Integrating for Sustainability

Evaluation Across Environmental and Socioeconomic Domains
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-3-032-34869-2
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 460 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

This open access book asserts that sustainable development happens at the nexus where people and nature meet. Human actions inevitably have consequences on the natural environment, and we must minimize these so that we can meet our current needs without degrading and depleting natural resources. Similarly, human health and ecosystem health are intrinsically intertwined. Evaluative evidence that encompasses both environmental and socioeconomic dimensions will help us identify strategies and solutions for sustainability transitions. This book provides an authoritative, interdisciplinary perspective of innovative and emerging evaluation knowledge and practice, with the perspective of integrating environmental and socioeconomic domains and considering integration between the various environmental and climate change domains. The book focuses on how evaluation practice has increasingly integrated the cross-pollination of environmental, socioeconomic, and policy domains. It also contends with the art, science, and epistemological underpinnings of evaluation and the conscious shift toward more inclusive practice and the utilization of local knowledge.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Batra, Geeta

Uitto, Juha I.

Spearman, Margaret Ann

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Verwaltungswissenschaft, Öffentliche Verwaltung
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Ökologie
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Nachhaltigkeit

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction.- Integrating for Sustainability – Evaluation Across Environmental and Socioeconomic Domains: An Introduction.-Integration.- Transformational Change for Sustainability.- The Quest for Systemic Transformation: An Inspiration to Think Again and Differently.- Linking Conservation and Development: Socioeconomic Co-Benefits of Environmental Interventions.- Health Lens Integration in Evaluations: Navigating the Complex Intersections of Environmental and Climate Change, Development, and Public Health.- Building Trust While Learning: Evaluating Actions That Take on Water Pollution.- A Transition of Financial Institutions Toward Sustainability: Case Study of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) Becoming a Green Financier.- Promoting Integrated State and Local Government Planning and Implementation Toward Sustainable State and Cities: The State of Melaka as a Case Study.- Country Context and Fragility.- Between Conservation and Conflict: Lessons From 30 years of Global Environment Interventions in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations.- Building Resilience Amid Crisis: Tackling the Interplay of Climate Change and Conflict Risks.- Assessing Progress in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations.- Inclusion & Decolonization.- Shifting Power and Perspectives in Evaluation Systems to Address the Polycrisis.- How Can Evaluations Support a Socially Just Transition to Planetary Health.- Journeying the Seven Directions: A Relational Indigenous Framework for Reconceiving and Reimagining Evaluation.- Innovations in Addressing Gender, Inclusion, and Equity at the Intersection of Agricultural Research for Development: Lessons from Evaluating in CGIAR.- Beyond Passive Recipients: Enabling Communities to be Active Partners in Environmental Stewardship.- Participatory Rural Appraisal as an Effective Approach for Harnessing and Sharing Indigenous Knowledge and Experiences: A Case Study of Indigenous Vedda Community in Sri Lanka.- Approaches, Methods, & Learning.- The Psycho-Social Theory of Change: Indicator Selection and Adaptive Management Through the Lens of Behavioral Science.- Sustainability-Inclusive Evaluation: Practical Principles, Tools, and Methods You Can Start Using Now.- From Setbacks to Insights to Improvement: A Framework for Systematic Learning from Underperforming Environmental Projects.- The Evaluation of Energy Programs and Policies: Strengthening the Value of Evaluation.- Systematic Integration of Environmental Impact: Implications for Evaluation Functions and Capacity Development.

Über Autor(innen)

Geeta Batra is director of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a position she has held since 2024. She brings more than 30 years of experience in international development, with extensive expertise in evaluation, private sector development, and development finance. Geeta joined the GEF IEO in 2015 as chief evaluator and deputy director. Prior to joining the GEF, she held senior positions at the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). At the World Bank’s Private Sector Development Department, she worked from 1998 to 2005 on competitiveness programs in East Asia and Latin America. She subsequently served at IFC as head and chief evaluator for the Advisory Services portfolio. She also held leadership roles in the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group, including chief evaluator and manager responsible for country and corporate thematic evaluations. Geeta has contributed to the field of development evaluation through her leadership of major evaluations and her co-authorship of books and articles. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics and an MBA in Finance.

Juha I. Uitto is president of the International Development Evaluation Association (IDEAS) and an independent evaluation and environment advisor. From 2014 to 2024, he served as the director of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Before that, he was deputy director (2009–2014) and evaluation advisor (2005–2009) at UNDP IEO; and senior M&E specialist (1999–2004) at UNDP and GEF. Uitto spent the 1990s as environmental research and training program coordinator at the United Nations University. He has held visiting positions at Rutgers University and Kyoto University and, currently, the Environmental Law Institute. A native of Finland, Uitto was educated at the universities of Helsinki and Lund. He holds a Ph.D. in social and economic geography. 

Margaret A. Spearman is an independent evaluation consultant with 15 years of experience in crosscutting issues of environment and development, with core competencies in capacity development for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Her most recent work has focused on the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for climate change adaptation projects and programs, performance measurement for national climate change and sector policies, and various thematic project and program evaluations, including ex post and remote evaluations. Ms. Spearman provides technical support to implementation teams and their partners under multi-donor facilities, as well as through bilateral and international NGO initiatives in multiple regions, including Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.