor groups and indigenous groups supports critical thinking on the causal pathway
often explain their own poverty in non-financial terms and sequence of activities to reach the intended
(e.g. lack of access to natural resources, as well as long-term poverty-environment change, noting
income); this needs to be mainstreamed in decisions. the assumptions that underpin each step. It is able
Multidimensional poverty assessment is discussed to handle both poverty and environmental issues
further in Section 2.2. and their links, and show how common actions can
address them. Using a theory of change is discussed
( The nexus approach. This robust approach shows the
further in Section 7.6.
interaction among key poverty and environmental
aspects affected by the plan. Decision options shown ( Policy coherence analysis. This analysis looks
in a nexus context are less likely to be taken in a for attributes of policy that systematically reduce
siloed way. The nexus approach is discussed further in conflicts and promote synergies between and
Section 2.2. within different policy areas so as to better achieve
1. Poverty-environment baseline. Does the plan include 6. Poverty-environment activity work plan. Are there
a poverty-environment stocktake for the country/ specific activities dedicated to poverty-environment
sector/theme, covering the state of poverty and the outcomes and a realistic timetable, preferably of
environment, the main linked poverty-environment five years? What is the major goal in the long term
issues and the political economy context for poverty- (such as zero carbon), and what range of short- and
environment integration? (Also see Chapter 2.) medium-term activities have been identified along
the way (e.g. generating green jobs, halting polluting
2. Case for addressing poverty-environment issues.
investment)?
Are the positive and negative poverty-environment
implications of the plan’s main goals, such as jobs 7. Poverty-environment indicators and data. What
and growth, sufficiently clear? Is the economic, social, targets and indicators will be used in reviewing plan
environmental and governance case for action on success or failure, and is it clear to which Sustainable
poverty-environment issues compelling? Does this Development Goals these relate? Are there adequate
case have demonstrated backing from stakeholders? data and provisions for assessing them—for example,
from natural capital accounts, multidimensional
3. Poverty-environment vision and principles. Is the
poverty monitoring or household surveys?
overall vision and purpose of the plan consistent with
poverty-environment objectives? For example, does 8. Implementing the plan. Is it clear how to make the
the vision address sustainable development, inclusive best use of the new mainstreamed plan? Is it clear how
Today, it is easier to develop poverty-environment PEI/PEA has partnered with the Government of
plans and/or policies than when PEI started. There has Rwanda since 2005 to integrate environmental
been good progress in generating useful normative sustainability and poverty reduction in successive
frameworks such as the SDGs and inclusive green national, local and sector plans. By 2018, all
growth, and common commitments to embody these of Rwanda’s 15 sector strategic plans and 30
in a national vision or policy statement or plan. If no district development strategies for 2018–2024
such national policy is yet in place, internationally had integrated poverty, environment and climate
recognized sets of objectives or principles such as the
objectives. This culminated in government making
following can be deployed for this purpose:
sustainable ENR management a top priority in its
( The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and National Strategy for Transformation 2018–2024,
the 2030 Agenda. These are very comprehensive in order to transition towards a green economy
and include many poverty-environment issues. (Republic of Rwanda, 2017). All of this has led to
Many developing countries have now focused on increased investment in inclusive green growth
particular SDGs and targets that reflect overall in key sectors and localities.3 For example, the
national priorities—a prioritization reflected in Agriculture Sector Strategy promotes climate-
national and sector plans to a greater or lesser resilient agriculture and sustainable crop
79
degree.
production by investing in smallholder farmer
( Inclusive green economy principles. Five access to and use of climate-resilient seeds and
principles for assessing and planning green composite organic manure.
economies were identified by the United
Nations, civil society and others comprising Notably, district development strategies aim to
the Partners for Inclusive Green Economy. Each up-scale green practices piloted in Rwanda’s
principle is based on established international green villages. With PEI/PEA support, 44 green
conventions and bodies of evidence and law: (i) villages had been established by 2018 to
the well-being principle, (ii) the justice principle, demonstrate an integrated approach to tackling
(iii) the planetary boundaries principle, (iv)
Rwanda’s environmental and poverty challenges.
the efficiency and sufficiency principle and
Sustainable solutions in the villages include
(v) the good governance principle. A poverty-
rainwater harvesting and water reservoirs; new
environment plan could be prepared or assessed
agricultural practices such as agroforestry, terraces
against these principles.
and soil erosion control; and biogas installation.
Such practices have enabled community members
to earn more money, improve nutrition and food
of institutional strengthening needed to continually security, protect natural resources, and send
improve poverty-environment outcomes. children to school (PEI, 2019c).
Rwanda’s 2018 national investment guidelines, More progress is forthcoming. Building on PEA
also developed with PEI/PEA technical assistance, efforts, Rwanda is broadening and deepening
reinforce these environmental and climate mainstreaming of ENR objectives into sectors and
policy priorities. They require public projects districts, with improved coordination mechanisms
to demonstrate that environmental and social that will increase public and private investments in
safeguards are in place before a government pro-poor sustainability; and the establishment of a
institution can receive internal or external finance. national environment and climate fund, FONERWA.
Strategic environment assessments and other
relevant poverty-environment safeguarding The combination of energetic, adaptive
mechanisms are being introduced for public sector engagement and good economic evidence proved
investments. This builds on the inclusion of a climate to be a winning strategy for integrating poverty-
and environment checklist in Rwanda’s annual environment issues into the national plan and, from
budget call circular for the past several years there, for influencing the shape of sector and local
and provides guidance to sectors and districts in plans and investment as well.
budgeting for environmental and climate actions.
Its application has helped sustain an increase in 4.4.2 Malawi: Modifying existing national
government expenditures on ENR and climate planning directives and guidelines to achieve
change: from 0.4 percent of Rwanda’s total budget poverty-environment outcomes
in 2009/2010 to 2.7 percent in 2016/2017. This
increased expenditure has contributed to progress An effective starting point for poverty-
on broader development goals in Rwanda. Notably, environment integration at the sector and
80 poverty declined from 44.9 percent in 2012 to subnational levels is to target the official
policy directives and guidelines for sector and
39 percent in 2015; 2,400 hectares of natural
ecosystems were rehabilitated; and 23 percent subnational planning, as well as for associated
more people gained access to electricity (PEI, coordination and accountability. Such directives
2019c). tend to be issued by ministries of finance, planning
and/or local government. Working with these
The work has demonstrated the value of using ministries, poverty-environment objectives
economic evidence and not simply environmental can be built into policy directives or issued as
facts. The economic evidence collected by PEI/ supplementary guidance and checklists. In a
PEA Rwanda on, for example, soil erosion costing highly decentralized context, village-level planning
2 percent of GDP, and how ENR sustainability could guidelines, for example, can be highly catalytic in
contribute to the achievement of development achieving poverty-environment outcomes—at
goals was eye-opening for many other planners. least as much as at the national level.
Senior government officials gained confidence
in the economic findings and the PEI/PEA work In 2006, Malawi’s Office of the President and
became embedded in official consciousness. the Cabinet identified several policies that were
Rwanda’s environment authority started placing neither comprehensive nor mutually supportive.
environmental graduates as interns in sector To make planning and budgeting more integrated,
ministries, and several ministries hired their a new Guide to Executive Decision-Making
own environmental experts as well. The new Handbook was prepared. PEI/PEA supported
consciousness reached the highest levels: President preparation of an annex, “Guidelines for Integrating
Kagame used information from the Rwanda PEI/ Environmental Sustainability and Natural Resource
PEA economic analysis in an interview with The Management in Policy-Making and Planning in Malawi.”
London Times newspaper. This describes how decision-makers can integrate
poverty-environment issues into all eight stages
Chapter 4: Integrating Poverty-Environment Objectives into Plans
of Malawi’s public planning cycle. It includes a resource use, plans really need to look for ways
practical checklist with 24 questions that help to to improve economic, environmental and social
assess the environmental and poverty impacts of gains from this use and to avoid environmental
various policy options. Associated training modules damage. PEI/PEA support underlined the urgency
are included in the government’s curricula for of this need with an economic study showing that
policymakers. The guide has helped in including environmental degradation was already costing
poverty-environment issues in Malawi’s plans and 21 percent of GDP, equivalent to half the entire
policies—for example, for the national agriculture development budget (PEI, 2018).
policy, balancing agricultural production for
poverty reduction with environmental sustainability Burkina Faso’s success in integrating poverty-
(PEI, 2019b). environment issues into plans was due in large part
to good collaboration (Figure 4.1). The ministries of
environment and planning together embraced the
4.4.3 Burkina Faso: Good coordination as key participation of wider sector ministries and non-
to poverty-environment integration in the government players. The plan’s implementation
routine national five-year planning process was secured through a three-tiered coordination
In a country where 85 percent of the population structure comprising:
depend on natural resources for their livelihood,
( A high-level interministerial committee at the
and 32 percent of the GDP comes from natural
national level
FINANCE S YS T E M I C I S S U E S
17.1 Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, Policy and Institutional coherence
including through international support to 17.14 Enhance policy coherence for sustainable
developing countries, to improve domestic development
capacity for tax and other revenue collection
17.15 Respect each country’s policy space
and leadership to establish and implement
policies for poverty eradication and sustainable
development
T EC H N O LO G Y Multi-stakeholder partnerships
17.6 Enhance North-South, South-South and 17.16 Enhance the global partnership for
triangular, regional and international cooperation sustainable development, complemented by
on and access to science, technology and multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize
innovation and enhance knowledge-sharing and share knowledge, expertise, technology and
financial resources, to support the achievement
17.7 Promote the development, transfer,
of the sustainable development goals
dissemination and diffusion of environmentally
sound technologies to developing countries on Data, monitoring and accountability
favourable terms, including on concessional and
17.18 By 2020, enhance capacity-building to
preferential terms, as mutually agreed
increase significantly the availability of high-
quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated
by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory
status, disability, geographic location and other
characteristics relevant in national contexts
17.9 Enhance international support for 17.19 By 2030, build on existing initiatives
implementing effective and targeted capacity- to develop measurements of progress on
building in developing countries to support sustainable development that complement
national plans to implement all the sustainable gross domestic product, and support statistical
development goals capacity-building in developing countries
P
ublic finance and fiscal regimes are needed to mobilize ( Budget methodologies and tools that can integrate
finance towards sustaining productive natural assets poverty-environment issues in budget planning,
and tackling environmental problems in ways that approval, expenditure, tracking and review. We
benefit poor people. While analysis, dialogue and planning explain budget circulars, coding, tagging and audit;
(discussed in Chapters 2, 3 and 4, respectively) do much to public environmental/climate expenditure reviews;
integrate poverty-environment issues, finance and fiscal responsive budgeting; and environmental cost-benefit
processes are often “where the buck stops.” Plans are not analysis and economic studies of poverty-environment
implemented automatically, but depend upon finance issues.
processes that have their own requirements and limitations
( Fiscal and other means to align public finance
for supporting poverty-environment outcomes, which we
with poverty-environment objectives. We explain
address here.
environmental fiscal reform to raise revenue, incentivize
These issues are especially critical in times of financial flux good practice and distribute benefits equitably; public
and stringency such as rising government debt, recovery investment safeguards to protect poor groups and the
spending and proliferating but inconsistent sustainable environment; and sustainable public procurement to
finance models. The challenge is to do more good by raising benefit poor producers and consumers.
both the quantity and quality of finance dedicated to ( Attracting and managing quality foreign and
the linked goals of poverty reduction and environmental domestic private investment for poverty-environment
sustainability. outcomes. This includes enabling conditions, green
private finance, investment treaties and compliance. We
This chapter offers guidance on integrating poverty-
explain investment treaties and monitoring, de-risking
environment objectives into national budgets and public
mechanisms to attract quality private finance and tools
and private investment. We draw on the experience of
to get money where it matters—local levels.
the Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) and its successor,
Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable Development There is a proliferation of sustainable finance policy
Goals (PEA). frameworks and opportunities—but there are also gaps,
notably for investment in nature, particularly for climate
The scope of finance is large, and the field is highly dynamic. and carbon. We do not detail the rapidly evolving field of
In this chapter, we aim to address an audience of environment sustainable finance as it is so fast-changing, but do note the
and development professionals, helping them to understand work done by the United Nations, international financial
enough about budget and financial processes to approach institutions and others to ensure the coherence and
finance professionals on poverty-environment issues. We interoperability of sustainable finance approaches.
do not address wider public financial management or the
technical financial tasks finance professionals will bring to
poverty-environment integration. The chapter touches on
the following, including a range of tools to achieve these:
5.1 Poverty, environment almost none of this recovery funding is accessible to
poor groups. In the face of mounting government
and finance and private debt, it is an urgent task to ensure any
This section highlights experience from the United financial decision is sustainable and does not place
Nations Development Programme–United Nations burdens unduly on the poor or create ecological
Environment Programme (UNDP-UNEP) Poverty- debt. Thus, new patterns of sustainable financing
Environment Initiative (PEI) and its successor, are needed, with an integrated and longer-
Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable term perspective on their economic, social and
Development Goals (PEA) and offers guidance on environmental consequences.
integrating poverty, climate and environmental
Sustainable finance is critically important to
objectives into national budgets and public and
meet the joint needs of poverty elimination
private investment.
and environmental sustainability. A growing
body of evidence demonstrates that the costs
5.1.1 Why public finance is important for associated with poverty and poor environmental 85
achieving poverty-environment objectives management—the social protection costs, the
health costs, the lost production costs and the loss
Poverty, environment, climate and finance
of natural capital—can be more than offset by
interact in complex and often unstable ways. This
gains made by shifting finance towards sustainable
is especially true in times of economic crisis, as
investment. Examples of such investment include
we have seen with the COVID-19 pandemic when
creating long-term green jobs, installing low-cost
debt escalated, government budgets were cut and
green infrastructure, and shifting food and energy
entire business sectors failed. These developments
production systems to sustainability.
in turn led to increasing insecurity of food, health,
sanitation and education services—leading people
Poverty and environmental issues have been
back into poverty. Land degradation increased as
persistently neglected by public finance and
people sought new sources of livelihood, even if some
financial markets. At best, they were treated as
environmental challenges such as air pollution and
risks to achieving financial goals, and do no harm
greenhouse gas emissions temporarily abated.
safeguards were deployed to mitigate them. Any
plans to tackle them in more constructive ways—
The post-COVID recovery stimulus packages
to do more good—were too often seen as ideals
represent government budget decisions on
with no systematic links to finance. Even if the
an unprecedented scale. However, they risk a
sustainability case was well made, decision-makers
return to the “old normal” by reviving economic
often baulked, assuming that the capital needed to
growth patterns that lock in poverty creation and
achieve poverty-environment objectives is scarce.
environmental damage. So far, only a minority
Thus investment in poverty-environment issues has
of post-COVID recovery packages—18 percent—
remained marginal—until recently.
support net-zero, nature-positive poverty
elimination (O’Callaghan and Murdock, 2021); and
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
A system-wide shift towards integrating poverty- In terms of risk, the budget is subject to many
environment objectives demands clarity as to how political and other contextual changes. If there
poverty-environment outcomes can be supported are weak links between planning and budget
by the main fiscal processes of spending, taxing, processes, budget allocations may not be
and borrowing—the fiscal triangle illustrated in consistent with planning document priorities.
