Making Mainstreaming Work

The guide argues that marine and coastal issues are often neglected in national poverty reduction and development strategies, such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It proposes a six-step mainstreaming process to shift the narrative from viewing coastal protection as a restrictive regulatory burden to seeing it as a driver of economic growth and poverty reduction. The framework emphasizes national ownership, the creation of inter-agency working groups, and the identification of focal sectors—such as tourism and aquaculture—where the link between resource sustainability and livelihoods is most evident. It also integrates climate change adaptation as a key selling point for policymakers and provides specific tools for countries already implementing a National Programme of Action (NPA) and for aligning these efforts with United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF).

• Coastal and marine resource issues are largely invisible in international and national poverty reduction and development policy documents, including the first round of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs).
• Mainstreaming requires overcoming two primary challenges: the conflict between growth-oriented national planning and the restrictive nature of environmental safeguards, and the cross-sectoral nature of marine issues which span fishing, tourism, transport, and water management.
• The proposed mainstreaming process consists of six sequential steps: establishing an institutional mechanism, defining a strategic framework, identifying sectoral priorities, assessing negative impacts, defining positive contributions to development goals, and preparing a consolidated strategy.
• To ensure effectiveness, countries should prioritize focal sectors that are critical to the livelihoods of poor communities, have an obvious link between resources and growth, and possess straightforward institutional structures.
• Climate change adaptation is identified as a compelling entry point for mainstreaming because it has become a priority in most national and international development processes.
• Effective mainstreaming must move beyond 'negative' regulatory controls to a 'positive' message that demonstrates how sustainable resource management can generate poverty reduction and economic growth.
• The framework advocates for the use of 'win-win' solutions that reduce pollution while providing benefits to the communities causing the pollution, such as ecological sanitation for sewerage and low chemical input agriculture for persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
• For countries with an existing National Programme of Action (NPA), the guide recommends re-visiting the NPA to ensure it is linked to the wider national development context and representative of the national development policy process.

APA

Soussan, J. (2007). Making Mainstreaming Work. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Water-sanitation/making_mainstreaming_work.pdf

Chicago

Soussan, John. Making Mainstreaming Work. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2007. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Water-sanitation/making_mainstreaming_work.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Soussan |first1=John |title=Making Mainstreaming Work |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2007 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Water-sanitation/making_mainstreaming_work.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{soussan2007making, author = {Soussan, John}, title = {{Making Mainstreaming Work}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2007}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Water-sanitation/making_mainstreaming_work.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }