This study examines the linkages between environmental policies and outcomes, public expenditure on the environment and the influence of different modalities of development cooperation. It is based on four short country studies of Ghana, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania.  The primary objective has been to analyse what lessons might be learned from the four case studies and to draw out key principles and best practices to help guide donor engagement within the environmental sector.

The origins of the study lie in concerns expressed within the international development community over the inadequacy of public funding for environmental objectives in many Developing Countries and the apparently limited attention given to the environment within national development strategies and within the daily practice of public administration.   With the advent of climate change and the likelihood of more severe environmental hazards arising from climatic variations, it has become increasingly important to find effective ways of addressing these concerns.

Five Key Lessons have emerged from this study relating to measures which Governments and Development Partners might take to expand the scope of public actions on the environment and increase their effectiveness:

i. Recognise the limitations of environmental mainstreaming through Poverty Reduction Strategies.

ii. Focus on raising recurrent not project financing for the environment.

iii. Control the use of taxes, fees and levies as a direct method of financing environmental agencies.

iv. Structure Thematic and Sector Working Groups so as to maximise the quality of policy dialogue and minimise transaction costs.

v. Use all avenues of dialogue within General Budget Support arrangements and make prudent use of Performance Assessment Framework indicators.

Related projects
Public environmental expenditure within multi-year budgetary frameworks
This study, undertaken with the OECD Environment Directorate, examines how multi-year budgetary processes work in practice in both high income OECD countries ( Australia and the Netherlands) and in aid-receiving countries (Armenia, South Africa and Uganda). A main objective of the study is to identify the opportunities for, and limits to, financing environmental management through general budget support.
Neil Bird, Geoff Handley and Edward Hedger		November 2007 – March 2008
Addressing Environmental Objectives in the Context of Budget Support
The question that lies at the heart of this study is which aid instruments are best suited to promote environmental management that contributes to poverty reduction and development, and under which circumstances? General Budget Support (GBS) was a response to the dissatisfaction over the effectiveness of earlier aid delivery mechanisms, particularly concern over limited national ownership and resource allocation under project and programme support. Its origins are closely associated with the introduction of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) as a focus for collaboration between donors and partner countries
Neil Bird, Lidia Cabral, Andrew Lawson and David Brown		May - December 2006