Here, we share insights, updates, and stories about how the GEF supports a healthier planet. The IEO helps ensure that GEF projects are effective, efficient, and truly make a difference for people and nature around the world.

Our blog covers a wide range of topics - from biodiversity and climate action to sustainable development and lessons learned from projects in different countries. Whether you’re a policymaker, practitioner, student, or simply curious about the environment, you’ll find clear and engaging content to help you understand how global efforts come together to protect our planet’s future.

Stay tuned for expert analyses, success stories, and behind-the-scenes looks at how the GEF and IEO work to improve the world we all share.

Evaluation in the time of pandemic

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The year 2020 has been defined by the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted lives and livelihoods everywhere around the world. The way we work has been interrupted and altered. This is true for those working to advance and manage international environmental projects and programs - it is also true for the professionals working to evaluate for effectiveness and impact of those initiatives. At the GEF Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), the body I lead, we have had to innovate in our data collection and analysis to counter the travel and other limitations posed by the situation. The fact that…

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Integrating Geospatial Methods into Evaluations Opportunities and Lessons

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Blog co-author: Hur Hassnain, Senior Evaluation Advisor, European Commission DEVCO/EES

The presentation titled Geospatial, location, and big data: ‘Where have we been and where can we go?‘ organized by the…

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Evaluation from Space - Evaluations during Difficult Times

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Blog co-author: Hur Hassnain, Senior Evaluation Advisor, European Commission DEVCO/EES

Evaluations in contexts that are not easily accessible, constantly changing, and unpredictable, for example, the situation posed by the current global pandemic, are challenging and call for special considerations. Now that in-person interactions with respondents becoming impossible, we would like to illustrate the use of satellite data that can be applied for remote evaluations of development and humanitarian interventions. "The use of geospatial data analysis is particularly…

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Evaluating the Impact of Environmental Interventions during a Global Quarantine

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by Geeta Batra, Dan Runfola, Heather Baier

Introduction -

The COVID-19 crisis has turned impact evaluators' lives upside down: suddenly, we can't visit the sites we are responsible for, interview participants in person, or otherwise conduct assessments as we normally would. As with much of the world economy, this necessitates a period of unprecedented creativity to ensure that the critical role impact evaluation serves is not left by the wayside for the duration of the crisis. In this brief overview of an…

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Evaluating environmental peacebuilding: Difficult but necessary

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By: Amanda Woomer, Associate Director, MEAL, Habitat for Humanity International

When you first hear the phrase "environmental peacebuilding," you may think that these two words are not directly linked. Think again. Many conflicts around the world affect and are affected by, at least indirectly, the environment and natural resources. For example, the extraction of minerals like cobalt, coltan, and gold in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has both decimated the natural environment and fueled ongoing conflict between the national military and various militias…

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