Environmental policy integration among multilateral environmental agreements: the case of biodiversity Autor Velázquez Gomar J.O. Título de serie International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics | Vol. 16(4), p. 525-541 Fecha 2016 Fuente IUCN (ID: ANA-090876) Editor | Lugar de publicación Springer Science+Business Media Deutschland GmbH | Dordrecht, Netherlands ISSN 1567-9764 Tipo de documento Artículo en publicación Idioma Inglés Campo de aplicación Internacional Materia Especies silvestres y ecosistemas, Medio ambiente gen. Palabra clave Relaciones internacionales/cooperación Acuerdo internacional-implementación Política/planificación Biodiversidad Resumen The system of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) comprises hundreds of conventions and protocols designed to protect the environment. Institutional interaction within the MEA system raises issues of environmental policy integration (EPI), i.e. balancing different environmental objectives and considerations. Mainstream proposals for enhancing EPI in environmental governance build upon the assumption that environmental institutions are fragmented. However, recent research reveals that the MEA system has been defragmenting over the years such that EPI is less a problem of institutional fragmentation than of effective management of institutional interplay. This paper examines the factors affecting EPI among MEAs by looking at experiences in the cluster of biodiversity-related multilateral agreements. The analysis is based on a series of interviews with MEA secretariat officials and international experts conducted between September 2011 and January 2012. The paper identifies institutional, political and cognitive barriers constraining interplay management efforts. While some have proposed regulatory changes in the cluster, national-level co-ordination appears to be the best way to advance EPI. Página web www.springer.com