Figure 5.1. Some development partners choose to bypass the
government budgeting process entirely, instead
providing support for poverty-environment
5.1.3 Understanding how public finance works
programmes through non-governmental
organizations, with little resulting influence on
Opportunity and risk
government resource allocation. Encouraging
The national budget process is a major opportunity all resources to be on-budget can help ensure a
for poverty-environment considerations—and a rounded, comprehensive view of initiatives that are
major risk. The national budget is the single most contributing to poverty-environment objectives.
important public policy for resource allocation to
meet development priorities, providing access to The process
the national expenditure and revenue framework.
It is important to understand the budget process,
It enables all government spending units to
because it has its own dynamics relevant to
(where relevant) recognize, link to and directly
poverty-environment; it does not simply fund
plan for poverty-environment objectives. It offers
agreed-upon plans. The basic characteristics of
the opportunity to ensure that taxation, fees
and charges mainstream poverty-environment
a typical national budget and how the regular
budget process works are illustrated in Figure 5.2 and
87
objectives, as do sources of financing such as
detailed below (IIED, 2016).
domestic borrowing and donor partner loans and
grants.
• Potential revenues
TAX • Correcting market failures
• Incentivising innovation
FISCAL
TRIANGLE
• Subsidies
• Green bonds • Environmental protection
• Performance bonds BORROW SPEND • Resource management
• Infrastructure • Restoration costs
investment • Potential liabilities
4 Budget Oversight:
The budget accounts are audited
2 Budget Approval:
The legislature reviews
and audit findings are reviewed by
and amends the budget
the legislature, which requires
– and then enacts it into law.
action to be taken by the executive
to correct audit findings.
Key Budget
3
Key Budget Documents:
Documents: Budget Execution: Budget law;
In-year reports; Reports of
88 Mid-year report;
Year-end reports;
The executive collects
revenue and spends money
legislative budget
committees
Supplementary as per the allocations made
budgets in the budget law.
The national budget is a financial plan that covers with locally raised revenues within the limitations
all government functions.1 Government budgeting and powers of their mandates.
uses a budget classification system that clarifies
the economic, administrative and/or functional The national budget cycle is a legal or statutory
commitments and responsibilities of all ministries, process that typically has four stages (Figure 5.2):
departments and agencies.
( Budget formulation. The executive branch puts
Typically, the ministry of finance has a legally together the budget plan.
mandated responsibility to compile, present, ( Budget approval. The legislature debates,
implement and oversee the government’s annual alters and approves the budget plan.
budget. Subnational institutions play roles and
( Budget execution. The government implements
may also often supplement the national budget
the policies in the budget, reports on progress
and achievement, and maintains a system of
1
A full list of government functions is set out in IMF (2014), national accounts.
p. 142.
Chapter 5: Finance for Poverty-Environment Objectives
( Budget oversight. Through auditing and domestic resource mobilization, managing for
legislative assessment, a national audit results and improving efficiency of state enterprises.
institution and the legislature account for
and assess the expenditures made under the
5.1.4 PEI/PEA experience with public finance
executed budget.
In circumstances where poverty-environment plans
Different documents convey the budget specifics.
were not being translated into real government
The annual budget incorporates sources of
spending, PEI/PEA was able to bridge the gap,
funding and planned expenditure on an annual
ensuring budgets were in place to deliver the plans
basis; whereas the medium-term expenditure
through the following actions:
framework (MTEF) sets out expenditure plans
linked to policy priorities, typically for a three-year ( Making ministries of finance, and budget
period. In many countries, the MTEF is the main departments where relevant, the key partner.
link between national plan implementation and Following its earlier phase which had focused
planning for public expenditure on a multi-year more on environmental authorities, PEI/
basis. Administered by the ministry of finance, PEA’s work aimed at being decision-centred,
the MTEF brings together development and non- influencing ministries of finance but also
development (recurrent) budgets into a single engaging with other key stakeholders—many
resource envelope and aims to match government of whom compete for funds and so potentially
policy priorities with resource allocation. welcome good evidence and equitable budget
processes.
Different stakeholders play roles in the budget
process. Further, there are diverse access points ( Conducting economic analyses that show the 89
to influence budget resources, allocations and costs of (in)action on poverty-environment
outcomes within this process. Within institutions, issues and the benefits of investment. These
budget committees are often formed to manage can be demonstrated both in macro terms—for
the process for the sector side. example, as a percentage of gross domestic
product (GDP)—and micro terms, such as
If planning systems have a close link to the household income. This is further discussed in
budgeting and public financial management Section 5.2.
systems, they have a stronger potential to ( Fine-tuning and mainstreaming key budgeting
direct public and donor financial resources to tools. Notable among such tools are public
achieve results. If the planning link to budgets expenditure reviews on environment (and
(or to realpolitik) is weak, it is likely that budget
climate) to provide benchmarks and compare
allocations will not be consistent with planning
spending with benefits; and budget circular
document priorities.
instructions, checklists and coding for poverty-
environment objectives. These tools have both
The budget process is usually subject to context
been mainstreamed in several countries with
changes and reforms; it is not a static cycle. Budget
PEI/PEA support and are further discussed in
process changes are often promoted by external
Section 5.2.
organizations as part of wider public financial
reforms, sometimes supported by technical ( Capacity building for ministries of finance,
assistance. Many of these public financial reforms environment and others. This capacity building
can be used as a vehicle to integrate poverty- addresses the above considerations to embed
environment issues—for example, increasing poverty-environment objectives in relevant
financial systems. See Subsection 8.4.4.
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
( Strengthening the links between public and ( Reduce expenditures that undermine
private investment. This was done, for example, poverty-environment objectives—such as for
by using public finance to leverage and de-risk government-funded fossil fuel extraction and
private investment, as is discussed in Section 5.5. power generation, fossil fuel subsidies, or land
clearance that displaces poor people and their
livelihoods
5.2 Poverty-environment ( Increase sustainable revenues—through higher
integration in the rates and more effective collection of forestry,
budget process fishery and minerals taxes and charges; and
reinvesting revenues in both sustainable
There has been much recent innovation in tools and
natural resource management and equitable
methodologies for bringing poverty-environment
diversification of the economy
concerns into budgetary processes. We lay these
out in this section. An important prerequisite to ( Attract international funds—notably those
their use is to agree on the budgetary aims for aimed at climate adaptation, disaster
integrating poverty-environment and identify risk reduction, and forest and biodiversity
the opportunities and entry points for poverty- conservation
environment throughout the budget cycle.
4. Budget rationale and narrative: Contributing spending allocations in the context of poverty-
to meaningful MTEF policy narrative environment objectives
requirements in budget submissions
14. Audit: Contributing to audits of expenditure
5. Poverty-environment contacts in each by the auditor general, including to audit
authority: Ensuring environment or natural committees relevant to pro-poor environment
resource desk officers are in place in each and natural resource and climate outcomes
ministry/department/agency during the
15. Aid: Negotiations with international
budget cycle
development cooperation partners on
6. Poverty-environment central financial liaison: programmes as well as budget support, and
Ensuring environment and natural resource notably with donor coordination committees
liaison points are in place within the ministry of on poverty-environment issues
finance
In addition, Agenda 2030’s integrated national
7. Parliamentary oversight: Informing the budget
financing frameworks (INFFs) are intended to be a
review process by parliamentary committees;
tool to operationalize the Addis Ababa Agenda
parliament, the apex democratic and legal
Agreement at the national level. A country’s national
authority, approves both the budget and
development plan or sustainable development
legislation on poverty-environment issues and
strategy lays out what needs to be financed.
can thus ensure coherence
INFFs spell out how the national strategy will be
8. High-level budget communications: Using financed and implemented. The development and
budget speech passages and references
to communicate government poverty-
operationalization of INFFs provides an entry point
for initiating and implementing public financing
91
environment commitments and planning tools.
5.2.3 Tools for poverty-environment tools have individual utility, when used together,
integration into budgets they have been able to (i) establish a baseline for
environmental and climate budget allocations
PEI/PEA helped develop and extend useful tools
and expenditures; (ii) assess budget allocations
that have proven to be of value in the poverty-
in relation to poverty-environment policy and
environment toolkit. Notable among these tools
planning priorities; (iii) identify significant
are public expenditure reviews, budget circulars,
gaps between budget allocations and actual
budget coding and tagging, gender-responsive
expenditure; and (iv) improve the overall efficiency,
and similar budgeting, environmental economic
transparency and accountability of budgeting and
studies and cost-benefit analysis. While these
expenditure processes. We outline each tool below.
Chapter 5: Finance for Poverty-Environment Objectives
Public environmental and climate expenditure maintenance; if such expenditures are not made a
reviews priority, much larger expenditures may be needed
in the future on environmental rehabilitation or
Public environmental expenditure reviews (PEERs)
replacement.
explore how public funds are spent by government.
They can help to identify:
Climate public expenditure and institutional
reviews (CPEIRs) are a more recent variant of
( What money was spent in support of
PEERs with a focus on climate adaptation and
environmental and natural resource
mitigation–related expenditures across budgets, as
management across sectors, activities
well as institutional coherence in climate financing
or localities, or through which ministry/
against pro-poor and environmental sustainability
department/agency
objectives. The CPEIR undertaken in Bangladesh,
( What was achieved as a result for example, has led to climate change becoming a
( Whether the results achieved meet pro-poor new priority in the country’s budget system (Box 5.3).
and environmental and natural resource
Other PEER variants include reviews of expenditure
sustainability objectives
on disaster risk reduction—another area where
( How well the institutional mechanisms that poverty and environmental objectives are strongly
govern expenditure and its reporting performed linked.
( The potential for strengthening social and
PEI/PEA found that PEERs and CPEIRs are a useful
economic benefits and institutional efficiencies
by making changes to public budgeting and
expenditure
early task in integrating poverty-environment
issues into budgets. This is because few people
93
know what the actual budgets, investments and
The process of conducting a PEER can yield other levels of spending are on environmental issues
benefits as well: related to poverty. Putting all this information on
the same page has improved benchmarks for future
( Align budgets and expenditures with national budgeting and encouraged rethinking of some
environmental and climate policy priorities and plans. The results have often made the case for
targets, establishing more relevant expenditure increased expenditure on pro-poor environmental
classification and tagging management and climate change adaptation,
since they reveal any inadequacy of funding in
( Provide a baseline against which future
relation to the significance of environmental assets
expenditures can be measured and monitored
or climate change threats to national development.
( Strengthen ties between the ministries of
finance, planning, environment and other Combined with economic analysis, the results
sectors responsible for expenditure areas of public expenditure reviews are very useful
critical to poverty-environment objectives in persuading governments to strengthen the
inclusion of environmental and natural resource
( Improve government’s accountability for the
sustainability objectives in budget processes, such
direction of public investments
as the annual budget call circular and in sector
PEERs are typically divided into two categories: budget checklists, and to increase budgets for
capital expenditure (public investment poverty-environment issues.
programmes) and current expenditure (operations
Climate expenditure reviews in Africa have shown
and maintenance). Particularly in difficult financial
that environmental and climate expenditures
times, reviews should focus on operations and
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Box 5.4 The budget call circular as a catalyst for achieving integrated poverty-
environment objectives in Rwanda
Mozambique’s expenditures on the environment and impact assessment and management plans for natural
climate change more than doubled between 2010 resources) can be a deferred cost to the economy, with
and 2012, with the most significant increase being for far-reaching consequences in the medium and long term.
investments in sanitation. Environmental expenditure
The review findings led to a dialogue between
was thereafter maintained at 0.45 percent of the state
the Ministries of Finance and Environment. They
budget. Given that the country experienced a severe
decided to establish a budget classification sub-code
financial crisis in 2015, with many government priority
in the public financial management system to enable
areas consequently suffering severe budget cuts, the
tracking expenditure on climate change. The Ministry
sustained level of expenditure for the environment is
of Finance appointed two environmental focal points in
an encouraging achievement. The ease with which the
its budget department to take the lead in introducing
Government of Mozambique can now track and analyse
and operationalizing the new budget code. The Ministry
public expenditure on the environment and climate
of Environment also decided to test the feasibility of a
derives from a commitment to transparency and budget
wider range of environmental budget codes. As of 2018,
coherence across sectors.
