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

The document evaluates the application of a training module focused on integrating Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) into development priorities in the Caribbean. Using the Driving Forces–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework, the approach helps policy-makers identify synergies between environmental obligations and economic sectors such as tourism and agriculture. Findings from three case studies in Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Lucia highlight that while the tool improves the ability of policy-makers to articulate MEA relevance, significant barriers remain, including limited cross-sectoral collaboration, insufficient data for target setting, and a lack of political will to alter high-level development priorities.

• Policy-makers in the Caribbean face significant challenges in mainstreaming MEAs due to limited human and financial resources, a perception that MEAs only concern a single ministry, and intense reporting requirements that exceed available staff capacity.
• The use of the Driving Forces–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework allows policy-makers to visualize causal pathways and identify synergies across multiple MEAs, moving beyond a narrow focus on biodiversity to include broader development drivers.
• Application of the training in Suriname demonstrated that key economic sectors—tourism, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries—are both dependent on ecosystem services and primary drivers of environmental pressure, necessitating coordinated policies to minimize trade-offs.
• In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the approach highlighted the critical link between MEAs and poverty reduction, noting that poor populations are highly dependent on natural resources for food security and income, which can lead to unsustainable behaviors like poaching.
• Regional application focused on institutional processes revealed a lack of harmonization between national legislation and MEA requirements, as well as a need to reform hierarchical public sector operations to encourage cross-departmental collaboration.
• A primary barrier to effective mainstreaming is the lack of research and data at the national level, which hinders the ability of policy-makers to set feasible targets and monitor progress.

APA

Bizikova, L., Yarde, T., Swanson, D., Pintér, L., Thomas, A., Corbin, C., Sabelli, A., Metternicht, G., Salinas, A., & Tulsie, B. (2013). Building Capacities to Improve Mainstreaming of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Into Development Strategies and Policies in the Caribbean Region. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mea_building_capacities_carribean.pdf

Chicago

Bizikova, Livia, Therese Yarde, Darren Swanson, László Pintér, Anya Thomas, Chris Corbin, Andrea Sabelli, et al. Building Capacities to Improve Mainstreaming of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Into Development Strategies and Policies in the Caribbean Region. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mea_building_capacities_carribean.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bizikova |first1=Livia |last2=Yarde |first2=Therese |last3=Swanson |first3=Darren |last4=Pintér |first4=László |last5=Thomas |first5=Anya |last6=Corbin |first6=Chris |last7=Sabelli |first7=Andrea |last8=Metternicht |first8=Graciela |last9=Salinas |first9=Andrea |display-authors=etal |title=Building Capacities to Improve Mainstreaming of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Into Development Strategies and Policies in the Caribbean Region |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=August 2013 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mea_building_capacities_carribean.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bizikova2013building, author = {Bizikova, Livia and Yarde, Therese and Swanson, Darren and Pintér, László and Thomas, Anya and Corbin, Chris and Sabelli, Andrea and Metternicht, Graciela and Salinas, Andrea and Tulsie, Bishunarine}, title = {{Building Capacities to Improve Mainstreaming of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Into Development Strategies and Policies in the Caribbean Region}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2013}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mea_building_capacities_carribean.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }