Governing Drylands Through Environmental Mainstreaming: How to Cope with Natural Resources Scarcity and Climate Change

Since the original conception of “sustainability” as a guiding paradigm for development planning, it has been evident how necessary but also difficult can become the integration of social, political, ecological and economic aspects together, because of their complex interrelations and trade-offs. And in the specific case of drylands a transversal or mainstreaming approach is particularly recommendable. After framing the concept of environmental mainstreaming as integrated and cross-cutting approach, its theoretical functioning and the mechanism of practical application, the challenge of how to enhance basic skills, which are the main prerequisite for an effective application of the EM, will be explored. Then we will examine how to apply it concretely, through three distinct and consequential stages: to build-up policies, to construct the implementation paths, and to build constant monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. The final part of the chapter will be focusing on some experiences in Mexico and other countries of LAC.