Juha Uitto is Director of the Independent Evaluation Office of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). He has more than three decades of experience in international development and environment working in international organizations, academia and as a consultant. He has earlier held positions in UNDP, United Nations University (UNU), Nordic Africa Institute, and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and has been a visiting scholar in Rutgers University, Kyoto University and the University of Montana. A geographer by training, he holds a master’s degree from the University of Helsinki in Finland and earned his PhD from Lund University in Sweden.Juha Uitto has published widely on environment, natural resources management, hazards, and evaluation. His recent books include Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development (edited with Jyotsna Puri and Rob van den Berg) and Evaluating Environment in International Development. Address: 1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
USA
ABSTRACT PLEC addresses a central issue for sustainable development in the tropical and sub-tropi... more ABSTRACT PLEC addresses a central issue for sustainable development in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world, namely the interlinkages between population processes, land management and environmental change. The programme forms part of the United Nations University programme area entitled 'Sustaining Global Life-Support Systems.' The programme area responds to the United Nations Agenda 21 focusing on selected issues of sustainable development where the University has specific competence. PLEC has strong complementarity with other UNU programmes in this area, including the long standing programme on 'Mountain Ecology and Sustainable Development'. Close collaboration has also been established between PLEC and the UNU Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU/INRA) based in Ghana, which gives specific backstopping support to the PLEC Clusters in West and East Africa.
Leading evaluation practitioners were asked about lessons from the recent 26th Conference of the ... more Leading evaluation practitioners were asked about lessons from the recent 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) for evaluation practice. Contributors emphasize the importance of evaluating equity between rich and poor countries and other forms of climate injustice. The role of the evaluation is questioned: what can evaluation be expected to do on its own and what requires collaboration across disciplines, professions and civil society – and across generations? Contributors discuss the implications of the post-Glasgow climate ‘pact’ for the continued relevance of evaluation. Should evaluators advocate for the marginalized and become activists on behalf of sustainability and climate justice – as well as advocates of evidence? Accountability-driven and evidence-based evaluation is needed to assess the effectiveness of investments in adaptation and mitigation. Causal pathways in different settings and ‘theories of no-change’ are needed to understand gaps between stakeholder promises an...
This first full-length book addresses disasters in the context of vulnerability of the Andaman an... more This first full-length book addresses disasters in the context of vulnerability of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that comprise 572 islands in the Bay of Bengal. It looks at the disasters that the islands have experienced in the last 200 years and analyzes major disasters since colonization by the British. Raising some critical questions, this book attempts to understand the overall profile of disasters – the facts, causes, damage, response and recovery – in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It discusses earthquakes, cyclones, tsunami and epidemics, as well as impacts of World War II, the penal colony and the post-Independence resettlement on the tribal population. The work will serve as a rich resource with its detailed tables, figures, maps and diagrams; appendices; and database ranging from travelogues, Census of India reports and fieldwork to Right to Information (RTI) petitions that collect hitherto unknown facts. The book will be useful to students of geography, disasters and disasters management, climate and environmental studies, history, sociology, island and ocean studies, and South Asian studies.
Background: Humanity faces a crisis in environmental sustainability manifested by climate change,... more Background: Humanity faces a crisis in environmental sustainability manifested by climate change, species extinction, habitat destruction, and pollution. There is an urgent need to find solutions to address these challenges. While society at large is increasingly recognizing the linkages between human endeavors and environmental degradation, evaluation as a profession and practice is lagging behind because it is singularly focused on addressing only issues related to human well-being and ignoring the natural environment (DeLancey & Rowe, 2023). For evaluation to contribute to resolving this global crisis, the profession must change its mindset and bridge capacity gaps to ensure that sustainability is addressed by all evaluation undertakings, including those that do not have specific natural system outcomes.
ABSTRACT PLEC addresses a central issue for sustainable development in the tropical and sub-tropi... more ABSTRACT PLEC addresses a central issue for sustainable development in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world, namely the interlinkages between population processes, land management and environmental change. The programme forms part of the United Nations University programme area entitled 'Sustaining Global Life-Support Systems.' The programme area responds to the United Nations Agenda 21 focusing on selected issues of sustainable development where the University has specific competence. PLEC has strong complementarity with other UNU programmes in this area, including the long standing programme on 'Mountain Ecology and Sustainable Development'. Close collaboration has also been established between PLEC and the UNU Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU/INRA) based in Ghana, which gives specific backstopping support to the PLEC Clusters in West and East Africa.
