Evaluating Environment in International Development

346 Pages·2021·7.248 MB·English

by  Juha Uitto (editor)

EVALUATING ENVIRONMENT IN
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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 multilat-
eral and bilateral aid agencies to illustrate how systematic evaluation is an essential
tool for providing evidence for decision-makers. Moving beyond projects and pro-
grammes, 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 environmental studies, development stud-
ies, international relations, sustainable development and evaluation, as well as practi-
tioners in international organizations and development and environmental NGOs.
Juha I. Uitto is a leading thinker and practitioner in environmental evaluation.
Since 2014, he has been director of the Independent Evaluation Office of the
Global Environment Facility (GEF). Prior to coming to his current position, he
worked for more than two decades on evaluation and research on environment and
development, most recently in the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office.
“This updated edition builds on the key message put forward by its editor, Juha
I. Uitto: ‘Evaluation must up its game.’ This makes the book a great contribu-
tion to long-term and current events thinking on evaluation, environment and
development.”
—Jean-Marc Coicaud, Rutgers School of Law, State University of New Jersey, USA
“This second edition addresses the challenges of identifying the intended and
unintended consequences of development interventions on the environment,
particularly those driven by the search of growth. It calls for a truly systemic
view of the interaction between natural and human systems. It provides inno-
vative interpretative frameworks and examples of evaluations that contribute to
environmentally sound sustainable development. A must-read as countries
redouble efforts to recover from the COVID-19 crisis with the aim of building
forward better.”
—Oscar A. Garcia, Director, Independent Evaluation Office, United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP)
“For thinkers and practitioners alike, this volume brings together state-of-the-
art thinking in evaluation related to environment, while combining it with
real-world experiences and lessons on the ground. The scholarship and wisdom
of this volume is illustrated by the range of topics it covers in environmental
evaluation that cover, for instance, the challenges of examining trans-boundary
problems on the one hand and precisely defined disaster risk reduction on the
other. I recommend this collection highly.”
—Jyotsna Puri, Director of the Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion
Division, at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
EVALUATING
ENVIRONMENT IN
INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Second Edition
Edited by Juha I. Uitto
Second edition published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 selection and editorial matter, Juha I. Uitto; individual chapters, the
contributors
The right of Juha I. Uitto to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and
of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com,
has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non
Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2014
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Uitto, Juha I., editor.
Title: Evaluating environment in international development / edited by Juha I. Uitto.
Description: 2. | Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge,
2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020044247 (print) | LCCN 2020044248 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sustainable development. | Sustainable
development–International cooperation. | Climatic changes. | Climatic
changes–International cooperation.
Classification: LCC HC79.E5 E849 2021 (print) | LCC HC79.E5 (ebook) | DDC
338.9/27–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020044247
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020044248
ISBN: 978-0-367-55709-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-55711-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-09482-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by SPi Global, India
CONTENTS
List of figures viii
List of tables x
Foreword by Michael Quinn Patton xii
Preface by Juha I. Uitto xv
List of contributors xvii
PART I
Introduction and conceptual background 1
1 Evaluating environment in international development:
an introduction 3
Juha I. Uitto
2 A global public goods perspective on environment and poverty 25
Rob D. van den Berg
3 Evaluation at the nexus: evaluating sustainable development in
the 2020s 46
Andy Rowe
4 Poverty, climate change and disaster risk reduction: too complex
to evaluate? 61
Hazel Todd and David Todd
vi Contents
PART II
Approaches and challenges in evaluating environment
and sustainable development 77
5 Using big data and geospatial approaches in evaluating
environmental interventions 79
Anupam Anand and Geeta Batra
6 Multiple actors and confounding factors: evaluating impact
in complex social-ecological systems 93
Aaron E. Zazueta and Jeneen R. Garcia
7 Assessing progress towards impacts in environmental
programmes using the field review of outcomes
to impacts methodology 111
David Todd and Rob Craig
8 Meta-analysis of climate mitigation evaluations 137
Christine Wörlen
9 A programme theory approach to evaluating normative
environmental interventions 156
Segbedzi Norgbey and Michael Spilsbury
10 From evaluation of joint programmes to joint evaluation of
SDGs-ready interventions: lessons from the joint GEF-UNDP
evaluation of the Small Grants Programme 180
Carlo Carugi and Heather Bryant
11 Evaluating the poverty–environment nexus in Africa 197
Michael Stocking
12 Small grants, big impacts: aggregation challenges 219
Sulan Chen and Juha I. Uitto
13 Green economy performance of environmental initiatives in
Latin America and the Caribbean 237
Ronal Gainza and Simon Lobach
14 Evaluating international support for transboundary aquifer
management programmes 265
Alan Fox
Contents vii
15 Disaster risk management in the SDG era 278
Vijayalakshmi Vadivelu
16 The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
approach to evaluation of climate change, environment,
and natural resource management 299
Roberto La Rovere
Index 315
FIGURES
2.1 Evaluation Criteria 38
4.1 Potential Effects of Climate Change on Poverty Reduction 63
4.2 Some Major Disasters in Asia-Pacific 1970–2016 66
4.3 Initial Theory of Change for DiMSOG 70
4.4 Overlaps Between Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate
Change Adaptation 70
5.1 Globally Distributed GEF-Supported Protected Areas were Overlaid
with Sites of Conservation Importance 82
5.2 Geocoded Location Information for GEF Project Implementation Areas 83
5.3 Data Used in the Uganda Case Study 84
5.4 Trends and Comparison 86
5.5 Study Area Map of the 12 PAs within Kenya Included in the Analysis 88
5.6 Land Cover Classifications for the Reserve 89
7.1 The Relationship between the Key Elements in a Project Theory of
Change 112
7.2 Steps in the Field-Based Review of Outcomes to Impacts Assessment
Process 113
7.3 Steps in Conducting a Field Review of Outcomes to Impacts Analysis
with Group or Individual Key Informants 114
7.4 Theory of Change for Intermediate State 3 122
Figures ix
7.5 Theory of Change for Intermediate State 1 127
7.6 Theory of Change for Intermediate State 2 129
7.7 Overall Review of Outcomes to Impacts Assessment of SEYMEMP
Progress towards Impacts 132
7.8 Overall SEYMEMP Theory of Change 135
8.1 Evaluation Framework of Tokle and Uitto (2009) 142
8.2 Evaluation Framework of Tokle and Uitto (2009) with Stakeholder
Groups 143
8.3 Example for Mapping the Barriers in the Barrier Circle Diagram 150
8.4 The Intervention Circle 151
8.5 Barrier Circle and Intervention Circle Diagram 152
9.1 A Set of Generic Results Chains, which can also be Termed ‘Causal
Pathways’, ‘Impact Pathways’ or a ‘Theory of Change’ 161
9.2 A Schematic Single ‘Impact Pathway’ Showing Intermediate States,
Assumptions and Impact Drivers 162
9.3 ‘Synergies Decisions’ Theory of Change (Shown in Part) 166
9.4 Theory of Change – Joint Geophysical Imaging Methodology for
Geothermal Reservoir Assessment 169
9.5 A Generalized Representation of Impact Pathways Relating the Centre
for International Forestry Research Criteria and Indicators Project 171
9.6 Major Impact Pathways through Forest Stewardship Council
Certification Processes 172
9.7 Theory of Change – Common Problems in Capturing Performance at
the Programme Level 175
12.1 SGP Management Diagram 223