Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Environmental Management for Poverty Reduction

The evaluation builds from the widely recognized assertion that poverty exacerbates environmental degradation and environmental damage reinforces poverty. The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP's) success at integrating these two aspects of its core mandate is very important for its credibility. Evaluation findings suggest that while UNDP is highly aware of the importance for sustainable development of the poverty to environment nexus, the articulation of this awareness throughout the organisation is uneven. There are institutional disincentives to integration, including UNDP’s organisation into practice areas and its dependence on external funding. These internal challenges notwithstanding, UNDP is ideally situated to strengthen partnerships within the United Nations System to coordinate action on poverty alleviation and environmental protection.