B1n SEA in Poverty Reduction Strategies
Linda Ghanime, United Nations Development Program, New York
Key issues to be addressed
Position Paper:
Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) have become key development planning frameworks. For developing countries, especially the Low Income Countries of Africa, the PRS are a dominant development planning process given the debt forgiveness mechanisms and the alignment of donor financial support behind the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. In both middle and low income countries, the PRS are also increasingly promoted as the implementation vehicle to make progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In principle, the PRS process offers opportunities for each country to set context-specific goals and targets, to reconcile global framework and local action, bring coherence, balance and sustainability to the national development agenda and to take on the MDG challenge. The PRS have so far yielded mixed results with respect to integrating environmental and social concerns into national economic development plans and budgets and in addressing long-term sustainability
The session will address how SEA can provide useful analytical approaches, processes and results which enhance the quality of PRS and the integration of environmental considerations and social concerns in poverty alleviation programs. The key questions to be addressed:
• What are the lessons emerging from the experiences in SEA of PRS?
• How has SEA helped in refining outcomes of PRS and lead to improved pro-poor policies?
• How have SEA approaches been adapted to country and context-specific needs?
• How have SEAs brought together various analytical processes and tools?