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This book provides novel and in-depth perspectives on evaluating environment and sustainability issues in developing countries. Evaluating Environment in International Development focuses on the approaches and experiences of leading international organizations, not-for-profits, and multilateral and bilateral aid agencies to illustrate how systematic evaluation is an essential tool for providing evidence for decision-makers. Moving beyond projects and programmes, it explores normative work on the environment as well as environmental consequences of economic and social development efforts. This new edition reflects on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals and considers how they have influenced efforts in a wide range of countries and what the implications are for evaluation. It also explores ways in which Big Data and geospatial approaches might be utilized. Significantly updated throughout to reflect recent developments in climate change research, and on the implications of the 2020 pandemic, this volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of environment studies, development studies, international relations, sustainable development and evaluation, as well as practitioners in international organizations and development and environmental NGOs.

We live in the Anthropocene in which human impact on Earth is the dominant force. At the same time, humans are very much part of the ecosystem. This close interdependency is brought home by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as by anthropogenic climate change. Ecosystem health and human health are closely interlinked. Transformational change is required to avoid further catastrophes caused by the three environmental crises that human actions have caused: climate crisis; nature crisis; and pollution and waste crisis. Evaluation can contribute to finding durable solutions based on sound science and experiences from the field, but to do so evaluation must broaden its vision. Theory-based approaches will remain central, but they must be open to the full human and natural systems in which the intervention that is the evaluand operates. Evaluations must also pay attention to unintended consequences of all interventions to the environment, to social and power relations, to women, indigenous peoples and vulnerable groups. I identify three principles for evaluation in the Anthropocene, at the nexus of human and natural systems, and illustrate them using examples from evaluations from the Global Environment Facility: (a) integrating human and natural systems; (b) geographical approaches; and (c) addressing the drivers.

AbstractEnvironmental threats continue to pose fundamental challenges to the ecosystems that support human life and societies, as demonstrated by the 2018 special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Sustainable development has three closely interlinked dimensions: social, economic, and environmental. The evaluation profession has focused primarily on the first two, while largely neglecting the environmental dimension, which is fundamental to achieving social and economic goals. As progress in moving toward sustainable development rests on the foundation of natural resources and environment, evaluation cannot continue ignoring them. Evaluating at the nexus of natural and human systems requires approaches and skillsets that encompass both domains, taking into account their differing geographic and time scales. This article draws upon the work carried out by the Global Environment Facility Independent Evaluation Office in evaluating environmental programs and projects in developing countries. The experiences highlight the need for understanding the complex dynamic systems in which the interventions operate and interact. Theory‐based evaluations must incorporate the broader system and not be constrained to the internal logic of the intervention. The article also makes the case for mixed methods approaches and methods that can be tailored to answer various types of evaluation questions. This leads to the need for multidisciplinary teams to evaluate at the nexus of environment and development.

AbstractThe article emphasizes the importance of evaluation in the context of sustainable development. It focuses on the so called environment‐poverty nexus where issues of environmental conservation and management meet the social and economic development needs. Given the threats to the global environment and the forces of economic development that work against it, it is crucial that environmental policies, strategies, programmes and projects are designed and implemented in an effective manner producing lasting impacts. Evaluation is a central tool for analysing what works, why and under what circumstances to inform policy making and programme design. Environmental evaluation faces specific challenges due to the complex nature of the environment‐poverty nexus. Based on a review of evaluation literature and practical experiences with evaluations conducted on the nexus in the international development arena, the article draws lessons for evaluating sustainable development. It concludes by suggesting that strong evaluation be built into the new Sustainable Development Goals.

Global public goods are defined as non-excludable and non-rivalrous. Global environmental challenges, such as biodiversity conservation or climate change mitigation, fall squarely into this category. This contribution focuses on the specific dimensions of evaluating the provision of global public goods in light of experiences from the Global Environment Facility. As global environmental problems persist, it is important that evaluations focus on the results and impact of our actions beyond the immediate outputs and outcomes of individual projects and programs. It is essential to be able to assess whether these actions are making a difference on the health of the global environment and in the lives of people depending on it. Multiple methods ranging from quantitative to qualitative, and innovations, such as the use of remote sensing and GIS, are needed and have been utilized by the GEF independent evaluation office. The contribution also discusses ways of making global environmental evaluations more influential amongst stakeholders.

This article discusses environmental evaluation in the context of national development in developing countries. It makes a case for evaluation to move beyond evaluating individual interventions to assessing the contributions to sustainable development at the national and international levels. It highlights challenges relating to evaluating environment in national development, as well as aggregation and attribution of results from programmes aimed for demonstration and policy influence. The discussion is focused around two concrete cases involving programmes by UNDP and the Global Environment Facility.

The paper contains a response to the article by David Lempert on 'Why Government and Non-governmental Policies and Projects Fail Despite Evaluation' (JMDE, Vol. 6, No. 13, 2010). The paper focuses on the role of the evaluation function in public organizations, using the example of the United Nations Development Programme. It makes broader observations regarding the independence and credibility of evaluation. Finally, the role of evaluation in oversight is discussed.

