The Environment‐poverty Nexus in Evaluation: Implications for the Sustainable Development Goals
| Published date | 01 September 2016 |
| Date | 01 September 2016 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12347 |
| Author | Juha I. Uitto |
The Environment-poverty Nexus in Evaluation:
Implications for the Sustainable Development
Goals
Juha I. Uitto
Independent Evaluation Office, Global Environment Facility
Abstract
The 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 nat-
ure 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 develop-
ment. It concludes by suggesting that strong evaluation be built into the new Sustainable Development Goals.
This article focuses on approaches to evaluate the nexus
between environment and poverty in international develop-
ment. The first section briefly reviews where the interna-
tional community stands now that the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) have been approved by member
states. The next section highlights challenges that are pos-
ing strains on the global environment and sustainability of
human societies. The article then moves on to evaluation,
drawing lessons from evaluation studies that have been
conducted in the context of international cooperation. The
following section considers the implications for evaluation
approaches. The article concludes by suggesting implica-
tions for evaluating the SDGs and pulling together some les-
sons for the evaluation of the environment-poverty nexus
and sustainable development.
1. The state of affairs
We are at an historical juncture where the world is facing
the multiple challenges of tackling poverty and growing
inequality between and within countries, while environmen-
tal degradation and global climate change are threatening
the sustainability of the natural systems that we depend on
for our livelihoods.
The global community is embarking on the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development adopted in September 2015.
The SDGs are building upon the internationally agreed Mil-
lennium Development Goals (MDGs) that have now come to
an end. The new SDGs and the post-2015 development
agenda have been negotiated through an inclusive process
under the auspices of the United Nations and based on the
outcome document of the Rio+20, ‘The Future We Want,’
more than twenty years after the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in
1992. Unlike the MDGs that focused on the developing
countries, the SDGs are universally applicable to all coun-
tries.
Another major milestone in 2015 was the Paris Climate
Summit
1
that achieved a new international agreement to
replace the Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, to combat cli-
mate change. The aim is to keep global warming below 2°C,
considered by a scientific consensus to be a critical point
crossing which could lead to uncertain consequences. Such
an agreement is a major step in a global transition towards
resilient, low-carbon societies and economies.
Sustainable development is defined as ‘development that
meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs’
(UN, 1987, chapter 2, paragraph 1). The concept thus inte-
grates human needs and the ability to provide for them in
perpetuity. The notion of intergenerational equity is central
to sustainable development. It is commonly understood that
sustainable development encompasses economic, social and
environmental dimensions. It is recognized that there is a
nexus between environmental and economic and social fac-
tors, which manifests itself at many levels. Focusing only on
economic growth will not place the world on a sustainable
path. Yet, according to the World Bank, there were 2.2 bil-
lion people in the world in 2011 living on less than US$2
per day. Equally disturbing, inequality between and within
nations has grown to epic portions. At the same time, world
population continues to grow and the UN projects that
Global Policy (2016) 7:3 doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12347 ©2016 University of Durham and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Global Policy Volume 7 . Issue 3 . September 2016 441
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