Leading evaluation practitioners were asked about lessons from the recent 26th Conference of the ... more Leading evaluation practitioners were asked about lessons from the recent 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) for evaluation practice. Contributors emphasize the importance of evaluating equity between rich and poor countries and other forms of climate injustice. The role of the evaluation is questioned: what can evaluation be expected to do on its own and what requires collaboration across disciplines, professions and civil society – and across generations? Contributors discuss the implications of the post-Glasgow climate ‘pact’ for the continued relevance of evaluation. Should evaluators advocate for the marginalized and become activists on behalf of sustainability and climate justice – as well as advocates of evidence? Accountability-driven and evidence-based evaluation is needed to assess the effectiveness of investments in adaptation and mitigation. Causal pathways in different settings and ‘theories of no-change’ are needed to understand gaps between stakeholder promises an...
This first full-length book addresses disasters in the context of vulnerability of the Andaman an... more This first full-length book addresses disasters in the context of vulnerability of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that comprise 572 islands in the Bay of Bengal. It looks at the disasters that the islands have experienced in the last 200 years and analyzes major disasters since colonization by the British. Raising some critical questions, this book attempts to understand the overall profile of disasters – the facts, causes, damage, response and recovery – in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It discusses earthquakes, cyclones, tsunami and epidemics, as well as impacts of World War II, the penal colony and the post-Independence resettlement on the tribal population. The work will serve as a rich resource with its detailed tables, figures, maps and diagrams; appendices; and database ranging from travelogues, Census of India reports and fieldwork to Right to Information (RTI) petitions that collect hitherto unknown facts. The book will be useful to students of geography, disasters and disasters management, climate and environmental studies, history, sociology, island and ocean studies, and South Asian studies.
Background: Humanity faces a crisis in environmental sustainability manifested by climate change,... more Background: Humanity faces a crisis in environmental sustainability manifested by climate change, species extinction, habitat destruction, and pollution. There is an urgent need to find solutions to address these challenges. While society at large is increasingly recognizing the linkages between human endeavors and environmental degradation, evaluation as a profession and practice is lagging behind because it is singularly focused on addressing only issues related to human well-being and ignoring the natural environment (DeLancey & Rowe, 2023). For evaluation to contribute to resolving this global crisis, the profession must change its mindset and bridge capacity gaps to ensure that sustainability is addressed by all evaluation undertakings, including those that do not have specific natural system outcomes.
Since the mid-1970s, a series of international declarations that link environment and sustainable... more Since the mid-1970s, a series of international declarations that link environment and sustainable development to all aspects of higher learning have been endorsed and signed by universities around the world. Although university involvement in sustainable development research and outreach has increased substantially, systematic learning from higher education engagements has been limited. Universities and the Sustainable Development Future offers institutions of higher learning around the world practical guidelines that can be applied contextually to produce credible evidence regarding the outcome and impact of their teaching, research and transnational-partnering activities. Drawing on innovative applications of lessons from experience with international development cooperation, this book demonstrates the utility of a flexible framework that will inspire substantial improvements in the ways universities evaluate and improve their sustainable development undertakings aimed at promoting Agenda 2030. The book promotes an inclusive evaluation framework that will allow universities to illuminate sustainable development outcomes, and it provides a cutting-edge resource for students, scholars, and policy makers with an interest in sustainable development, climate change, and evaluation challenges.
This authoritative book presents the ever progressing state of the art in evaluating climate chan... more This authoritative book presents the ever progressing state of the art in evaluating climate change strategies and action. It builds upon a selection of relevant and practical papers and presentations given at the 2nd International Conference on Evaluating Climate Change and Development held in Washington DC in 2014 and includes perspectives from independent evaluations of the major international organisations supporting climate action in developing countries, such as the Global Environment Facility. The first section of the book sets the stage and provides an overview of independent evaluations, carried out by multilateral development banks and development organisations. Important topics include how policies and organisations aim to achieve impact and how this is measured, whether climate change is mainstreamed into other development programs, and whether operations are meeting the urgency of climate change challenges. The following sections focus on evaluation of climate change projects and policies as they link to development, from the perspective of international organisations, NGO’s, multilateral and bilateral aid agencies, and academia. The authors share methodologies or approaches used to better understand problems and assess interventions, strategies and policies. They also share challenges encountered, what was done to solve these and lessons learned from evaluations. Collectively, the authors illustrate the importance of evaluation in providing evidence to guide policy change to informed decision-making.
