As global environmental challenges have intensified, innovative approaches that align conservation efforts with human well-being have became more crucial than ever. NbS offered a promising pathway, leveraging natural processes to address critical issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation.
The GEF had long recognised the transformative potential of NbS, embedding them within its strategic framework to promote sustainable development and resilience across diverse ecosystems. Over the years, the GEF supported numerous NbS projects around the world, focusing on harnessing the power of nature for environmental restoration, climate adaptation, and strengthening community resilience.
We supported the GEF to understand the impact of its NbS initiatives and generated lessons to inform future strategic decisions. By identifying what worked, where, and why, our evaluation informd future GEF strategies and contributed to strengthening the evidence base on how NbS can deliver meaningful environmental, social, and economic benefits.
Our role
This evaluation represents the first comprehensive assessment of GEF’s NbS initiatives. It provided crucial insights into the effectiveness of these apporaches, highlighted good practices and identified areas for improvement through an examination of how NbS interventions were integrated into the GEF portfolio and the results they achieved.
Itad collaborated with the Global Environment Facility’s Independent Evaluation Office (GEF IEO) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the GEF’s NbS initiatives. Our role included:
- analysing the scope and scale of NbS projects funded by the GEF;
- evaluating their alignment with the GEF’s strategic objectives;
- assessing their impact on both ecosystems and communities; and
- drafting initial findings and recommendations to inform strategic decision-making and strengthen the effectiveness of future NbS investments.
Through a robust evaluation framework, we generated evidence-based insights into the effectiveness of these solutions, focusing on outcomes such as enhanced biodiversity, improved climate resilience, and socio-economic benefits for local communities.
Our findings helped the GEF refine its approach, supporting more targeted, impactful and scalable NbS programming in the future.
Methods and approaches
The evaluation employed a mixed-methods approach designed to capture the complexity and diversity of NbS interventions. Key components of the methodology included:
- Utilisation-Focused Evaluation: We aligned the evaluation with the needs of GEF stakeholders, ensuring that findings were practical and relevant. Regular engagement and co-creation of recommendations helped tailor insights to maximise strategic value.
- Participatory and Inclusive Engagement: The evaluation involved diverse stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) and other marginalised groups. Capturing a wide range of perspectives ensured that the evaluation reflected the experiences and insights of those most closely involved.
- Theory-Based Approach: Using a Theory of Change framework, we mapped the intended benefits and co-benefits of NbS initiatives, identified pathways to change and tested underlying assumptions. This helped us understand the broader environmental and social effects of NbS interventions.
- Mixed Methods and Evidence Synthesis: We combined qualitative and quantitative evidence drawn from project documents, key informant interviews and geospatial data. Triangulating this evidence enabled a comprehensive assessment of NbS effectiveness, strengthening the reliability and credibility of findings.
By applying these methods, the evaluation generated robust and actionable insights into the GEF’s NbS initiatives and informed future strategies to enhance environmental sustainability and community resilience.
Outcomes and impact
The evaluation informed strategic discussions on the future direction of GEF support for nature-based solutions at a critical point in preparations for GEF-9.
The GEF Secretariat praised the evaluation as a timely and valuable contribution, highlighting the strength and breadth of its evidence base and welcoming its findings and recommendations.
In its formal management response, the Secretariat fully agreed with three of the four recommendations and agreed in part with the fourth, committing to a range of follow-up actions aligned with the evaluation’s key messages. These included strengthening NbS-related learning and results frameworks, improving the tracking of socio-economic co-benefits, expanding private sector and blended-finance approaches, enhancing country capacity and policy coherence, and strengthening engagement with Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The Secretariat also committed to monitoring progress through its Management Action Record process.