21 government institutions were using the new budget
In 2012, PEI and Mozambique’s Ministry of Environment codes. Thus, the Government of Mozambique can readily
took a close look at how the economy was treating assess its environment and climate budget allocations
natural resources. They carried out two studies: an and expenditures.
environmental economic analysis of natural resource
Noted an official in the National Directorate for
management and a PEER. These assessments identified a
huge annual loss—the equivalent of 17 percent of GDP— Planning and Budget, “I believe that our introduction
of budget codes for cross-cutting issues (like climate)
97
from environmental degradation and the inefficient
was brilliant—transparently responding to the new
use of natural resources. Furthermore, while 9 percent of
five-year development plan priorities. With a single
GDP would be needed to remediate these damages, the
click, it is possible to verify allocated resources and who
average environmental expenditure for the period 2007–
specifically responded to environmental and climate
2010 was just 1.4 percent of GDP. The study concluded
change objectives.”
that neglecting to budget adequately for enforcing
environmental legislation (such as environmental
rationale for better environmental and natural finance and sector ministries, many environmental
resource and climate change expenditure. Such ministries have been hesitant to take this
expenditure generates economic benefits for local approach, including an unwillingness to reduce the
communities and local and national governments, environment to monetary terms and unfamiliarity
and underpins poverty reduction. Further, it cuts the with economic tools. However, Rwanda’s success
risk that unsustainable environmental and natural with PEI—where the environment ministry supports
resource use will damage economic and social and commissions economic analysis and closely
benefit streams. engages with planning/finance ministries—
demonstrates the benefits of doing so and offers
Ministries of environment have often been the foundation for building a regular system of
reluctant to use economic analysis themselves. environment-economy analysis.
Despite its proven power to influence planning/
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Economic analysis should consider covering at environmental expertise, and avoiding the need
least one of three dimensions: for complex valuation techniques (IIED, 2016).
( Estimating the annual costs of neglecting Other economic assessments can be tailored to key
pro-poor environmental and natural resource sectors. For example, the mining financial modelling
management on livelihoods and the economy. tool developed by PEI and the Department of Mines
This cost estimation requires careful data of Myanmar (PEI, 2018) yields an easy-to-read cash
collection and the use of valuation techniques flow forecast for the life of a mine that is responsive
that require expert environmental economics to changes in economic variables (e.g. commodity
skills—inputs that may be limited in some price changes, exchange rate fluctuation, delays in
developing countries. Done well, this can be construction or ore deposit depletion) and includes
a spur to action. However, the findings need estimates of the required costs of environmental
to be handled carefully: this kind of evidence management and social development. It allows
can be co-opted by those who associate the governments to see if a developer has sufficiently
environment with bad news and costs rather considered the poverty-environment cost/benefit
than with valuable benefits. of its mining operations in developing its financial
model.
( Assessing the direct and indirect benefits of
better environmental and natural resource
Cost-benefit analyses have been used to good
management to livelihoods and the economy.
effect by PEI/PEA. Box 5.6 describes what cost-
The indirect benefits can be quite broad: for
benefit analysis can tackle and how it can be used
98
example, expenditure on providing clean water
at different points in the policy cycle.
will reduce health sector costs. Here again
valuing benefits relies on data and valuation
techniques that require expert environmental 5.3 Poverty-environment
economics inputs, which may be in limited
integration in public
supply.
expenditure
( Measuring the amount of expenditure on the
environment and climate by non-environment The justification of government expenditure is
sectors or government agencies beyond the to produce public goods—notably social and
ministry of environment. This analysis looks environmental protection in support of healthy
at the operations and maintenance costs societies and economies. This involves both direct
for environmental assets that are mission- government capital expenditure (public investment
critical for jobs and national industries. For programmes) and government current expenditure
instance, the agricultural sector, including (operations and maintenance). PEI/PEA focused on
livestock and fisheries, may fund programmes two approaches to ensure that both investment
and projects that have a direct link to pro- and operations expenditure effectively integrate
poor environmental and natural resource poverty-environment outcomes: safeguard systems
management. This kind of measurement shows and sustainable public procurement.
how environmental expenditures span many
ministries and are beyond the responsibility 5.3.1 Poverty-environment safeguards in
of just the environment ministry. Its techniques public investment
are intuitively more straightforward than the
preceding two types of analysis, requiring Integrating poverty-environment objectives
accounting skills combined with some into direct public investment is generally assured
by the activities described in Section 4.3 and
Chapter 5: Finance for Poverty-Environment Objectives
Cost−benefit analysis is a systematic process for value and may not be tangible, in which case valuation
identifying, valuing and comparing costs and benefits exercises are required. The Organisation for Economic
of a proposal or ongoing project. It helps determine Co-operation and Development has published a
whether the benefits of a project outweigh its costs and comprehensive guide to cost-benefit analysis and the
by how much relative to other alternatives. Such analysis environment (OECD, 2006) and an exploration of more
can help (i) determine whether the proposed project is (or recent developments in environmental cost-benefit
was) a sound decision or investment and/or (ii) compare analysis, including ecosystem services valuation (OECD,
alternative project options. In a cost-benefit analysis: 2018). Also see ADB and UNEP (2019).
( All related costs (losses) and benefits (gains) of a Cost-benefit analysis may be used at a number of
project are considered, including potential impacts points during the project cycle. An ex ante cost-benefit
on human lives and the environment. analysis is undertaken while a project is still under
consideration, typically before a decision is made (by
( Costs and benefits are assessed from a whole-of-
a government or external donors) to support it. Ex ante
society perspective, rather than from the point of view
cost-benefit analyses are primarily done to assess
of a particular individual or interest group (i.e. a public
whether a project is worthwhile or feasible, which project
and not a private perspective is taken).
option out of several is best and to inform adjustments
( Costs and benefits are expressed to the extent possible to project design. A midterm cost-benefit analysis is
in monetary terms as the basis for comparison. carried out midway through a project to check that the
( Costs and benefits that are realized in different time
periods in the future are aggregated to a single time
project is on track and to inform any design refinements
or adjustments for the remainder of the project period. 99
dimension (discounting). An ex post cost-benefit analysis is undertaken at the end
of the project period to evaluate project performance.
Environmental costs include the regulatory costs This can support transparency and accountability in
to the government of implementing and enforcing reporting on how well public funds have been spent.
environmental laws and regulations and the
compliance costs of meeting them. Environmental A cost-benefit analysis involves several steps that are not
benefits are more challenging to quantify in monetary necessarily linear, as shown below:
terms since they do not necessarily have a market
1. Determine the objective 2. Identify the cost and 3. Value the costs and benefits.
of the cost-benefit analysis. benefits. Clarify the potential Express (as far as possible) the
Clarify the questions the impact of the activity and the value of benefits and costs in
analysis seeks to answer. What type of costs and benefits it monetary terms. Which of these
decision does it seek to inform? would generate. can be valued and how?
5. Perform sensitivity
7. Prepare 6. Consider distributional
analysis. Assess 4. Aggregate the
recommendations. impacts. Consider who will
the importance of costs and benefits.
Summarize how to proceed incur the costs and benefits
major uncertainties Sum costs and
from here. Which option and what impact this might
associated with the benefits over time.
should be chosen and why? have on the activity.
analysis and activity.
Section 5.2. These activities provide environment ( Impact on critical (irreplaceable) natural
and natural resource and climate specialists with capital and planetary boundaries
an opportunity to ensure their required investments
( Security of food, energy and water
are included. Screening and safeguards are needed
that suit the country context and fit into mandated ( Pandemic prevention
investment processes—from initial notification of ( Sustainable use of all capital assets
investment opportunities to selection, approval
( Avoidance of stranded assets
and monitoring. Much can be learned from other
countries’ experiences. For example: ( Production of environmental, social and
economic co-benefits
( Malawi reviewed the ways to integrate poverty
( Intergenerational impact
and environment into its Public Investment
Programme, and used this work to revise
the relevant public investment manual and 5.3.2 Sustainable public procurement
guidelines; Tanzania followed a similar process
(IIED, 2016). Governments spend a considerable proportion of
their budget on public procurement of goods and
( Bangladesh’s Planning Commission uses a services. Sustainable procurement means ensuring
template to appraise all publicly funded capital that any goods and services bought will achieve
projects. With UN support, the commission’s value for money on a life-cycle cost basis, and
standard project proforma now mainstreams generate benefits not only for the organization but
100
issues of poverty, gender, climate, environment also for the environment, society and the economy.
and disaster management.
( Bhutan has screened investments against a Public procurement can be a politically high-
Gross National Happiness screening tool, drawing on profile way to encourage innovation for better
the nine domains of happiness and applied by poverty-environment outcomes. A performance-
a multidisciplinary group. based procurement specification describes the
performance to be achieved by the procured
( Lao PDR has developed green growth technical good or service—which can include poverty-
guidelines and criteria for public investment environment outcomes. Rather than specifying the
projects for governmental organizations and exact product or technology that will achieve this,
staff involved in assessing and selecting inclusive it focuses on needs, and encourages innovation as
green growth public investment projects for the to the best way in which these needs may be met.
National Socioeconomic Development Plan
and associated provincial plans. Malawi has placed considerable emphasis on
public procurement favouring local labour and
The development of screening criteria can sustainably produced goods; this benefits both
galvanize stakeholders. Safeguards work by poor producers and poor consumers as well as
screening potentially harmful activities—in society at large.
this context, depending upon their poverty-
environment implications. Recent work on green Typical poverty-environment issues to reflect
economy has been advancing the kinds of criteria in a sustainable procurement specification are
that might be used. For example, the international illustrated in Box 5.7. Additionally, several initiatives
Partners for Inclusive Green Economy propose measures offer advice and support on sustainable public
that cover not only conventional cost-benefit procurement:
criteria but also more advanced criteria covering
the following, among others:
Chapter 5: Finance for Poverty-Environment Objectives
base. For example, energy taxes and subsidies approaches while at the same time raising
(enabling conditions) influence renewable revenue.
energy investments; forestry taxes and subsidies
( Applying environmental charges rather than
influence levels of afforestation and deforestation.
taxes. Charges may be levied without complex
Environmental fiscal reform may not always be the
legal changes, earmarked for local or sector use,
most effective way to raise revenues or necessarily
and be more readily accepted than taxes.
the best approach to protect the environment.
However, its value lies in its ability to simultaneously ( Recycling revenue, i.e. levying an environmental
raise revenues and protect the environment. tax at the same time as reducing taxes on labour,
business or income. This can increase economic
Fiscal policy is a highly technical subject with efficiency and improve employment effects.
extensive implications. A full treatment is beyond
( Using the tax code to incentivize pro-poor
the scope of this handbook.2 Rather, we here
green investments. This can be accomplished,
highlight viable options towards good poverty-
for example, through capital allowances and
environment outcomes, and some fiscal risks that
exemption from income and capital gains
have poverty-environment implications.
taxes.
practices. For example, such a scheme could Environmental fiscal reform contributes to
be for land management that protects water poverty reduction when it is ensured that poor
supplies and biodiversity. households benefit. This benefit is either from the
revenues raised (e.g. using increased revenues to
( Introducing emissions trading and other
improve service delivery of water and energy or
tradable permit schemes. Governments give
other environmental improvements), or from the
businesses an emissions or pollution allowance;
environmental impacts (e.g. health gains from the
businesses are incentivized to trade excess
pollution reductions associated with the reform).
allowances if they practice cleaner production.
( Linking sovereign debt to climate and nature But environmental fiscal reform may also increase
outcomes through innovations in sovereign debt poverty, especially through changing subsidy
financing. One example would be through debt levels for critical livelihood inputs such as water,
swaps for nature or climate improvements.3 energy and fertilizers. While such subsidies are
defended on the grounds of their social benefits,
( Building coalitions for tax reform among
there are often only limited benefits for poor people
poverty stakeholders and environment
who cannot access the subsidies. On the other
stakeholders. This should also comprise
hand, some poor households will be harmed by any
managing perceptions to ensure that the losers
price increases—for example, increased electricity
are compensated (often by using the revenues
costs or fertilizer costs.
from the fiscal measures) or that there is public
consensus that any losses are fair.
Subsidies can be reformed in ways that do not
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance The Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative today
Initiative (UNEP FI) is a partnership between UNEP and involves over 100 stock exchanges, accounting for almost
the global financial sector—including more than 450 all publicly listed capital markets. It is also supported by
banks, insurers and investors and over 100 supporting UNEP FI.
institutions—to mobilize private sector finance for
The International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF)
sustainable development. It aims to leverage the UN’s
offers a forum to exchange and spread information on
unique roles to accelerate sustainable finance. Its website
best practices in sustainable finance, compare different
is a rich source of information, such as its Reporting on
initiatives and identify barriers and opportunities to
Nature-related Risks, Impacts and Dependencies with
help scale-up, and enhance international coordination.
UNDP (UNDP and UNEP FI, 2021) for the G20 Working
It involves governments of countries rich and poor that
Group. UNEP FI is also perhaps the most credible source
comprise half the world’s population and over half the
of global principles for catalysing the integration
world’s GDP and greenhouse gas emissions.
of sustainability into financial market practice. The
frameworks it has established or co-created include: The G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group was
launched in 2016 to identify institutional and market
( Principles for Responsible Banking launched in 2019
barriers to green finance and options to mobilize private
with more than 130 banks collectively holding $47
capital for green investment. It was later mandated to
trillion in assets, or one-third of the global banking
prepare a G20 sustainable finance road map, improving
sector
the comparability and interoperability of approaches
106 ( Principles for Sustainable Insurance, established in
2012 and today applied by one-quarter of the world’s
to align investments to sustainability goals, improving
sustainability reporting and disclosure in terms of
insurers (25 percent of world premiums) completeness and consistency across companies and
( Principles for Responsible Investment, established jurisdictions, identifying sustainable investments, and
in 2006 by UNEP FI and the UN Global Compact, now aligning international financial institutions’ efforts with
applied by half the world’s institutional investors ($83 the Paris Agreement—thereby providing stable, long-
trillion) term and countercyclical lending at affordable rates.
These challenges include investment risk aversion by PEI/PEA’s and others’ experience, include the
in the critical smallholder farming sector; lack following:
of access by poor groups to formal finance; poor
governance in many sectors, including unclear laws ( Establishing an enabling economic and
and high levels of corruption; high levels of subsidies institutional environment to attract and
which create a disincentive to private initiative; manage foreign and domestic private
and the oligopolistic nature of some sectors with investment. Several standard elements are
a heavy presence of parastatal companies (PEA, invariably needed to attract investment—
2021b). macroeconomic stability, realistic and
predictable exchange rates, adequate and
A strategic approach to a country’s investment reliable infrastructure, security of rights over
strategy is needed to attract higher-quality assets, and coherent and clear investment
investment that favours poverty-environment legislation. Ensuring these foundations are
outcomes, and not simply larger quantities of in place can be a preferable alternative to
investment. Options to consider for attracting the often-excessive tax breaks proffered to
poverty-environment quality investment, validated
Chapter 5: Finance for Poverty-Environment Objectives
explore policies that help achieve their poverty- from governments, development banks and
environment and other development objectives vertical funds such as the Green Climate Fund
without violating existing commitments. They can leverage private capital through blended
should also identify rule changes needed to finance solutions. Concessional public capital
attract quality investment—including model in the form of grants, soft loans and guarantees
contracts and transparency requirements can de-risk investments that may otherwise
before signing new agreements—and should be considered too risky for private lenders and
actively put their views forward during investors. Private sector projects that have been
negotiations (IIED, 2016). enabled by blended finance solutions can have
a demonstration effect and open the path for
( Voluntary third-party certification as a
future private investment in the same sectors
credible alternative to government poverty-
and countries.
environment monitoring. Where credible
from a poverty-environment perspective and ( Mechanisms for reviewing individual
acceptable to markets, certification avoids investment proposals, feasibility studies
the need for countries to develop and enforce and plans. Requirements must be clear and
their own standards. This approach has capacities available to support investment
emerged in several primary industries. Well- treaties and contracts, covering screening,
established international initiatives include appraisal, approval and monitoring. See
the Forest Stewardship Council and the Programme Subsection 4.4.1 for a Rwanda case study and the
for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes, the case study in Box 5.11 for how environmental and
Box 5.11 Environmental and social impact assessment: Early PEI work to promote
quality investments in Lao PDR
Lao PDR has risen from a low- to a lower-middle- projects were made to halt all operations, 4 received
income economy, with per capita income doubling warnings, and 12 were obliged to make improvements.
since 1990. The rapid inflow of foreign direct investment
PEI worked to strengthen bottom-up development
was key to this growth, especially in natural resource
measures. In particular, it shone a spotlight on citizen
sectors such as plantation agriculture, forestry, mining,
involvement in environmental and social impact
hydropower and tourism. For decades, the merits of
assessment procedures. The welfare of grassroots
prospective investors’ plans were assessed solely on
communities, which are most directly affected by mining,
technical and financial criteria, and their impact on
dam construction and plantations, is often compromised
environmental protection or poverty alleviation was
in the push and pull between governments and private
largely overlooked. Many projects therefore led to some
investors. Taking definitive steps to redress this, PEI
destruction of the environment, land grabs from local
trained over 200 central and provincial environment
communities, and inequitable distribution of profits with
officials on human rights issues, legal frameworks for
very little compensation for local communities.
involving people, conflict resolution and communication
As the government became more aware of how initiatives to open dialogues with host communities.
such investments could and should reduce poverty,
A model contract/template for investments in the
it strengthened its commitment both to protect
agriculture, forestry and hotel sectors has been
communities and their rights and to preserve the
consistently used by the Investment Promotion
109
environment. PEI worked with the Ministry of Natural
Department in contract negotiations, with staff
Resources and Environment to develop new ministerial
trained in the use of the model contracts. Four
instructions for procedures that investors and government
provincial investment strategies have conceptualized
authorities must follow for initial environmental
the poverty-environment needs of the specific province,
examinations, and for subsequent environmental and
identified realistic development goals and the systems
social impact assessments for proposed projects. In
and tools necessary to achieve them, and aligned them
Oudomxay province, the increased scrutiny exposed
with the National Investment Strategy.
20 projects that were not complying with the law. Four
organizations. But in both cases it is usually planning and budgeting systems, and increase
local organizations that know how, where, the amount of finance available to local
to whom and when to deliver funds, and that governments for climate change adaptation.
are in a position to scrutinize implementation A new standard published by the International
closely. The LDC Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Standard Organization is based on LoCAL
Resilience (LIFE-AR) and the Global Commission on and country implementation experience; it
Adaptation’s Locally Led Action track are leading offers a country-based mechanism to increase
the way to increase funding for and recognition local government access to climate finance
of locally led adaptation. The Local Climate for adaptation. A recent study concludes that
Adaptive Living (LoCAL) Facility, designed and international funders will gain much if they
managed by the UN Capital Development Fund, follow the lead of such initiatives in getting
serves as a mechanism to integrate climate money where it matters to local organizations,
change adaptation into local governments’ authorities and small businesses (IIED, 2020).
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
110
Development, Potomac Group LLC, United Nations Environment Programme.
Economic Commission for Africa, United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, PEI (Poverty-Environment Initiative) (2016). “The Poverty-
and United Nations Development Programme) Environment Accounting Framework (PEAF): The Application of
(2021). “Linking Sovereign Debt to Climate and Nature the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA 2012)
Outcomes: A Guide for Debt Managers and Environmental for Integrated Planning, Budgeting and Monitoring for Poverty
Decision Makers.” IIED, London. Related Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).” Working
Paper. United Nations Development Programme–
IMF (International Monetary Fund) (2014). Government United Nations Environment Programme.
Finance Statistics Manual: 2014. IMF, Washington, DC.
PEI (Poverty-Environment Initiative) (2018). “Managing
INFF (Integrated National Financing Frameworks) (2021). Mining for Sustainable Development: A Sourcebook.” United
“Integrated National Financing Frameworks Country Progress: Nations Development Programme–United Nations
April 2021 Update from the INFF Dashboard.” United Nations Environment Programme.
Development Programme.
PEI (Poverty-Environment Initiative) (2019). “Poverty-
InfluenceMap (2021). “Climate Funds: Are They Paris Aligned?” Environment Initiative Africa: Achievements and Lessons
InfluenceMap. Learned 2005–2018.” United Nations Development
Programme–United Nations Environment
Kumra, G., and J. Woetzel (2022). “What It Will Cost to Get to Programme.
Net-Zero.” The Business Times. 29 January.
Ramkumar, V. (2005). “Our Money, Our Responsibility:
O’Callaghan, B.J., and E. Murdock (2021). “Are We Building Citizens’ Guide to Monitoring Government Expenditures.”
Back Better? Evidence from 2020 and Pathways to Inclusive International Budget Project, Washington, DC.
Green Recovery Spending.” United Nations Environment
Programme. Sterner, T., G. Köhlin and K. Seyboth (2019). “Chapter 8:
Fiscal Policy for Inclusive Green Economies.” In D.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Eaton and F. Sheng (eds.), Inclusive Green Economy:
Development (OECD) (2006). Cost-Benefit Analysis and Policies and Practice. Zayed International Foundation
the Environment: Recent Developments. OECD Publishing, for the Environment and Tongji University, Dubai and
Paris. Shanghai.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (OECD) (2018). Cost-Benefit Analysis Development) 2020. World Investment Report 2020:
and the Environment: Further Developments and Policy Use. International Production beyond the Pandemic. United
OECD Publishing, Paris. Nations, New York.
Chapter 5: Finance for Poverty-Environment Objectives
UN DESA (United Nations Department of Economic and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) (2017).
Social Affairs) (2020). “Natural Capital Accounting for Comparative Analysis of Green Public Procurement and Eco-
Sustainable Macroeconomic Strategies.” United Nations, labelling Programmes in China, Japan, Thailand and the
New York. Republic of Korea. UNEP.
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“A Methodological Guidebook: Climate Public Expenditure State of Finance for Nature 2021: Tripling Investments in
and Institutional Review (CPEIR).” UNDP, Bangkok. Nature-based Solutions by 2030. UNEP, Nairobi.
UNDP and UNEP FI (United Nations Development World Bank (2022). 2022 World Development Report: Finance
Programme and United Nations Environment for an Equitable Recovery. World Bank, Washington, DC.
Programme Finance Initiative) (2021). “Reporting on
Nature-related Risks, Impacts and Dependencies.” Prepared
by UNDP and UNEP FI for the G20 Sustainable
Finance Working Group.
111
Chapter 6
Communications on
Poverty, Climate and
Environment
Chapter overview
C
ommunications is a priority in integrating poverty- ( Influencing and advocacy—building trust and
environment issues. The issues are simultaneously confidence in poverty-environment integration
complex and often invisible to decision-makers.
( Producing products—creating a resource to inform
They can seem obscure to some stakeholders, and they
better poverty-environment integration
can threaten the status quo for others. The way that
poverty-environment issues are framed for different These strategies are useful throughout the policy/decision-
stakeholders is critical. This is the task of communications. making cycle and need resourcing as they involve a range
Yet communications is too often treated as an “end-of-pipe” of skills.
task—just publications and press. This chapter shows how
Operational guidance and tips are also offered on
much more it can do to make the issues real and tractable,
so everyone “gets” it; and what it can do to link multiple ( Key poverty-environment messages—what the issues
stakeholders, so they can respond in integrated ways. are, why they matter and what to do
Five strategic communications roles are laid out: ( Tools to deliver messages—different forms of papers,
(social) media, events, etc.
( Reaching people—catalysing engagement in poverty-
environment integration ( Stakeholder-handling strategies—what works for
particular types of audiences
( Raising profile—bringing poverty-environment issues
top of mind
115
The objectives will vary depending on the context.
For poverty-environment integration initiatives, Communications is also too often focused
communications objectives may include the on standardized messages. But real poverty-
following: environment issues are deeply local and highly
specific, as the United Nations Development
( Creating space for the voices of the poor to Programme–United Nations Environment
be heard and environmental realities to be Programme (UNDP-UNEP) Poverty-Environment
understood Initiative (PEI) and its successor, Poverty-
Environment Action for Sustainable Development
( Making poverty-environment issues real,
Goals (PEA), found. Thus, communications should
visible and actionable to critical actors
be adapted to the country context using facts
( Attracting and linking stakeholders, fostering and figures from relevant local sources and—
champions and partnerships for poverty- especially—locally appropriate channels of
environment objectives communication that engage local actors.
( Promoting a strategic vision for poverty-
A communications strategy is essential to getting
environment integration based on national
communications right. This means getting the
development objectives
right information to the right people, at the right
( Taking stakeholders from simple information time, on the right platform and in the most suitable
sharing and learning to shared understanding, format. It thereby advances the commitment
competence and commitment, and to collective and advocacy needed to champion the poverty-
action environment agenda. A practical approach to
( Expanding commitment to new poverty- developing and implementing a communications
environment policies and initiatives so they strategy covers five elements (Carlile, 2011).
have greater impact
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
PULL PUSH
Influencing Engaging Sharing Raising
policy communities information profiles
Draw key audiences Provide platforms Ensure good flows of Ensure a clear voice
into dialogue, support for engaging in clearly presented, for the organization
with robust evidence debates and sharing robust information or project
Work with media ideas that is accessible, Send clear messages
and others to build Listen to audiences, engaging, easy to about brand values
pressure for change adapt approaches find and easy to and activities
accordingly read, hear or watch
( Engaging and mobilizing: to map, reach, engaging ways through channels that best
listen to and involve the different stakeholders reach the target audience
of poverty-environment issues—providing
( Influencing and advocacy: to make clear,
platforms for dialogue
evidence-based cases for poverty-environment
( Raising the profile: to ensure a clear voice for action—generating compelling narratives and
an initiative such as a mainstreaming project— driving momentum for change
clarifying its purpose and added value, and
( Producing products: to produce publications,
keeping it top of mind among stakeholders
services and events that deliver the above
( Sharing information: to access, organize for specific audience groups—in government,
and ensure the flow of information relevant local organizations and civil society, sector
to poverty-environment issues—ensuring organizations and business, and international
knowledge is exchanged in accessible and organizations—as relevant
Chapter 6: Communications on Poverty, Climate and Environment
The first two elements are covered in Subsection 3.1.4. ( In “The Future We Want,” the United Nations
This chapter concentrates on the three remaining Conference on Sustainable Development
three elements—notably packaging poverty- (Rio+20) recognized that “Eradicating
environment information and messaging to poverty is the greatest global challenge
influence key decisions, with guidance on some of facing the world today and an indispensable
the kinds of products that can achieve this. requirement for sustainable development”
(UNCSD, 2012).
per day (United Nations, Academic Impact: ( The story of mainstreaming poverty and the
Poverty). environment is one of finding integrated
solutions to development planning and
( Despite the 2021 recovery from the previous
transitioning to more resource-efficient,
year’s record declines in global economic
resilient forms of growth that help bring
growth, low-income countries and Sub-
multiple social, economic and environmental
Saharan African countries were expected
benefits.
to see further increases in poverty in 2021
(Gerszon et al., 2021). ( The close interaction between poverty and
the environment is reflected in five interlinked
( The sustainability of the environment—
key objectives covered by poverty-
once mistakenly thought to compete with
environment integration or mainstreaming:
economic development—is now understood
to be complementary and necessary to “end
— Sustainable use of natural resources
poverty in all its forms everywhere” (SDG 1).
Indeed, economic development and poverty — Adaptation to climate change
reduction strongly depend on improving — Poverty reduction
management of the environment and — Equity, especially for marginalized groups
natural resources (ENR)—the natural wealth (including women and indigenous
of the poor. peoples)
118
transparency reveal the true value of natural
( To ensure that the benefits gained through
capital and sustainable ENR management.
poverty-environment integration initiatives
3. Inequality harms growth and poverty are sustained, international, regional and
reduction. national institutions should embed poverty-
environment issues in their own systems,
( Income inequality increased by 11 percent procedures and practices.
in developing countries between 1990 and
2010 (UNDP, 2013); inequality hurts growth
and poverty reduction.
