  Under the UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative, UNDP and UNEP have jointly supported the implementation of country level mainstreaming programmes in nine African and Asian countries with the aim of increasing the capacity of governments to mainstream environment into national development processes and their implementation.
The scale-up of the PEI is focused on building on the strengths of the current country programmes on a regional basis. In Africa, we are aiming to add several more countries to our portfolio in the coming few years. We are launching a new country programme in Malawi and Burkina Faso. In Asia, we are developing a regional PEI programme and are discussing possible country programme preparatory activities with five countries. We shall initiate a regional PEI programme for Latin America and the Caribbean in early 2008.
Regional Delivery:
The scaled-up PEI are delivered through the regional structure of UNDP and UNEP. UNDP Regional Centres and UNEP Regional Offices collaborate to maximize their capacities to deliver environmental mainstreaming support to countries under the banner of the PEI. They agree on programmes of regional support and their differentiated contributions to them. The mainstreaming support programmes are aligned with country demand within each region. The Regional Support Programmes:
- Serve as a formal window of strategic planning and feedback on environmental mainstreaming issues and services in the region;
- Define a set of priority environmental mainstreaming services for the region that are fully aligned with country and regional priorities and demand, and linked to regional MDG Support activities;
- Allocate funds for the country environmental mainstreaming programmes and provision of advisory services, and support for the regional communities of practice;
- Ensure that UNDP and UNEP operate in a region and countries within a well-coordinated framework, rather than on an initiative-by-initiative or unit-by-unit basis.
UNDP and UNEP’s network of regional advisers, together with technical specialists at UNDP and UNEP headquarters, enhances the ability to respond to programme country requests for substantive support and to facilitate the sharing of lessons and good practices across regions. The regional policy advisers take a lead role in establishing and building the regional communities of practice on environmental mainstreaming, including strategic linkages with external partners. |