1. Introduction -- Section I: Transformational Change -- 2. Evaluation for Transformational Change: Learning From Practice -- 3. Transformational Change for Achieving Scale: Lessons for a Greener Recovery -- Section II: Drivers of Sustainability -- 4. Sustainability After Project Completion: Evidence from the GEF -- 5. From the Big Picture to Detailed Observation: The Case of GEF IEO's Strategic Country Cluster Evaluations -- 6. Staying Small and Beautiful: Enhancing Sustainability in the Small Island Developing States -- 7. Assessing Sustainable Development Interventions -- 8. Can We Assume Sustained Impact? Verifying the Sustainability of Climate Change Mitigation Results -- Section III: Evaluating Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation -- 9. Using a Realist Framework to Overcome Evaluation Challenges in the Uncertain Landscape of Carbon Finance -- 10. Evaluation's Role in Development Projects: Boosting Energy-Efficiency in a Traditional Industry in Chad -- 11. Enabling Systems Innovation in Climate Change Adaptation: Exploring the Role for MEL -- 12. Assessing the Evaluability of Adaptation-focused Interventions: Lessons from the Adaptation Fund -- 13. Evaluating Transformational Adaptation in Smallholder Farming: Insights From an Evidence Review -- Section IV: Evaluation Approaches -- 14. Evaluation at the Endgame: Evaluating Sustainability and the SDGs by Moving Past Dominion and Institutional Capture -- 15. Importance and Utilization of Theory-based Evaluations in the Context of Sustainable Development and Social-Ecological Systems -- 16. Pathway to the Transformative Policy of Agenda 2030: Evaluation of Finland's Sustainable Development Policy -- 17. Evaluating for Resilient and Sustainable Livelihoods: Applying a Normative Framework to Emerging Realities -- 18. Measuring the Impact of Monitoring: How We Know Transparent Near-Real-Time Data Can Help Save the Forests -- 19. Application of Geospatial Methods in Evaluating Environmental Interventions and Related Socioeconomic Benefits.

This Open Access book deals with the pressing question of how to achieve transformational change that reconciles development with environmental sustainability. It particularly focuses on the role of evaluation in finding sustainable solutions. Environment and development are closely interlinked, as are human health and ecosystem health. The pandemic that began in 2020 demonstrated in no uncertain terms how destruction of habitats has allowed hitherto unknown pathogens spill over to humans wreaking havoc on people's lives and livelihoods. We are already seeing the impacts of global climate change in terms of heatwaves, forest fires and increased storms. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly recognize the equal importance of the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development. In these turbulent times, when humankind faces multiple complex challenges it is essential to know that our responses are effective and that they make a positive difference. Evaluation can provide invaluable lessons to how we design policies, strategies and programs and how we allocate limited resources between competing priorities. This book brings together key thinkers and practitioners from the public and private sectors, from major multilateral organizations and from bilateral donor agencies, to present the latest knowledge and experience on how to evaluate interventions in the nexus of environment and development. The book does not promote any particular approach or methodology, but rather emphasizes the need for mixed methods to address the question at hand in the best and most suitable manner. It covers cases from a variety of fields, from climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy efficiency and renewable energy, natural resources management, biodiversity conservation and more. This book is not a conference proceedings although it has its roots in the Third International Conference on Evaluating Environment and Development organized by the GEF Independent Evaluation Office in October 2019. The conference brought together a larger number of established and upcoming evaluators, researchers and evaluation users from the Global North and South, representing a wide variety of organizations, to discuss the frontiers of environment and development evaluation. Following the conference, the editors identified and contacted the participants who made key contributions at the conference and asked them to develop their ideas and papers into book chapters according to a coherent plan.

This book focuses on exploring the linkages between natural disasters and sustainable development at the global, regional, and national levels. Disasters and development are closely related, yet the disciplinary silos prevail and there is little communication and cooperation between the disaster management, environment, and development communities. One catastrophic event, such as an earthquake, tsunami, or cyclone, can destroy infrastructure, people's lives and livelihoods, and set back development. Similarly, slow onset disasters--often associated with global climate change--pose threats to development, livelihoods, food security, and long-term sustainable development. This book is uniquely aimed at bridging the gaps between the environmental, development, and disaster management communities. It traces the evolution of concepts and practice and highlights the linkages between natural disasters and sustainable development in key sectors, including food security, health, and water. The book includes case studies from the field highlighting the complex issues that challenge sustainable development and disaster risk management in practice. It draws policy conclusions for the global community based on state-of-the art knowledge from research and practice. The primary target groups for the book are researchers, including graduate students, in the fields of environment and sustainable development, geography, disaster risk reduction, and climate change studies. The second target group comprises practitioners and policymakers working in national and international organizations, the private sector, and civil society.