6.3 Communication tools
( In recent decades, income inequality has The choice of an appropriate communication
increased in nearly all countries, but at tool depends on understanding how the target
different speeds, suggesting that institutions audience receives and understands information.
and policies matter in shaping inequality Some may prefer more technical messages
(World Inequality Lab, 2018). packaged in a report or policy brief; simple slogans
or stories that convey the core objectives may be
( Poverty falls disproportionately on women. As
more appropriate for others. Social media has
of 2019/2020, of the 1.2 billion people across
become the predominant media for some people
the world who live in hunger, 7 out of 10 are
to receive information (University Canada West,
women and girls. Half of multidimensionally
2022), although there are risks of misinformation
poor people across the globe are children
and some groups do not use it. Visuals such as
(UNDP and OPHI, 2021).
infographics makes processing complex and linked
information easier for non-specialists, which in turn
4. Poverty-environment mainstreaming helps
increases the chances that core messages will be
eradicate poverty and reduce inequality, as
well as combat environmental degradation.
Chapter 6: Communications on Poverty, Climate and Environment
( Choose the platforms that reach the audience. ( Focused on a problem or issue with enough
detail for readers to make a decision and
119
Not all channels available will be suitable.
enough urgency to compel them to do so
Tips
6.3.3 Working paper
( Avoid technical terms.
Working papers are research reports, technical
( Include full contact information for those papers, discussion papers and occasional papers
seeking further details. covering original research. A working paper is a
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
useful vehicle for publishing research results quickly Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The Poverty-
and to explore ideas through discussion with Environment Accounting Framework” (PEI, 2016)
practitioners in the field, eliciting their feedback
( “Reducing Climate-Sensitive Disease Risks”
on new findings or methods.
(World Bank, 2014)
Contents
6.3.4 Media advisory
( Title summarizing the paper in 10 words or less
A media advisory announces an upcoming
( Abstract covering contributions, approach and
newsworthy event or activity and alerts the
results
media to prepare their coverage. Advisories are
( Introduction including background, overview usually issued several days before an event. Press
and contributions conferences may be organized in cooperation with
( Disclaimer donor agencies on relevant occasions and major
events.
( Summary of research approach
( Provide background and human interest. Tips for messaging on social media
( Get the name of and other relevant facts about ( Stick to the essentials: Twitter messages are
people cited (e.g. current occupation, role in limited to 280 characters including spaces;
mainstreaming poverty-environment). Twitter Blue, a paid subscription service, has a
( Include quotes from relevant people to add 4,000-character limit.
authenticity to the story; include their short ( Longer messages can be delivered using
titles and agency names. “threads” in which the linked messages are
( Use a picture, video or sound bite, if possible, to enumerated: (1), (2), (3) and so on.
accompany your written piece. ( Include a hash tag to categorize tweets by
( Be sure to include numbers (of people assisted, keyword to help them show up more easily in a
money provided, etc.). Twitter search (e.g. #povertyenvironment).
( Include the name and phone number of a ( Include quotes to boost audience and media
contact person for the press. interest.
( Write in the active rather than passive voice. ( Use a personal tone or give a first-person
perspective where possible/appropriate.
( Present the most relevant data, especially if the
data are new or unusual. ( Illustrate the story whenever possible with a
photo or video clip.
( Stick to concrete details to define problems and
121
illustrate solutions.
Tips for videos
( Let the facts tell the story.
( Twitter video and audio clips are limited to 140
( Write simply and plainly; avoid jargon and seconds in length.
florid or unusual language.
( TikTok videos may be up to 10 minutes in length.
( Avoid unfamiliar or unnecessary acronyms.
( Instagram videos may be from 3 seconds to 60
( Give credit where credit is due—name partners minutes in length.
and donors.
( Hold your viewers’ attention by always giving
( Put yourself in the shoes of the reader: Would them something fresh to look at.
you want to read this story?
( Use trending hashtags that relate to your
content (e.g. #plasticwaste, #plasticfree).
6.3.6 Social media
terms that interest the chosen audience, such as ( Another approach is to tell the story of a staff
implementing the Sustainable Development Goals member or implementing partner describing
(SDGs) and leaving no one behind. The stories their day and their work; this can be told in the
should also illustrate the challenges faced and how first or third person.
they were overcome.
( Similarly, when in workshops and meetings, find
one or more participants with an interesting
A “stories of change” approach can serve both
history or background and interview them;
the need for good communications material and
make them the entry point into a story about
provide evidence that is helpful for monitoring and
the meeting or workshop.
evaluation.
work. It should also show how people are messages, expected results, actions, methods and
overcoming challenges. tools.
( Organize regional and national seminars on the ( International, regional and country-level
economic, social and environmental benefits of meetings, events, exhibitions and campaigns
poverty-environment mainstreaming. (e.g., climate summits, other multilateral
environmental agreement conferences, SDG
Methods/tools conferences, UN Environment Assembly, World
Environment Day)
( Policy briefs, fact sheets, workshops
( Communities of practice, websites, social
( International, regional and country-level
media, newsletters, emails
meetings, events, exhibitions and campaigns
(e.g. climate summits, other multilateral ( One-on-one meetings
environmental agreement conferences, SDG
conferences, UN Environment Assembly, World
Environment Day)
( One-on-one meetings
Chapter 6: Communications on Poverty, Climate and Environment
125
Chapter 7
Monitoring and
Evaluation of Poverty-
Environment Integration
Chapter overview
T
his chapter provides guidance on how monitoring and The chapter’s guidance covers two aspects of monitoring
evaluation (M&E) can track the integration of poverty- poverty-environment progress:
environment issues across the policy cycle—in analysis,
( Progress in the process of poverty-environment
dialogue, policies, plans, resource allocation, and activities—
mainstreaming through the policy cycle
and the results of this integration in terms of improved
conditions for people and the environment. It draws on the ( Progress in achieving good poverty-environment results
experience of Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable
The chapter also touches on how to evaluate poverty-
Development Goals (PEA) and its predecessor, the Poverty-
environment interventions at the local and sector levels, as
Environment Initiative (PEI).
much can be learned from interventions at the project level.
The chapter is aimed at those involved in poverty-
In line with the maxim that what is not measured does not
environment mainstreaming initiatives, so they can better
get done, there are systemic issues that need to be addressed.
track the progress of such initiatives. It is also aimed at
To this end, the chapter recommends institutional changes
national statistical authorities and other agencies involved
to enable national M&E systems to truly embed poverty-
in routine M&E so they can improve their understanding of
environment concerns.
why and how to include poverty-environment issues in their
work. M&E is a specialized field, and this chapter does not attempt
to cover all aspects of M&E. However, it does offer a concluding
The chapter focuses on national-level monitoring, as
general checklist to help readers shape an M&E strategy
this tends to be intimately linked to national and sectoral
best suited to their needs. Some more technical poverty-
planning and resource mobilization and therefore has
environment aspects and processes that M&E needs to track
real potential to feed into better poverty-environment
are touched upon in other chapters (notably Chapter 2 on
outcomes. Guidance is offered on how to select the poverty-
integrated assessment processes; Chapter 3 on dialogue
environment issues to be monitored at the national level
processes; Chapter 4 on planning processes; and Chapter 5
and how to obtain the requisite information. This will
on finance processes).
generally mean working with existing whole-of-government
monitoring systems, including monitoring at the national,
sectoral and local levels.
7.1 Need, challenges and familiarity with new and more efficient approaches
such as geospatial observation, new forms of citizen
opportunities for M&E science and other big data–based methodologies.
7.1.1 The need for, and challenges to, M&E
Notwithstanding these challenges, good M&E of
Policymakers have tended to marginalize poverty- poverty-environment issues can be a real driver of
environment issues. Many such issues have been poverty-environment integration. This is especially
ignored for years, which is part of the reason they true at the national level but also at the sector
are escalating in severity. By not addressing the and local levels. As experience from the United
complexity and feedback loops between poverty Nations Development Programme–United Nations
and environment that can lead to extreme, Environment Programme (UNDP-UNEP) Poverty-
uncertain and non-linear changes, decision- Environment Initiative (PEI) and its successor,
makers often mistakenly opt for narrow, “magic Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable
Development Goals (PEA) has demonstrated, good
129
bullet” solutions that can make some aspects of
interlinked problems even worse. M&E can drive this integration by:
The solution, of course, lies in delineating and ( Tracking the process of integrating poverty-
disaggregating big phenomena into their environment issues across the policy cycle
components and tracking and measuring these ( Tracking changes in poverty-environment
over time. This is the essence of monitoring and outcomes and impacts over time
evaluation (M&E). But several issues challenge
poverty-environment M&E. For one thing, ( Identifying policies, instruments and tools
considerations such as environmental asset quality, that contribute to good poverty-environment
pollution loads, and environmental tipping points outcomes and impacts, and what did not work
and their social and economic effects are frequently well
not embedded in mainstream government ( Contributing to better technical understanding
planning or budgetary targets and standards. This of poverty-environment issues including a
gives rise to and perpetuates a vicious circle of baseline of poverty-environment issues and
“what is not measured does not get done.” trends over time
Another area of concern is the fact that poverty- ( Through all of the above, informing course
environment issues are complex and uncertain; correction in the poverty-environment
addressing them can be expensive and time- mainstreaming strategy
consuming with traditional forms of M&E. ( Improving transparency, dialogue and trust
Developing countries often lack the protocols and between the stakeholders who are affected
associated metrics for monitoring and evaluating by poverty-environment problems and the
poverty-environment issues, as well as the authorities mandated to tackle these problems
requisite data and data collection procedures and
capacities. They almost certainly lack access to and
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
For example, free-to-user modelling programmes Focus on a few meaningful dimensions of change
take readily available global satellite data and and check broadly how well change is being
can automatically create national statistics (Villa achieved. Resource constraints will limit the ability
et al., 2021). However, global data cannot cover all to monitor all aspects of poverty-environment
poverty-environment issues easily and may need mainstreaming. Instead, keep the focus on the
external support in most lower-income countries. priority desired results, whatever they may be—such
as increasing areas under community sustainable
The next two sections tease out the respective management, numbers of green jobs created, etc.
needs and functions of monitoring and evaluation. Rubrics can help. These are made up of evaluation
Section 7.2 looks at what poverty-environment criteria (the key dimensions of performance on
issues should be routinely monitored—in the same which evaluation focuses) plus merit determination
way that certain economic and social issues are (what performance looks like for each criterion).1
monitored—so a more comprehensive picture is Useful rubric resources are available on the Better
available of the well-being of a country or locality, Evaluation website’s Rubrics page.
its people and its environment. Section 7.3 then offers
guidance on how to evaluate the success of specific Indicators should always be agreed upon between
initiatives in terms of their poverty-environment the relevant ministries and the national statistics
outcomes. office. Economic indicators must be among these,
as most policymakers tend to be better able to
relate to such indicators than—for example and at
7.2 Monitoring least initially—lists of threatened species (IIED and
poverty-environment UNEP-WCMC, 2017). 131
mainstreaming initiatives Existing, relevant multidimensional indicators
Ideally, monitoring will track poverty-environment will help kick-start monitoring. Many countries
integration across the policy cycle. Indicators have begun to monitor SDG achievement, which
could cover (i) the inputs into each stage of the provides a useful, high-level way to measure
cycle, (ii) the mainstreaming process activities poverty-environment progress. UNEP has identified
themselves, (iii) the outputs and (iv) the results of 93 environment-related indicators across all the
poverty-environment mainstreaming (divided into SDGs that UN agencies track, based on national
outcomes and their impacts if possible). reporting. A review of a country’s overall progress
across these indicators can provide a good picture
The choice of indicators is critical. Their primary of progress of the poverty-environment dimension
purpose is to assess progress or achievement of of the SDGs. This poverty-environment review
a mainstreaming objective or target. But the could routinely be integrated into SDG voluntary
indicators are also an important communication national reviews; this is discussed further in Section 7.4
tool. They help report the progress and success and Box 7.2.
of mainstreaming in a consistent, regular and
repeatable way to a variety of stakeholders—
including government, funders, business, media
and educators. They can demonstrate progress
1
International frameworks have often relied on targets.
But targets in isolation are often misleading: they are
both nationally and for international commitments
rough estimates of what should be achieved, often based
such as the SDGs. Box 7.1 offers some suggestions for on ambitious thinking without considering contextual
indicators of poverty-environment mainstreaming issues and multiple uncertainties. We thus recommend
progress; Table 7.1 offers examples of poverty- defining dimensions of desired change; indicators
of these; and criteria to assess good, average or bad
environment results indicators used by PEI.
progress—rather than assess target achievement.
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
132 ( Question answered: What have we done or what do effects produced over time by a mainstreaming
we need to do in order to meet our mainstreaming intervention, whether directly or indirectly, intended or
target or objective? unintended—these may be highly specific, depending
upon the nexus issues in-country (see Section 2.2).
( Examples: Number of meetings held; participant
composition, including representation of poor groups ( Question answered: How do the mainstreaming
and environmental interests; activity stage reached outcomes ultimately contribute to the well-being of
around the decision-making cycle (see Figure 1.4). people and nature?
Source: PEI (2015). In addition, PEI’s early collected work, available on the PEI website, on Poverty-Environment Indicators
(2005-2011) is innovative and worth exploring.
Note: In practice, PEI/PEA often added further sub-indicators (e.g. for gender disaggregation).
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Evaluation aims deeper than monitoring. It goes ( Equity—reaching, benefiting and empowering
beyond measuring progress and results to evaluate different groups of men and women, covering
their worth, performance and sustainability. In social inclusion measures such as (i) gender, (ii)
practice, most existing capabilities and provisions disability and (iii) leave no one behind, as in the
for evaluation tend to focus at the project level. updated (2021) UNDP evaluation guidelines.