This book’s focus is on sustainable development and disaster risk reduction, two sides of the sam... more This book’s focus is on sustainable development and disaster risk reduction, two sides of the same coin. The editors firmly believe that effectively reducing the damage caused by natural disasters will be necessary for the achievement of sustainable development. Similarly, if our development does not reflect the sustainability principles making a meaningful dent in disaster risk will be an uphill struggle. Reducing disaster risk, like moving towards sustainable development, not only depends on structural and engineering solutions, but has important social, economic, political and cultural dimensions. The state of the environment underpins both endeavours. Global climate change is another factor playing into the equation adding considerable risk and uncertainty. With the changing climatic conditions, disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change are a natural priority for sustainable development. Yet disciplinary boundaries and silos are still hampering effective action and coordination between the two closely linked issues. Simply put, the professional and academic communities dealing with sustainable development, environment, and disasters are still separate. They all address the same and related issues, but often use different terminology and language. Key concepts that both must be concerned with include uncertainty, risk management, vulnerability, resilience and adaptation. The year 2015 is a landmark when it comes to the international community coming together to forge global agreements aimed at addressing both our long-term future on the planet and disaster risk management. In March 2015, global leaders from governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector came together for five days in the Japanese city of Sendai for the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. It was symbolic to organize the gathering in Sendai, a city that suffered greatly from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami that struck the island nation on 11 March 2011, and the ensuing nuclear disaster. Sendai, like all of Japan, has shown great resilience in bouncing back from the disaster, largely because its development path has been rather sustainable. In contrast, a major earthquake which hit severely the mountain country of Nepal [on 25 April 2015], has brought forward lots of sustainable development challenges, which need to addressed while the country is going through the recovery process. In September 2015, the world nations are expected to approve the Sustainable Development Goals, a successor to the Millennium Development Goals. Finally, in November 2015, France will host the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change and 11th Session of the Meeting of the Parties of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The expectations for the Paris meetings are very high. Their aim is for the first time reach a universal, legally binding agreement to combat climate change and to transition towards resilient low-carbon societies and economies. In this context, we hope that this book makes a timely contribution to the debate and helps to integrate sustainable development and disaster risk management. The book brings together leading scholars and practitioners from around the world writing about their work and research. The book contains 18 chapters covering a wide range of topics and sectors, ranging from climate change risk to water, food production and health. Many of the chapters outline conceptual issues in the context of practical case studies, primarily from Asia. There are also chapters that document lessons related to ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction, community-based approaches to sustainable development and disaster risk reduction, education and capacity building, integrating indigenous knowledge, and how to evaluate sustainable development and disaster management efforts. The book emanated from discussions the editors had at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies at Kyoto University. Several of the authors are or have at one point been affiliated with the School, but the circle of authors is much wider. The book has been written for researchers, students, practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in sustainable development and disaster risk reduction. It is our sincere hope that they will find it stimulating and useful to their work.
More than 20 years after the Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, both national and i... more More than 20 years after the Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, both national and international actors in governmental and nongovernmental fields are still searching for insights into how sustainable development can be advanced and environmental concerns incorporated into the development agenda more effectively. Moreover, climate change has emerged as a preeminent challenge to both the environment and to development. 'Evaluating Environment in International Development' provides international perspectives and in-depth knowledge of evaluating development and the environment and applies evaluation knowledge to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The book 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. It provides novel and in-depth perspectives on evaluating environment and sustainability issues in developing countries. Moving beyond projects and programmes, it considers aspects such as evaluating normative work on the environment and evaluating environmental consequences of economic and social development efforts.
This original collection should be of interest to scholars of environmental studies, development studies, geography, international relations, sustainable development and evaluation, as well as practitioners in international organizations and development and environmental NGOs.
... International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka Dr. Ismail Serageldin Vice Presi... more ... International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka Dr. Ismail Serageldin Vice President. ... Contents List of tables and figures vii Preface xi Juha I. Vino and Asit K. Biswas Foreword xv Abraham Besrat, Vice-Rector, United Nations University Water for urban areas of ...
... induce more of it. The hillsides in the Negev, as in many other deserts, are naturally strewn... more ... induce more of it. The hillsides in the Negev, as in many other deserts, are naturally strewn with a pavement of stones and gravel, and this covering inhibits and detains the flow of run-off over the surface. The ancient Negevites ...
