Using a systems lens in evaluations at the nexus of environment and development

This article advocates for the integration of systems thinking into evaluations, particularly in the context of Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS). Development interventions often generate unintended environmental consequences that undermine their social, economic and environmental sustainability. The paper outlines a conceptual framework for understanding CHANS, highlighting the perils of neglecting environmental dimensions, such as exacerbating climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, which in turn compromise development outcomes. Using examples from evaluations conducted by the Global Environment Facility Independent Evaluation Office (GEF IEO), the authors underscore the importance of evaluating results relative to an intervention’s specific context, looking beyond an intervention’s geographical and temporal coverage, identifying root causes, and integrating multisectoral and multidisciplinary perspectives as a way to more systematically assess unintended effects and the likelihood of an intervention’s outcomes being sustained. The article also provides guidance on when and how to incorporate the environmental dimension into evaluations, and highlights the need to adopt tools that support the use of a systems lens, especially the mapping and measurement of environmental change. The article concludes that using a systems lens in evaluation is both an ethical imperative and a practical necessity to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of development interventions. This approach positions evaluation as a critical tool in advancing global sustainability goals.