Poverty-environment issues should be integrated
into this practice, as well as into the evaluation of Figure 7.1 shows the recommended six criteria and
national-level changes, so as to build evaluative top-level evaluation questions. Given the diversity
evidence in the country as well as associated of potential application, it emphasizes that the
expertise and experience on poverty-environment evaluation criteria need to be contextualized and
evaluation. tailored to suit the intervention being evaluated.3
The standard OECD DAC project-level Seven criteria to help national-level evaluations
evaluation criteria are a useful starting point in of SDG achievement beyond the individual
orienting evaluation to poverty-environment project level have been proposed. These criteria
considerations. These criteria are widely accepted and guidelines for their use were developed by
134
and broadly used. The 2019 revised OECD DAC the International Institute for Environment and
framework is typically applied to assess development Development (IIED), the network EVALSDGs, the
projects of any type. Moreover, it has recently UNICEF Evaluation Office and the Finnish Ministry
been expanded to include issues of sustainability, for Foreign Affairs based on experiences in partner
responding to Agenda 2030 with six evaluation developing countries (D’Errico, Geoghegan
criteria. These play a normative role; together they and Piergallini, 2020). This pragmatic, real-life
describe the desired attributes of any intervention: approach to evaluating progress in the SDGs can
be handily applied to evaluating progress towards
( Coherence—of vision, approaches, relationships, poverty-environment objectives.4 As with the
partnerships, and system coordination OECD project evaluation approach, the approach
( Sustainability— including sustaining is derived from the 2030 Agenda principles.
governance and institutions and not only However, its advantage is that it is specifically
finance concerned with sustainable development
EFFECTIVENESS COHERENCE
Is the intervention
achieving its objectives?
IMPACT SUSTAINABILITY
What difference EVALUATION
is the intervention
making? CRITERIA
RELEVANCE EFFICIENCY
Is the intervention How well are
doing the right things? resources used?
Table 7.2 Criteria and typical evaluation questions to inform national-level SDG evaluations
138
1. Improve government planning and M&E
( Political economy analysis (discussed in guidelines. A good first step is to inform both
Section 2.4) identifies drivers of change and government planning and government M&E
analyses formal policy change provisions (how authorities at the national, local and sectoral
change happens) levels so they all include relevant and consistent
( Dialogue (explored in Chapter 3) can supplement, poverty-environment indicators (Box 7.3). Indeed,
challenge and/or verify M&E findings to improve getting poverty-environment issues reflected in
their transparency and strengthen the culture a consistent way in departmental instructions for
of using evidence. planning and M&E has proved to be one of the
most effective mainstreaming tactics for PEI/PEA.
( Stories of change (discussed in Subsection 6.3.7)
provide evidence that is helpful for M&E in the 2. Improve the availability and quality of
absence of strong baselines as well as serve as data. The second step tends to be a longer-
good communications material.5 term initiative. As Subsection 1.3.7 emphasizes,
to support evidence-based, integrated and
inclusive decisions, data both need to be
integrated (clearly demonstrating poverty-
environment linkages), and disaggregated (by
income, gender and other key characteristics).
Data must be strategically targeted (policy-
relevant in addressing national and sectoral
goals and targets), yet accessible (user-friendly,
including for public interest groups to support
5
Note that some funding agencies have specific M&E transparency and dialogue) and credible (in
requirements as to what stories of change should cover,
its sources and methods). To do this, requires
and it is useful to build these requirements in from the
beginning. enlightened, long-term, enabling investment.
Chapter 7: Monitoring and Evaluation of Poverty-Environment Integration
Governments can use evaluative tools and approaches At the approval and adoption stage, forecast-based
at each stage of the policy cycle to provide SDG-relevant evaluation that uses participatory approaches—such
evidence to inform policymaking, help decision-makers as stakeholder mapping and engagement—can help
reflect on the rationale behind their policy choices and gather multiple perspectives to create consensus
identify ways to improve these choices. among stakeholders. It can also shed light on different
stakeholders’ interests by facilitating participatory
In agenda setting, evaluation can help identify cause- assessment of possible benefits and trade-offs of different
and-effect relationships between previous policies policy solutions.
and national or subnational sustainable development
challenges. Analysing data across different evaluation At the implementation stage, evaluations can help
studies can play a similar function, helping decision- planners develop interventions by assessing their
makers identify the reach and effectiveness of policy relevance, efficiency and integration with other
and programme options. For example, the findings initiatives. This can shed light on how best to use
of a mapping and structured synthesis of evaluations resources, help identify initial outcomes and provide
conducted by 17 UN and bilateral evaluation bodies recommendations to adjust plans.
helped researchers assess the effectiveness of different
initiatives to achieve progress towards SDG 4, Quality At the integrated assessment stage, evaluation can
education. help assess the validity of claims once a policy has been
implemented. There are several tools available for this,
At the policy formulation stage, evaluative evidence
analysis can help question assumptions that underpin
including performance assessment and multi-method
impact evaluation design.
139
different policy choices. After identifying the issues,
planners can use evaluative tools to identify processes Finally, at the revision or termination stage, planners
or social mechanisms that affect positive or negative can use the findings of previous evaluative activities to
outcomes. Planners can use theories of change or system decide how to support and refine a policy, or to take a
mapping to explore different pathways to change. new policy direction that maximizes synergies with other
In-depth assessment of positive or negative cases can policies, and accelerate the achievement of sustainable
shed light on the contextual conditions that support or development outcomes.
hinder sustainable development.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute Housing all mainstreaming projects at SANBI has
(SANBI) has been working on mainstreaming created a career ladder and professional development
biodiversity into national and sector policies and plans in biodiversity mainstreaming as a discipline.
for many years. Its mainstreaming approaches have Numerous examples exist of junior staff on one project
included promoting spatial biodiversity planning and taking a more senior role on a subsequent one. In this
integrating biodiversity issues into national water plans way, in-house knowledge of mainstreaming is further
and mining guidelines. SANBI monitors mainstreaming developed rather than lost between projects. On a topic
success through assessing: as complex as mainstreaming, this is a critical ingredient
of success.
( Policy impact—looking at changes in the policy
and practices of the sector it is working with and the Another successful tool in mainstreaming biodiversity
impact on the ground in terms of the status of key is SANBI’s learning approach and active publishing
ecosystems programme. Individual staff are encouraged to publish
their efforts. In fact, a study performed for the Global
( The mainstreaming process—looking at changes
Environment Facility’s Scientific and Technical Advisory
in the awareness, behaviour and willingness of key
Panel concluded that SANBI has created the largest
stakeholders to embrace biodiversity concerns; a
single body of literature in mainstreaming practice
measure of success is requests by a particular sector
in developing countries (Smith, Bass and Roe, 2020).
for a sustainable utilization tool to be developed on
140
SANBI’s mainstreaming success has also been ascribed
its behalf
to its very good data and spatial mapping capabilities
SANBI maintains a hub for theory and practice on and to a credible, science-based approach to the active
biodiversity mainstreaming. This enables each project development questions of the day.
to build conceptually off the mainstreaming lessons of its
predecessors in a strategic way.
Sources: Smith, Bass and Roe (2020); IIED and UNEP-WCMC (2017).
Building Integrated,
Transformative
Institutions
Chapter overview
A
country’s institutions are critical to its economic, social Based on learning from PEI, PEA and others, we lay out a
and environmental success—at least as much as its dozen broad characteristics of integrated, transformative
resource endowments and geography are. However, institutions—both for diagnosing current institutional
today’s institutions show significant limitations in tackling arrangements and to design new institutions. Integrated,
new and burgeoning poverty-environment problems. transformative institutions are:
This chapter addresses the need for institutions to be much ( Inclusive and authentic, rooted in local contexts
more integrated and transformative if collective poverty-
( Legitimate to poverty and environment stakeholders,
environment goals are to be achieved at scale. Based on
with a clear mandate to deliver on linked poverty-
cases from the Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) and
environment issues
its successor, Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable
Development Goals (PEA), and other research, it identifies ( Highly networked vertically across governance levels
the kinds of institution that have proven effective at and horizontally across sectors and disciplines
transforming poverty-environment outcomes, and their ( Holistic and systemic, with clear poverty-environment
characteristics. Such institutions will catalyse changes in goals
the wider institutional ecosystem to better tackle poverty-
environment issues and achieve inclusive, sustainable ( Future-oriented in outlook, building natural capital and
development. other wealth for poverty reduction
( Bodies mandated to develop and deliver holistic ( Monitoring and evaluation: Chapter 7
policies—usually multi-stakeholder in composition and
often new bodies
8.2 The challenges of Because institutions have not been truly integrated,
mainstreaming programmes and tools have been
institutional change used to push poverty-environment issues as far as
Too frequently, we say policies and plans have possible, so that the environment is considered
failed due to lack of political will or weak capacity ; in poverty reduction decisions and vice versa.
these are institutional challenges. But institutions Reflecting on 18 years of work of PEA and its
are also challenged. Many are struggling in rapidly predecessor, the Poverty-Environment Initiative
changing social and economic contexts, and (PEI), it is clear that this kind of mainstreaming
consequently made moribund or redundant. The can only take us so far (Box 8.2). We now need a
prevalence of narrow organizational mandates, more overt approach to institutional reform—
processes, disciplines, incentives and metrics indeed transformation. Table 8.1 highlights the
leads to separate, fragmented work and blocks shifts involved in moving from a mainstreaming
integration. The way financing is organized matters, approach to poverty-environment issues towards
too: for example, the United Nations Development an institutional transformation approach.
Programme–United Nations Environment
Institutions may appear fixed and impossible
Programme (UNDP-UNEP) Poverty-Environment
to change, but they are almost always dynamic,
Action for Sustainable Development Goals (PEA)
and they evolve to survive. Since the 1972
found that, in many countries, environment
Stockholm Conference, there has been a broad shift
authorities may refuse to take an integrated
from “government” to “governance.” Relatively
approach because they wish to keep control of
centralized and single institutions are no longer
146
climate finance The lack of effective horizontal and
the means to achieve ambitious goals. Instead,
vertical coherence and coordination mechanisms
we see a state of polycentric governance and
between institutions makes it difficult to implement
regime complexity in which many more actors
the kinds of holistic priorities we now seek. Too
participate (SEI and CEEW, 2022). Early attempts
many of our institutions are evidently too slow,
to establish umbrella sustainable development
isolated, irrelevant, mistrusted or ineffective in
ministries have usually been superseded by multi-
relation to the problems we face, and there is too
actor arrangements for collective goals such as
much inertia to change them in the short term
sustainable development. Indeed, in many places
(Rockefeller Foundation, 2022).
there has been a gradual institutional evolution
The legal foundations for poverty-environment from siloed approaches towards complete
integration are not yet in place. Sustainable poverty-environment integration (the four levels
development vision statements, policies and of integration are described in Subsection 1.1.3 and
strategies have proliferated. But the legal illustrated in Figure 1.1). We need to look for these
foundations for implementing them have not trends, learn from them and accelerate them
kept pace. Many policies are rendered impotent where appropriate.
by legal anomalies from earlier eras which do
The growing imperative to implement the SDGs
not allow the integrated progress that is now so
means that attention to institutions is likely
urgently required. For example, energy sector laws
to increase. Agenda 2030 calls for institutions to
tend to entrench fossil fuel technologies, centralized
mainstream all the SDGs into the machinery of
grids and energy sector monopolies—all of which
government, business and civil life. While all the
constrains the growth of decentralized renewable
SDGs imply the need for significant institutional
electricity generation (Fullerton and Sorie, 2022).
change, SDG 16 (Peace, justice and strong
One-off poverty-environment mainstreaming institutions) identifies priorities for “effective,
is no longer enough to ensure good outcomes. accountable and inclusive institutions” (Box 8.3).
Chapter 8: Building Integrated, Transformative Institutions
Neither PEI nor PEI aimed overtly at changing equity entailed gaining good understanding of the
institutions as a primary goal. Instead, they worked political context.
with existing institutions, introducing tools and tactics
PEI realized the importance of exit and sustainability
that would change systems—initially the national
strategies to ensure that the institutional DNA that
development planning system, then budgeting and
evolved in individuals and organizations had a good
financing systems, and measurement and monitoring
chance to be sustained. In many PEI/PEA countries,
systems. PEI/PEA also used existing decision-making
there is now broad recognition that the new institutional
cycles and procedures, albeit with some capacity
“wiring” that has emerged needs to be formalized and
development to adopt new tools and methodologies.
embedded. It has become timely to consider supporting
As an independent review of UNEP’s contribution to
institutions in their own right—a prospective theme for
poverty reduction noted, “Sustainability is highest where
PEA follow-up work.
countries applied [PEI’s] more ambitious approach of
engaging with the entire national planning, policy and There are parallels with the SDGs. The in-country
budgeting processes of the country” (Noij, 2021). implications of the SDGs are intensely challenging to
most institutions. Yet to have presented the SDGs as an
This process helped national and local institutions
institutional change agenda early on might not have
change in organic and authentic ways. No institutional
been politically acceptable as it could threaten power
change was imposed. Existing institutions broadly owned
relationships. Only now, with growing agreement in
147
the process, rather than being threatened by it. At times,
further cross-cutting institutional issues were included as many countries to implement the SDGs, is there greater
well: introducing rights-based approaches and gender appetite to question and improve institutional readiness
and capability.
There is, however, no single way to do this. As ( A government that is resource-efficient with
Biermann et al. (2022, p. 797) note: sound public financial management
Four types of institutions can play critical roles in ( Bodies that are mandated to develop and
catalysing integrated, transformative engagement deliver holistic policies, such as sustainable
in poverty-environment issues: development or green economy at the
national level, or landscape management and
( Established top-down coordinating livelihoods at the local level. These entities
institutions with the power and legitimacy may be new bodies and are usually made up of
to convene and coordinate across separate multiple stakeholders, such as national councils
policy arenas. These are principally and commissions for sustainable development.
governmental entities. PEI and PEA found While there is a risk of their being sidelined by
that, with guidance, the coordination roles of more established authorities, there is increasing
development planning and finance ministries, political demand to ensure their policies are
the office of the president or prime minister, and matched with strong institutional muscle.
local authorities could drive the appropriate
( Bridging organizations, networks, alliances,
integration of others’ work on poverty and
and movements that link government,
the environment. Parliamentary bodies can
businesses, and civil society and catalyse their
also play a high-level role to ensure inclusion,
integration. These work through convening,
integration and appropriate trade-offs.
dialogue, multidimensional analysis and
Chapter 8: Building Integrated, Transformative Institutions
150
Integrated, transformative institutions that in creating a picture of the institutional ecosystem.
contribute to poverty-environment outcomes Identify the following:
share several characteristics. Based on the lessons
learned from PEI/PEA and from case studies ( Mandates—the main institutions responsible
of institutional change in support of inclusive for tackling poverty-environment issues; their
green economy, a dozen characteristics describe roles, resources, responsibilities
institutions that are fit for delivering good poverty-
( Collaboration—trends in working together
environment outcomes in diverse contexts (Box 8.4).
and the main areas of competition and
A variety of institutions in government, business
collaboration
or civil society—or meso institutions that span
these—could exhibit such characteristics. There ( Legal foundations—accession to international
is no standard institutional form, and not every treaties on poverty-environment issues and the
characteristic is needed in every constituent application of sustainable development legal
institution. However, their absence across the full principles
institutional ecosystem could make institutional ( Characteristics—institutions that stand out as
reform very fragile. Hence the need to identify and demonstrating key integrated, transformative
build on these institutional characteristics. We characteristics (e.g. as in Box 8.4)
explore this in the next section.
