The Challenges of Environmental Mainstreaming’ is an initial synthesis of IIED’s work with partners in 13 developing countries. It reviews the rapidly changing context and challenges to environmental mainstreaming, discusses what it takes to achieve effective mainstreaming, and provides a roadmap for selecting operational methods and tools. It explores the current emphasis on getting environmental issues reflected in key government processes – notably development plans, poverty reduction strategies and national budgets. It assesses the outcomes as well as the risks of limiting efforts to these core processes alone. It calls for more attention both ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ of these plans and strategies, identifying the advantages that can be gained through diverse media, business and civil society initiatives that assert environmental values in development.