Poverty reduction strategies (PRSs)provide a central framework for macroeconomic, structural,and social policies in developing countries. Because of thenumerous and complex links between environment and poverty,it is important that environmental issues are taken intoaccount in the PRS process. This paper follows six previousassessments of the degree of mainstreaming environment inthe PRS process using a similar methodology to presenttrends and provide an understanding of the effectiveness ofenvironmental interventions in reducing poverty. However, itgoes beyond previous assessments in three important ways.In-depth country case studies of the evolution ofenvironmental mainstreaming in the PRS process over time.Many countries have now gone through several iterations oftheir poverty reduction strategies and have received asequence of credits designed to implement key aspects ofthese strategies, making it possible to see how the processof mainstreaming environment in the strategies has evolvedover time. In this assessment, the authors conduct detailedcase studies of this evolution in Ghana, Albania,Bangladesh, and Vietnam. The choice of countries was basedon the maturity of each country's PRS process, takinginto consideration country size, lending volume, andvulnerability to climate change. An assessment of climatechange mainstreaming in the PRS process in the same fourcountries. Like environment as a whole, the potentialimpacts of climate change have often been consideredseparately, if at all rather than as an integral part ofdevelopment policies. An evaluation of environmentaldevelopment policy loans (DPLs) in several middle incomecountries (Brazil, Gabon, and Mexico). DPLs represent animportant opportunity to mainstream environment and climatechange into middle-income countries' growth anddevelopment. This review assesses the process by whichenvironmental DPLs have been prepared and the effectivenesswith which they have been implemented.
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