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.

There is concern that some cross-cutting issues, such as the environment, have been weakly incorporated into PRSPs that help guide resource allocation under GBS. Capacity building has also been recognised as a weak input under GBS; this poses a challenge for delivery on environmental issues, as environmental ministries and their line agencies tend to be among the least well resourced elements of the state administration. For the donor's part, previous environmental due diligence procedures that were designed for project and programme assistance may now need revision.

Environmental assets are increasingly the cause of conflict, which may worsen with climate change. Whilst not being the whole answer, government action should certainly be part of it.

External support provided through GBS may deliver environmental improvements where (a) such efforts to safeguard the environment need to work predominantly through the state; and (b) where the policies, public finance management systems and service delivery structures of the state are of an adequate standard to permit the effective use of GBS. Both of these assumptions are evaluated as part of this study. 

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
Budget Support, Aid Instruments and the Environment - The country context
Neil Bird and Cecilia Luttrell, together with ODI researchers Lidia Cabral and Andrew Lawson, will examine country experience of public expenditure on the environment and how this is influenced by development partners. Four country case studies, in Ghana, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania, will be undertaken and a synthesis report prepared.
Neil Bird, Lidia Cabral, Andrew Lawson and David Brown		Jul 2007 - Feb 2008