Practical ways to do this are beginning to emerge, and there would be great benefit from disseminating them. More generally, integrating environmental awareness in education programs, especially at the early stages, and influencing values and behavior would be a fundamental step in mainstreaming environmental concerns. Uncertainties Tough questions remain with respect to both policy choices and the implementation of environmental actions. Pushing ahead with them should therefore be a high priority. But even in this case, there will be winners and losers from the changes, requiring the policymaker to manage the political economy of reforms.
Financial constraints make the decision hard to take even if it is socially beneficial.
Higher incomes also provide the resources to help address the problem. And they also involve unacceptable thresholds of degradation, and irreversible losses, such as biodiversity. Countries' institutional capacity to make, implement, and enforce difficult decisions is a key consideration. Even the best solutions require the support of well-functioning markets and property rights. When the benefits go beyond individual countries, financial and institutional arrangements across borders might be called for.