Building Capacities to Improve Mainstreaming of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Into Development Strategies and Policies in the Caribbean Region

In recent years, governments have begun negotiating multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in an attempt to tackle a growing array of environmental challenges.

However, mainstreaming these MEAs into national strategies and policies to achieve improvements in the environment is a considerable challenge. In this paper we present an approach to capacity building of MEA mainstreaming targeted towards policy-makers.

In this paper, we share lessons learned from the application of the training module Achieving National and Sectoral Development Priorities: The use of integrated environmental assessment tools for improved MEA implementation (IISD, UNEP, & CARICOM, 2011). This approach focuses on identifying high-level linkages between MEAs and national development priorities and then identifying specific targets, indicators and policies to improve MEA implementation. We conducted three applications of the approach in the Caribbean at the national and regional levels. These applications (including specific feedback from the participants) revealed the importance of critically reviewing national and regional plans and strategies to identify if the goals of the MEAs are in line with the issues that are being mainstreamed, while assessing the trade-offs and synergies between MEAs and specific policies and programs in meeting mainstreaming goals.