Figure 8.1 offers a checklist of the basic points to
scope. Chapter 2 (notably Section 2.4 and Table 2.3)
provides more details on mapping how the
machinery of government makes its decisions
relevant to poverty-environment issues, and ways
to understand the political economy that affects
how institutions treat poverty-environment issues.
Chapter 8: Building Integrated, Transformative Institutions
These 12 characteristics provide a basis both for 7. Resilient, effective means for feedback, learning,
diagnosing current institutional arrangements and for adaptation, prioritization and resourcing—and the
designing new ones. ability to do the right thing for poverty-environment
outcomes in spite of changing pressures
1. Inclusive—participatory, trust-building and
rectifying power imbalances, especially of poor and 8. Legitimate mandate—rooted in the constitution
marginalized groups; demonstrating clear social and legal regime, accepted as right and proper,
purpose and participation in governance reflecting societal demand and consensus, and
autonomous from short-term political pressure and
2. Rooted in local contexts and in local capabilities vested interests
and needs—embracing domestic cultural, political,
economic and social processes, and thus are owned 9. Upholding the rule of law—protecting rights
by stakeholders and fundamental freedoms, reducing bribery and
corruption, and promoting informed consent and
3. Future-oriented, with clear vision and long the body of sustainable development law
horizons—responsive and adaptive, not only
focusing on short-term stability but also long-term 10. Evidence-based and -sharing—founded on sound
well-being of future generations science and local knowledge, ensuring access and
welcoming and responding to diverse information
4. Holistic and systemic—integrated and and learning loops
interdisciplinary because poverty-environment
problems are complex and interlinked 11. Accountable and transparent—able to account
for performance, transparent and open about 151
5. Linked horizontally and vertically and across the quality of that performance, and subject to
knowledge systems—supporting coherence, independent oversight
collaboration and coordination, and not overly
centralized 12. Competent and adequately resourced—finance
and expertise are secure but responsive to need,
6. Building true wealth—helping stakeholders with mechanisms to mitigate risks and adapt
understand, manage, grow and track the capital appropriately
needed for inclusive green economy and to make
sustainable trade-offs
8.4.2 Work with existing institutions and do can be tempting to do—because it can be done
not create parallel systems quickly under the control of a single initiative—but
it is usually ineffective in influencing mainstream
The most effective way to promote integrated
players and may be counterproductive in the long
approaches usually involves targeting the
run.
existing planning, budgeting and coordination
systems stakeholders are most used to and, Pushing quickly for a single, monolithic,
ideally, trust the most. This mobilizes existing comprehensive sustainable development
capacities and strengthens confidence in tackling institution might seem reasonable. But this is
poverty-environment issues. Creating parallel rarely the best initial step. While a sustainable
mechanisms outside routine mainstream systems development ministry might look on paper as if
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Identify Identify Check for legal Look for good
mandates for collaborations foundations institutional
integration and their means for sustainable characteristics
development
Government Where and how International Inclusive
coordinator, e.g. poverty-environment sustainable Rooted locally
Minister of Finance institutions: development
Future-oriented
Holistic bodies, treaties
Compete Holistic and systemic
e.g. sustainable Polluter pays
Co-exist Vertical and horizontal
development councils User pays
Communicate links
Bridges, e.g. Precautionary
sustainable Cooperate Building true wealth
principle
development Coordinate Resilient
Free, prior and
units and alliances Collaborate Legitimate
informed consent
Integrate Intergenerational Uphold rule of law
Access to information, Evidence-based
justice and Accountable
152 participation Competent and
resourced
it could single-handedly address all a country’s 8.4.3 Establish inclusive means for
poverty-environment issues, many countries where coordination
this solution has been attempted have viewed it
No one institution can tackle the interlinked
as somehow outside the “real” system and with
challenges of poverty-environment issues, yet
inadequate powers.
each institution potentially wields the power of
A national poverty-environment institutional its own mandate and budget. The ability of many
forum or platform that engages and mobilizes institutions to work together systematically in
the existing institutions involved in poverty- vertical coordination (across levels of government)
environment issues can be a better basis on which and horizontal coordination (across sectors) is
to build than a replacement comprehensive therefore important. A variety of coordination
institution. And, over time, it might even evolve mechanisms can work, depending on context and
towards a sustainable development ministry, if the current state of integration:
there is consensus and commitment to this working
( Parliaments. Parliaments have legislative,
in context.
oversight and budgetary functions and
powers and, through representation, cover
various localities and interest groups. Usually
the most representative decision-making
Chapter 8: Building Integrated, Transformative Institutions
body, parliaments must try to ensure that characteristics and play poverty-environment
all groups within society are represented, no coordination roles. For example, beginning
one is left behind and decisions further the in 2010 in Rwanda, PEI worked with local
common good. They can offer an inclusive women-led cooperatives to provide much
approach to coordination through, for of the ongoing governance needed for the
example, parliamentary commissions, audits green villages established with the Ministry of
and consultative exercises—especially if they Local Government and District Councils (see
are innovative. For example, with PEI, Burkina Subsection 4.4.1).
Faso established a parliamentary committee
for priority poverty-environment and green ( Land use planning departments and soil and
economy issues. More than 30 countries now water conservation bodies. Such entities are
have children’s parliaments, too—in some potentially part of the institutional ecosystem
countries championed by non-governmental delivering good poverty-environment
organizations as in Ethiopia and India, and in outcomes. Their associated legislation and
others supported by government as in Finland, staff could promote synergies among diverse
Ireland and Scotland. These have been found to environmental and developmental objectives.
be a valuable additional means for deliberation New demands—for example, to grow local and
on poverty-environment issues (Tisdall, 2021). national green economies, or improve the value
realized by poor groups from natural capital—
( Local government and other organizations
could potentially transform their purpose, use
that represent, serve and regulate local
their skills and mobilize their resources.
stakeholders. Although local authorities
have significant influence (except perhaps ( Interministerial coordination and 153
on elites), they are not uniformly supportive communication mechanisms for holistic
of inclusive and green approaches. Those policies. Most countries are experienced in
that are supportive need to be sought out establishing interministerial committees.
to play coordination roles; these entities are This has been the commonest route so far to
characterized by (Satterthwaite and Sauter, planning for the SDGs and climate change.
2008): This approach can be effective if, like the
climate change coordinating mechanisms in
— High levels of transparency and China and India, they are established under
accountability to local groups the highest-level authorities (UNDP, 2017). A
— An understanding of the close dependence special focus is often needed on helping sectors
of poor groups on environmental quality and subnational actors respond to national
integration decisions.
— Well-established work programmes with
low-income groups ( National councils for sustainable development
— Giving such groups central roles in defining (NCSDs). Such councils were set up in most
priorities and undertaking initiatives countries in the wake of Agenda 21 to steer
national sustainable development strategies.
— Mobilizing resources (skills, natural resources
These have evolved in diverse ways and
and finance) to build the local economy
play many coordinating roles. Most NCSDs
— Openness to influencing central government operate as an advisory body to government,
policy based on the above
examining sustainable development issues
and providing advice on the evolution
Other forms of local institutions beyond
and success of sustainable development
government can also exhibit these
strategy and policy. This role has often been
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
Trust
Turf
Loose Tight
described in Box 8.5; all such entities can help pool poverty-environment integration tasks required
perspectives for tackling the many uncertainties across the entire policy cycle.
that surround poverty-environment issues,
share solutions and build trust. Capacity is typically needed at three levels:
out the relevant legal advances at the international These principles are, of course, affected by other
level, provide numerous national examples and contexts, arguments and interpretation. There is
offer guidance to lawyers. The coverage is wide, much current debate on how far any of them are (or
with many technicalities beyond the scope of this should be) embedded in rights. For example, child/
handbook. We note, however, two legal trends that youth climate activists demonstrate that present
can be built on. children intersect with future generations, and that
intergenerational rights are children’s rights.
First, there is a unique and progressive body
of sustainable development law. This has Second, there has been a trend across many
accumulated at the international and national types of countries to embed holistic issues, and
levels over the last few decades, and hat is sustainable development in particular, in law.
increasingly common in operation. It covers both This embedding is at levels from the constitution
hard and soft law and is expressed in various downwards:
legal treaties, instruments, norms and regulatory
guidance, supported by distinctive procedural ( The constitution is important for setting an
elements. It covers principles and mechanisms for overall national vision, promoting societal
the following, among others: awareness and enabling change—thus defining
a social contract for sustainable development.
( Polluter pays—which makes polluters liable for
( International legislation entails accessions to
the costs of environmental damage
international agreements on the environment,
( User pays—a variation of the polluter pays poverty reduction and sustainable development,
principle which holds the user of a natural and enables national contributions to global 157
resource liable for the cost of running down collective action.
natural capital
( National legislation directs government action
( Precaution—which disallows an activity if there and establishes appropriate rights and the
is a high chance that its consequences are responsibilities of all actors.
irreversible, even if there is not yet conclusive
( National, local and sector rules interpret
scientific proof of harm
sustainable development legal principles
( Free, prior and informed consent—which refers through investment regulations and treaties,
to the right of groups of (indigenous) people to public-private partnership rules and operating
give or withhold their consent for any action rules (see also Chapter 5).
that may affect their lands or rights
( Customary law recognizes and promotes
( Intergenerational equity—which articulates a long-standing cultural norms and traditions
concept of fairness among generations in the that enable joint social and environmental
use and conservation of the environment and protection, and engages indigenous peoples
resources and local communities.
such as local courts which have to implement ICAT (Initiative for Climate Action Transparency)
(2020). Transformational Change Methodology: Assessing
laws that handle poverty-environment trade-
the Transformational Impacts of Policies and Actions. ICAT,
offs and synergies Copenhagen.
( Empowering people so they are able to uphold IIED and UNEP-WCMC (International Institute for
a balanced set of rights and responsibilities— Environment and Development and United Nations
Environment Programme–World Conservation
notably for resource use and participation in Monitoring Centre) (2017). “Mainstreaming Biodiversity
decision-making. and Development: Guidance from African Experience 2012–
17.” IIED, London.
( Engaging lawyers in the institution-building
Noij, F. (2021). “Independent Review of UNEP’s Contribution to
covered in this chapter, and ensuring they Poverty Reduction, on Behalf of Sida: Synthesis Report.”
become familiar with the tasks laid out in
Rockefeller Foundation (2022). “Future of Institutions:
other chapters. As noted in Section 8.2, outdated Framing Note.”
and biased laws and their interpretation are
Rodrik, D., and A. Subramanian (2003). “The Primacy
common roadblocks to poverty-environment
of Institutions (and What This Does and Does Not Mean).”
integration. Finance & Development June.
158
Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future. Stockholm
Bass, S. (2019). “Chapter 6: Institutional Reform for Environment Institute, Stockholm.
Inclusive Green Economies.” In D. Eaton and F. Sheng
(eds.), Inclusive Green Economy: Policies and Practice. Zayed Tisdall, E.K.M. (2021). “Children’s Parliaments.” In Oxford
International Foundation for the Environment and Bibliographies.
Tongji University, Dubai and Shanghai.
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) (2017).
Biermann, F., T. Hickmann, C.A. Sénit et al. (2022). “Institutional and Coordination Mechanisms: Guidance
“Scientific Evidence on the Political Impact of the Note on Facilitating Integration and Coherence for SDG
Sustainable Development Goals.” Nature Sustainability 5 Implementation.” UNDP, New York.
(September): 795–800.
Weaver, L. (2021). “The Collaboration Spectrum Revisited.”
Fullerton, V., and I. Sorie (2022). “Transitioning to Renewable Tamarack Institute, Waterloo, Canada.
Energy in Sierra Leone: How Getting the Legal Framework
Right and Developing Legal Capacity Can Help Get There.”
Oxford Policy Fellowship, Oxford.
Glossary
Budgeting. The process of deciding how much advocacy and policy inputs, capacity-building and
public spending should be committed in the future social functions (UNEP, 2004). See also Stakeholder.
and how it should be spent. The budgeting process
differs enormously from one country to another Climate change. “A change of climate which
and entails budget review, preparation, submission, is attributed directly or indirectly to human
allocation, approval, execution, and monitoring activity that alters the composition of the global
and reporting (The Economist, 2009). See also atmosphere and which is in addition to natural
Medium-term expenditure framework. climate variability observed over comparable
time periods” (IPCC, 2018). The United Nations
Capacity assessment. An analysis of current Framework Convention on Climate Change thus
capacities against desired future capacities, which makes a distinction between climate change
generates an understanding of capacity assets attributable to human activities altering the
and needs. That in turn leads to the formulation of atmospheric composition and climate variability
capacity development strategies (UNDG, 2008). attributable to natural causes.
See also Institution and capacity strengthening or
Climate change adaptation. Adjustment in
159
development.
natural or human systems in response to actual
Champion (poverty-environment). Practitioner or expected climatic stimuli or their effects. The
who takes on the role of advocating the integration adjustment moderates harm or exploits beneficial
of poverty-environment considerations into opportunities. Various types of adaptation can be
development planning at national, sectoral and distinguished, including anticipatory, autonomous
subnational levels. Champions include high-level and planned adaptation (IPCC, 2018).
decision-makers and government officials who
serve as ambassadors for poverty-environment Climate change mitigation. A human intervention
mainstreaming. to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of
greenhouse gases (IPCC, 2018).