... Greater understanding of changes in the biophysical environment and agriculture through syste... more ... Greater understanding of changes in the biophysical environment and agriculture through systematic studies, with ... Close collaboration between PLEC and the UNU Institute for Natural Resources in Africa is also ... For more information please read the CABI Instant Access FAQs. ...
... region of North-East Brazil 268 Ichiroku Hayashi 13 Characteristics and utilization of tree s... more ... region of North-East Brazil 268 Ichiroku Hayashi 13 Characteristics and utilization of tree species in the semi-arid woodland of North-East Brazil 280 Toshie Nishizawa, Akio Tsuchiya, and MariaMagdalena Vieira Pinto ... Stefan Hastenrath, the University of Wisconsin, USA; Prof. ...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are intended to provide guidance to all countries in rea... more The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are intended to provide guidance to all countries in reaching development that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. While the SDGs are global, the actions must take place at various scales, including local, national and beyond. Many national and international development agencies face the issue of scaling up successful local level initiatives to a larger geographic scale. Climate change, loss of biodiversity and other global environmental problems manifest themselves at the local level, with disproportionate impacts on the poorest and most vulnerable groups, many of whom are women. At the same time, locally-evolved solutions to tackle these problems are often scalable. The role of evaluation is critical in analyzing performance of policies, strategies, and programs, and to generate lessons about what works, for whom and under what circumstances to facilitate broader adoption. In this paper we draw upon an evaluation of the Global Environment Facility/UNDP Small Grants Program (SGP) that works at the local scale to help communities address global environmental issues while improving their livelihoods and reducing vulnerability. The evaluation found that broader adoption occurs, particularly in the form of replication and scaling-up, and at a local scale, despite a lack of explicit strategy thereto. The evaluation assessed various models of broader adoption in the program and the specific consequences, both intended and unintended, pertaining to the official SGP upgrading policy.
Keynote address at Seminar on Implementing Climate Change Policy Evaluation, INECC (National Inst... more Keynote address at Seminar on Implementing Climate Change Policy Evaluation, INECC (National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change), Mexico, May 25, 2016
Despite increased attention to and investment into issues such as climate change, biodiversity co... more Despite increased attention to and investment into issues such as climate change, biodiversity conservation and degradation of ecosystems, most global environmental trends continue to decline. Much of this stems from the nature of the environment as a global public good. The benefits accrue to everyone but destructive activities seldom result in costs to those causing them. Public funding to global environmental projects and programmes is dwarfed by financial flows to environmentally destructive subsidies, whether to fossil fuels, unsustainable agriculture and other environmentally hazardous practices. Consequently, environmental policies, strategies, programs and projects must be focused and effective. Evaluation has in recent years become increasingly powerful in determining, not only that the projects and programs that we implement are doing what they set out to do and spending tax payers’ money effectively but – more importantly – that we are actually making a difference in people’s lives and the global environment, thus contributing to sustainable development. The presentation draws upon evaluations conducted by the GEF Independent Evaluation Office to identify challenges and opportunities for evaluating the environment as global commons.
Evaluating Environment in International Development, 2021
Introduction and overview chapter of book Evaluating Environment in International Development. Th... more Introduction and overview chapter of book Evaluating Environment in International Development. The book 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.
People,. Planet and Progress in the SDG Era: Proceedings from the National Evaluation Capacities Conference 2017, 2018
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stand upon three pillars: the social, economic, and envi... more The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stand upon three pillars: the social, economic, and environmental. Like a three-legged stool, the construct will collapse should any one of the pillars break. Integration is a key to the SDGs. Yet, it appears that the environmental dimension of sustainable development is receiving far less attention in the international development discourse than the two others. The same goes for development evaluation. There has been a shift away from an exclusive focus on economic growth, as it has become clear that mere growth in GDP does not by any means guarantee better development outcomes, let alone sustainability. In this paper, I argue that we ignore environmental degradation at our own peril. As a central function for understanding what works, for whom and under what circumstances, and for improving the design and performance of our policies, strategies and programmes towards sustainable development, evaluation carries a responsibility to fully incorporate the environmental dimension into our analysis.
Small island developing states (SIDS) are particularly vulnerable to environmental stresses, and ... more Small island developing states (SIDS) are particularly vulnerable to environmental stresses, and especially to the impacts of climate change. This 1s due to numerous factors, including limited geographic size and extensive coastal areas; remote locations; frag,le economies that are often dependent on narrow sectors; limited natural resources and access to fresh water and energy; small populations; and weak institutional capacity. Managing sustainable development requires coherent and effective policies and strategies. An essential part· of the formulation and implementation of such policies and strategies is effective monitonng and evaluation (M&E). Evaluation is also needed to ensure that interventions, policies, and strategies are achievmg their goals and contnbut1ng to sustainable development. This chapter reviews experiences with M&E 1n the Pacific and Canbbean SIDS. It «ienuiie» a number of challenges that Juha I. Uitto, Global Environment Facility Independent Evaluation Office, JU1tto@thegef.
