Evaluation of the Capacity Development Programme “Strengthened Institutions for Sustainable Climate” (SISC)

Sustainable use and management of the earth’s resources is a prerequisite for
reduced poverty and sustainable societies – for current and for future generations.
Sida contributed more than SEK 11 billion to initiatives targeting environment and
climate in 2023.1 This included efforts to improve environmental sustainability, avoid
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, restore and sustainably manage biodiversity,
halt desertification, retain carbon sinks as well as to strengthen resilience
to climate change and support disaster risk reduction.

The evaluation of phase 2 (2020-2023) of the Sida-funded Environment Governance Programme (EGP) assesses its two subprograms:
the EGP for Sustainable Natural Resource Management (EGP Mining) and the Partnership for Strengthened Environmental
Governance in the UN system (EGP Partnership). The EGP Mining, led by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and UNDP,
works in-depth with 10 countries and on global and regional level to exchange innovative policy approaches. The EGP Partnership
works with UNEP’s Sustainable UN facility, implementing the UN’s internal sustainability strategy. The evaluation concludes that the
EGP Mining’s Participatory Environmental Monitoring approach contributed to significant progress in local empowerment and
recommends enhancing the sustainability of this approach. The dual focus on empowerment and the normative set up was strong
although it is recommended to professionalise the advocacy agenda. The EGP Partnership is found to have contributed to the
implementation of the UN sustainability strategy. It is recommended that Sida should mobilize other member states to press for
greater progress on UN’s internal environmental management in future phases.