Juha I. Uitto

Small island developing states: natural disaster vulnerability and global change

Abstract This paper sets out an examination of natural disaster amongst small island developing states (SIDS), and presents a framework for assessing the interaction of global pressures and local dynamics in the production of human vulnerability. Change at the global level is found to be a source of new opportunities as well as constraints on building local resilience to natural disaster. Much depends on the orientation of the state in global economic and political systems. The United Nations is a key global actor with relevance to shaping vulnerabilityin island states, and the impact of the UN Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction is reviewed. It is concluded that this is a critical time for SIDS which must contend with ongoing developmental pressures in addition to growing pressures from risks associated with global environmental change and economic liberalisation that threaten their physical and economic security.

Risk and Vulnerability

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.

Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development

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.

Global freshwater resources.

Freshwater is essential for virtually all human endeavours and it is a criticalresource for ecosystem health. In terms of costs to human health and the economy,problems related to freshwater rank at the top of all environment and developmentproblems facing humankind. Freshwater is likely to become the critical resourcefor future development in many parts of the world. This article first describes theavailability of the world’s freshwater resources in relation to both quantity and qualityIt then focuses on the role of integrated watershed management and linkages toland degradation. The final part discusses the necessity of international co-operationin managing transboundary water resources. A case is made for comprehensive actionat all levels to avoid significant water-related problems in the future. There isneed to reduce water pollution, which requires both research, monitoring and technologicaldevelopment, as well as education and capacity building. Equally important isreducing the demand for the limited water resources. This can not be done by technologicalmeans alone, but will require policy and institutional measures. Marketbased approaches can be effective in managing demand, but it is important to payattention to the social costs, especially so that poor people are not adversely affectedby increased water prices. It is important to move towards a more holistic managementof water resources through an integrated ecosystem approach. Most majorfreshwater basins fall within the jurisdiction of two or more countries, and their userequires international co-operation. Responding to all of the above challenges willrequire significant financial resources. While governments and the public sector willcontinue to play an important role, it will also be essential to mobilise private sectorinvestment.

Sustainable Development and Disaster Risk Reduction: Introduction

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.

Evaluating the environment as a global public good

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.

The Environment‐poverty Nexus in Evaluation: Implications for the Sustainable Development Goals

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 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.

Making M&E More ‘Impact‐oriented’: Illustrations from the UN

In international development, impact evaluation (IE) is becoming more and more an institutionalised practice. This article starts out by addressing the question of what institutionalisation of IE means and how it could work. Subsequently, the article explores common challenges in monitoring and evaluation functions in the UN system related to the supply of (and to a lesser extent demand for) evidence on impact. Rather than looking for solutions to these challenges in the practice of IE, the article explores the issue of how to improve non‐IE monitoring and evaluation practices. On the basis of the identified challenges three categories of solutions are discussed: improving the quality of impact‐related evidence at activity and project level, strengthening the causal logic underlying interventions, and strengthening the aggregation and synthesis of evidence. Finally, the article presents some illustrative examples of the latter two categories of solutions.

Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development: Introduction

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.

What Do Evaluations Tell Us About Climate Change Adaptation? Meta-analysis with a Realist Approach

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.