This chapter considers evaluation as essential for learning and for reflecting on whether actions... more This chapter considers evaluation as essential for learning and for reflecting on whether actions to address the complex challenges pertaining to climate change are on track to producing the desired outcomes. The Paris Agreement of 2015 was an important milestone on the road towards a zero-carbon, resilient, prosperous and fair future. However, while the world has agreed on the need to tackle climate change for sustainable development, it is critical to provide evidence-based analysis of past experiences and ongoing innovations to shed light on how we might enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of actions at various levels. Thorough and credible evaluations help us identify what works, for whom, when and where and under what circumstances in order to mitigate climate change, achieve win-win situations for the society, the economy and the environment, reduce risk and increase resilience in the face of changing climate conditions. This chapter serves as an introduction to the book on Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development that sets the scene on the current state of climate change evaluation and brings together experiences on evaluating climate change policy, mitigation and adaptation. Climate change has emerged as one of the preeminent challenges facing humankind in the twenty first century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states
Evaluating climate change adaptation (CCA) interventions has yet proved to be a difficult task, a... more Evaluating climate change adaptation (CCA) interventions has yet proved to be a difficult task, as they involve a number of different stakeholders, time and geographical scale and political jurisdictions. As one effort to shed light on the subject, this paper presents the methodology and the results of a meta-analysis of ex-post evaluations of CCA programmes using a realist approach. This paper analyses CCA programmes in nine countries: Armenia, Egypt, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, the Philippines, Tanzania, Turkey and Zimbabwe. Together with their respective host governments, these programmes were implemented by either UNDP or various United Nations partner agencies and have already been evaluated by independent evaluators. Based on the analytical frameworks for evaluating CCA interventions, the authors hypothesized a number of key context, mechanism, and outcome configurations, which are considered vital in realist evaluation approach but have not yet been widely tested in the field of CCA. Although ex-post evaluations of multi-donor funded projects tend to be prepared out of bureaucratic requirement, the analytical method used in this paper, if used carefully, can unearth otherwise hidden important lessons and provide useful explanations. The results of the analysis can indicate that adopting a realist approach to complex development projects, such as these CCA programmes, is indeed a useful way of providing applicable explanations, rather than judgments, of what types of interventions may work for whom, how and in what circumstances for future CCA programming.
Deforestation and land degradation have hugely impacted the planet’s natural ability to remove at... more Deforestation and land degradation have hugely impacted the planet’s natural ability to remove atmospheric CO2. Projects to restore the balance are well underway, but quantifying their success is difficult, calling for a new multidisciplinary analytical approach.
The authors argue that sustainable development cannot be achieved without consideration of risk a... more The authors argue that sustainable development cannot be achieved without consideration of risk and vulnerability. Losses due to natural disasters, including those related to extreme climatic events, have been on the rise but risk and vulnerability are not equally distributed. Climate risk affecting both natural and human systems affects geographical regions to differing extents. Coastal areas where half of the world’s population and many major urban areas are located will bear the brunt of storms and sea level rise. Similarly, risks of flooding, drought etc. are unevenly distributed. Vulnerability is dependent on social, economic and political factors. In many ways, poor people are more vulnerable to climatic hazards, often living in exposed areas and substandard housing, having inadequate means to prepare for a recover from shocks. They are also vulnerable to slow-onset disasters. Vulnerability has also a psychological dimension and trauma caused by natural disasters can lead to long-standing psychological damage and a changed perception of the external world.
Sustainable development and disaster risk reduction are closely linked on many levels and the rel... more Sustainable development and disaster risk reduction are closely linked on many levels and the relationship cuts both ways. Disasters add often devastating costs to societies and communities in terms of financial losses, destroyed infrastructure and loss of life. They can set development back for years. Environmental destruction and lack of sustainable development exacerbate disaster risk and impact. Climate change is adding to the risk and uncertainty. Despite the obvious linkages, the sustainable development, climate change and disaster risk communities each approach the common problematique from different angles. Even in intergovernmental negotiations, the processes tend to be separate and on parallel tracks. This book is an attempt to address sustainable development and disaster risk reduction from an integrated perspective. The 18 chapters highlight issues from many angles and sectors covering them from theoretical and practical perspectives. A number of case studies, primarily from Asia, are highlighted.