Civil society. The voluntary civic and social
components of society. In 1992, at the United Nations Climate public expenditure and institutional
Conference on Environment and Development, review (CPEIR). A methodology that allows an
governments agreed on the following definition analysis to be made of how expenditures related
of major civil society groups: farmers, women, to climate change are being integrated into
the scientific and technological community, national budgetary processes and helps ensure
children and youth, indigenous peoples and their that money spent for climate change is allocated
communities, workers and trade unions, business more effectively. This analysis has to be set within
and industry, non-governmental organizations and the context of the national policy and institutional
local authorities. In relation to the environmental arrangements that exist to manage the response to
field, civil society can be categorized under the climate change. Three key steps in the methodology
following groups: service delivery, representation, include (i) policy development, (ii) institutional
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
structures and (iii) tracking of expenditures in the Economic analysis can quantify the contribution of
context of public financial management. the environment to a country’s economy, through
revenues, job creation, and direct and indirect use of
Communications. The media employed for getting the resources by the population. By demonstrating
the right information to the right people, at the right the multiple values of the environment, expressed
time, on the right platform, and in the most suitable both in monetary and broader non-monetary
format. Effective communications advance the terms, economic analysis can help persuade key
commitment and advocacy needed to champion decision-makers that sustainable management
the poverty-environment agenda. Its five elements of the environment will help them achieve
are (i) engaging and mobilizing stakeholders, (ii) development goals, such as poverty reduction, food
raising the profile among stakeholders, (iii) sharing security, adaptation to climate change and other
information in accessible and engaging ways, (iv) measures of human well-being. See also Cost-benefit
Influencing and advocacy through evidence-based analysis and Environmental valuation.
cases for action and (v) producing products for
specific audience groups. Economic development. Qualitative change and
restructuring in a country’s economy in connection
Cost-benefit analysis. A systematic process for with technological and social progress. The main
identifying, valuing and comparing costs and indicator of economic development is increasing
benefits of a project (Buncle et al., 2013) over gross domestic product per capita (or gross
some defined period of time (the time horizon). It national product per capita), reflecting an increase
helps determine whether the benefits of a project in the economic productivity and average material
160 outweigh its costs and by how much relative to other
alternatives. The objective is to determine whether
well-being of a country’s population. Economic
development is closely linked with economic
the proposed project is (or was) a sound decision growth (Soubbotina, 2004).
or investment and/or compare alternative project
options and make a decision on the preferred Ecosystem. A dynamic complex of plant, animal
option. The results of the cost-benefit analysis are and micro-organism communities and their non-
usually presented in terms of a net present value, living environment interacting as a functional unit
a benefit-cost ratio, or an internal rate of return, (MEA, 2005). Ecosystems have no fixed boundaries;
which is the discount rate at which the present value instead, their parameters are set according to the
of benefits exactly equals the present value of costs. scientific, management or policy question being
If the internal rate of return is higher than the cost examined. Depending on the purpose of the
of capital or a predetermined rate of interest, the analysis, a single lake, catchment area or entire
project, programme or policy measure is profitable region could be an ecosystem (Seymour, Maurer
(Dixon, 2008). See also Economic analysis. and Quiroga, 2005).
Costing. The process of evaluating, through Ecosystem services. The benefits people obtain
estimates, mathematical models and prediction from ecosystems, among them (i) provisioning
of future needs, how much the implementation of services—the products obtained from ecosystems,
a specific policy measure or the achievement of a including for example, genetic resources, food and
goal or target through a set of policy measures will fibre, and freshwater; (ii) regulating services—the
cost. benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem
processes, including for example, the regulation
Economic analysis. The broad process of of climate, water and some human diseases;
studying and understanding trends, phenomena (iii) cultural services—the non-material benefits
and information that are economic in nature. people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual
Glossary
enrichment, reflection, recreation and aesthetic Environmental fiscal reform. Taxation and pricing
experience, including for example, knowledge instruments aimed at improving environmental
systems, social relations and aesthetic values; and management, including taxes on the exploitation
(iv) supporting services—the services necessary of natural resources (e.g. forests, minerals, fisheries),
for the production of all other ecosystem services, user charges and fees (e.g. water charges, street
including for example, biomass production, parking fees, permits or licenses on energy and
production of atmospheric oxygen, soil formation natural resources), taxes or charges on polluting
and retention, nutrient cycling, water cycling and emissions (e.g. air pollution), and reforms to
provision of habitat. The human species, while subsidies (e.g. on pesticides, water, energy).
buffered against environmental changes by culture
and technology, is fundamentally dependent on the Environmental impact assessment. An assessment
flow of ecosystem services (MEA, 2005). See also of the intended and unintended environmental
Environment and Natural resources. consequences of a proposed investment project. The
purpose of an environmental impact assessment is
Entry point. An opportunity for influencing to ensure that environmental impacts are taken
decision-makers to consider poverty-environment into account during project approval.
issues in the process at stake. Possible entry points
include the formation or revision of a poverty Environmental mainstreaming. The integration
reduction strategy paper, a national development of environmental considerations into policies,
plan, a national development strategy based on programmes and operations to ensure their
the Millennium Development Goals, or 104 related sustainability and to enhance harmonization of
implementation processes. The development
and revision of sectoral strategies or plans, such
environmental, economic and social concerns (EC,
2011).
161
as an agricultural sector plan, constitute another
Environmental sustainability. The longer-term
opportunity. Similarly, the start of the national
ability of natural and environmental resources
budget allocation process or review (e.g. medium-
and ecosystem services to support continued
term expenditure review) or the launch of relevant
human well-being. Environmental sustainability
national consultation processes can prove to be
encompasses not just recognition of environmental
excellent entry points for poverty-environment
spillovers today, but also the need to maintain
mainstreaming.
sufficient natural capital to meet future human
Environment. The living (biodiversity) and non- needs (Seymour, Maurer and Quiroga, 2005).
living components of the natural world, and
Environmental valuation. The process of placing
the interactions between them, that together
monetary value on environmental goods or services
support life on Earth. The environment provides
that do not have accepted prices or whose market
goods (see also Natural resources) and services (see
prices are distorted. A wide range of valuation
also Ecosystem services) used for food production,
techniques exist and are suited to address different
the harvesting of wild products, energy and raw
issues (e.g. survey-based techniques, changes in
materials. The environment is also a recipient
production, hedonic approaches and surrogate
and partial recycler of waste products from the
markets) (Dixon, 2008; Dixon and Sherman, 1991).
economy and an important source of recreation,
See also Economic analysis.
beauty, spiritual values and other amenities (DFID
et al., 2002). On the other hand, the environment
Fair and equitable treatment. A standard of
is subject to environmental hazards such as natural
treatment in international investment agreements
disasters, floods and droughts and environmental
that requires host governments to accord full
degradation (e.g. soil erosion, deforestation).
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
or constant protection and security to foreign Household poverty assessment. Collection and
investments and not to impair the management, analysis of data on the determinants of poverty.
maintenance, use, enjoyment or disposal of foreign Increasingly this includes environmental factors,
investments by unreasonable or discriminatory such as access to water and energy (Brocklesby and
measures (UNCTAD, 2009). Hinshelwood, 2001).
have an impact on the implementation of poverty- Least developed country (LDC). The descriptor
environment objectives. given to a country which, according to the United
Nations, exhibits the lowest socioeconomic
Integrated approach. An approach involving (i) development of all the countries in the world.
thematic integration, which brings together issues
that had been separate, but that need to be treated Livelihood. The assets and activities required
as linked; (ii) horizontal integration, which links to sustain a living. The assets might consist of
experts and issues across sectors and disciplines; (iii) individual skills and abilities (human capital),
vertical integration, which links global to national land, savings and equipment (natural, financial
to local; (iv) stakeholder integration, which builds and physical capital, respectively), and formal
trust and collective action between players; and support groups or informal networks that assist in
(v) temporal integration, which enables continuous the activities being undertaken (social capital). A
improvement throughout the decision-making livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and
cycle. recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or
enhance its capabilities and assets both now and
Integrated ecosystem assessment. An assessment in the future, while not undermining the natural
of the conditions and trends in an ecosystem; the resource base (DFID, 2001).
services it provides (e.g. clean water, food, forest
products and flood control); and the options to Mainstreaming. The process of comprehensively
restore, conserve or enhance the sustainable use of and methodically integrating a selected value,
that ecosystem through integrated natural science idea or theme into all domains of an area of work
and social science research methods (MEA, 2005). or system. Mainstreaming involves an iterative
process of change in the culture and practices of
163
International investment agreement. A treaty institutions (DFID et al., 2002).
between two or more countries that addresses
protection, promotion and liberalization of Medium-term expenditure framework. A
cross-border investment (including foreign direct budgeting system comprising a top-down estimate
investment). International investment agreements of aggregate resources available for public
include bilateral investment treaties, regional expenditure in the medium term consistent with
economic agreements with provisions on foreign macroeconomic stability; bottom-up estimates of
investment, and multilateral agreements with the cost of carrying out policies, both existing and
direct implications for foreign direct investment. new; and a framework that reconciles these costs
with aggregate resources. It is called “medium-
Investment contract. A written agreement between term” because it provides data on a prospective
a foreign investor and the host government or a basis for the budget year (n+1) and for following
local community that (i) grants rights with respect years (n+2 and n+3). The term used differs by
to natural resources or other assets controlled by country; other terms that may be applied include
the host government or a local community; and (ii) multi-year expenditure framework, multi-year
is relied upon by the foreign investor in establishing budget, forward budget, multi-year estimates
or acquiring a covered investment (UNCTAD, and forward estimates (Petkova, 2009). See also
2004). Budgeting.
Land tenure. Rules, whether legally or customarily Monitoring and evaluation (M&E). A systematic
defined, among individuals or groups with respect means of tracking how poverty-environment
to land. Rules of tenure define how rights to use, issues have been integrated across the policy
control and transfer land are to be allocated in a cycle—in analysis, dialogue, policies, plans, resource
given society (FAO, 2002).
Sustainable Development in Practice: Handbook for Integrating Environment, Climate and Poverty Reduction
allocation and activities—and what the review of Policy. A high-level strategic plan embracing
that tracking shows. The tracking is typically done general goals, targets and implementation.
through national-level monitoring, although it
also often involves sectoral and local monitoring. Policy measure. An intervention supporting new
Poverty-environment interventions at sectoral and policies or changes to existing policies, as well as
local levels may generate lessons about project broader sectoral reform (e.g. agriculture policy)
impacts and also lead to course corrections in the and public reforms (e.g. participation in the
poverty-environment mainstreaming strategy. decision-making process), aimed at improving
Indicators of poverty-environment mainstreaming environmental management for the benefit of
take account of the financial and human resources those who have few resources. Policy measures can
required to meet a given mainstreaming target or take place at the national, sectoral or subnational
objective. Evaluation criteria include effectiveness, level.
coherence, sustainability, efficacy, relevance and
Political economy analysis. An analytical approach
impact.
to help people understand the underlying political,
National development planning. A comprehensive economic, social and cultural reasons why things
process from elaboration of a plan until work the way they do and to identify the incentives
implementation, by which economic development and constraints impacting actors’ behaviour in a
is organized around a coherent framework relevant system (Mcloughlin, 2014).
of objectives and means. In the context of
Politics. The processes of conflict, negotiation and
poverty-environment mainstreaming, planning
164 encompasses preparatory work (e.g. carrying out
assessments and setting up working mechanisms);
cooperation between different interest groups that
determine the use, production and distribution
of resources—or “who gets what, when and how”
policymaking (including public and policy reforms);
(Heaven et al., 2021).
and budgeting, implementation and monitoring at
various levels: national, sectoral and subnational.
Poverty. A multidimensional concept of
deprivation, including lack or loss of: (1) income
Natural resources. Resources occurring naturally
and other material means; (ii) access to basic social
within and derived from the environment. These
services, such as education, health and safe water;
can be divided further into renewable resources
(iii) personal safety and security; (iv) empowerment
(those that can be replenished or reproduced easily,
to participate in the political process and in life-
such as water and forests), and non-renewable
affecting decisions; and (v) a protective buffer
resources (those that exist in fixed amounts or are
against external shocks, resulting in extreme
consumed much faster than nature can recreate
vulnerability (DFID et al., 2002).
them, such as metals, coal, oil and gas).
Poverty-environment issues. The full range as women and indigenous peoples; and working
of environment issues—natural resources, towards inclusive green growth.
environmental processes, climate change, etc.—
that relate to the range of poverty issues in any Public environmental expenditure review (PEER).
given context. These include deficits of income, A way of systematically assessing the equity,
health, livelihoods, gender equity and other efficiency and effectiveness of public environmental
kinds of equity, and/or deficits in other aspects of spending. The data and insights the review yields
well-being. can be valuable for the design of government
budgets, policy reforms and investment projects
Poverty-environment linkage. The close (Markandya, Hamilton and Sanchez-Triana, 2006).
relationship between poverty and environmental
factors, as reflected in sustainable use of natural Public expenditure review. A key diagnostics
resources; adaptation to climate change; a focus instrument used to evaluate the effectiveness
on poverty reduction and equity especially for of public finances. A public expenditure review
marginalized groups, including women and typically analyses government expenditures over
indigenous peoples; and a focus on inclusive a period of years to assess their consistency with
green growth. Poverty-environment linkages policy priorities and the results achieved. It may
are dynamic and context-specific, reflecting analyse government-wide expenditures or may
geographic location, scale and the economic, focus on a particular sector (agriculture, education,
social and cultural characteristics of individuals, infrastructure). Public expenditure reviews help
households and social groups. countries establish effective and transparent
167
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168
Poverty-Environment Action for Sustainable Development Goals (2018–
2022) was established as a joint initiative of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
It promoted an integrated approach that contributed to bringing poverty,
environment and climate objectives into the heart of national and subnational
plans, policies, budgets, and public and private finance to strengthen the
sustainable management of natural resources and to alleviate poverty.
European Union