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Universities and the Sustainable Development Future offers institutions of higher learning around the world practical guidelines that can be applied contextually to produce credible evidence regarding the outcome and impact of their teaching, research and transnational-partnering activities. Drawing on innovative applications of lessons from experience with international development cooperation, this book demonstrates the utility of a flexible framework that will inspire substantial improvements in the ways universities evaluate and improve their sustainable development undertakings aimed at promoting Agenda 2030.
The book promotes an inclusive evaluation framework that will allow universities to illuminate sustainable development outcomes, and it provides a cutting-edge resource for students, scholars, and policy makers with an interest in sustainable development, climate change, and evaluation challenges.
The first section of the book sets the stage and provides an overview of independent evaluations, carried out by multilateral development banks and development organisations. Important topics include how policies and organisations aim to achieve impact and how this is measured, whether climate change is mainstreamed into other development programs, and whether operations are meeting the urgency of climate change challenges.
The following sections focus on evaluation of climate change projects and policies as they link to development, from the perspective of international organisations, NGO’s, multilateral and bilateral aid agencies, and academia. The authors share methodologies or approaches used to better understand problems and assess interventions, strategies and policies. They also share challenges encountered, what was done to solve these and lessons learned from evaluations. Collectively, the authors illustrate the importance of evaluation in providing evidence to guide policy change to informed decision-making.
Yet disciplinary boundaries and silos are still hampering effective action and coordination between the two closely linked issues. Simply put, the professional and academic communities dealing with sustainable development, environment, and disasters are still separate. They all address the same and related issues, but often use different terminology and language. Key concepts that both must be concerned with include uncertainty, risk management, vulnerability, resilience and adaptation.
The year 2015 is a landmark when it comes to the international community coming together to forge global agreements aimed at addressing both our long-term future on the planet and disaster risk management. In March 2015, global leaders from governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector came together for five days in the Japanese city of Sendai for the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. It was symbolic to organize the gathering in Sendai, a city that suffered greatly from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami that struck the island nation on 11 March 2011, and the ensuing nuclear disaster. Sendai, like all of Japan, has shown great resilience in bouncing back from the disaster, largely because its development path has been rather sustainable. In contrast, a major earthquake which hit severely the mountain country of Nepal [on 25 April 2015], has brought forward lots of sustainable development challenges, which need to addressed while the country is going through the recovery process. In September 2015, the world nations are expected to approve the Sustainable Development Goals, a successor to the Millennium Development Goals. Finally, in November 2015, France will host the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change and 11th Session of the Meeting of the Parties of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The expectations for the Paris meetings are very high. Their aim is for the first time reach a universal, legally binding agreement to combat climate change and to transition towards resilient low-carbon societies and economies.
In this context, we hope that this book makes a timely contribution to the debate and helps to integrate sustainable development and disaster risk management. The book brings together leading scholars and practitioners from around the world writing about their work and research. The book contains 18 chapters covering a wide range of topics and sectors, ranging from climate change risk to water, food production and health. Many of the chapters outline conceptual issues in the context of practical case studies, primarily from Asia. There are also chapters that document lessons related to ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction, community-based approaches to sustainable development and disaster risk reduction, education and capacity building, integrating indigenous knowledge, and how to evaluate sustainable development and disaster management efforts. The book emanated from discussions the editors had at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies at Kyoto University. Several of the authors are or have at one point been affiliated with the School, but the circle of authors is much wider.
The book has been written for researchers, students, practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in sustainable development and disaster risk reduction. It is our sincere hope that they will find it stimulating and useful to their work.
The book 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. It provides novel and in-depth perspectives on evaluating environment and sustainability issues in developing countries. Moving beyond projects and programmes, it considers aspects such as evaluating normative work on the environment and evaluating environmental consequences of economic and social development efforts.
This original collection should be of interest to scholars of environmental studies, development studies, geography, international relations, sustainable development and evaluation, as well as practitioners in international organizations and development and environmental NGOs.
and for improving the design and performance of our policies, strategies and programmes towards sustainable development, evaluation carries a responsibility to fully incorporate the environmental dimension into our analysis.
from an integrated perspective. The 18 chapters highlight issues from many angles and sectors covering them from theoretical and practical perspectives. A number of case studies, primarily from Asia, are highlighted.