S1E1: Learning from the Frontlines on Adapting to Climate Change
World Bank Group │ What Have We Learned? The Evaluation PodcastShow Notes
Millions of people rely on natural resources for their livelihoods and well-being. What have we learned from climate adaptation efforts to preserve and manage natural resources and their impact on local communities? Climate change is accelerating the degradation of natural resources, putting whole communities at risk. In this episode we take a look at the Great Green Wall, a large belt of trees stretching across 12 African states, developed to combat land degradation and desertification of the Sahel. The World Bank and its partners have invested over one billion dollars on this iconic project to preserve and manage natural resources. Listen in as Lauren Kelly, of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG), and Oumou Moumouni, of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs UN OCHA, share lessons learned from the implementation of these programs and their impact on local communities.
More from World Bank Group │ What Have We Learned? The Evaluation Podcast
Biodiversity is part of the productive machinery of an economy. Experts from the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility, and IEG discuss evidence on achieving biodiversity-positive growth and translating global commitments into development priorities that recognize nature as essential to thriving economies and jobs.
The World Bank Group has been working to capture the efficiencies offered by Artificial Intelligence, while building institutional foundations to identify and address its inherent risks. The overarching goal is to transfer AI-enabled gains to the countries it works with, in the form of better, faster support and greater accountability. In this episode of What Have We Learned?, host Darlene Christopher speaks with Craig Hammer, Manager of the World Bank's Development Data Group and its Global Data Facility, and Estelle Raimondo, Head of Methods at the Independent Evaluation Group and lead author of IEG's AI strategy. They discuss how they have been integrating AI into their workflows, from investing in robust data and building AI skills across staff, to advancing the governance and culture shifts that the responsible use of AI demands.
What does it take for the World Bank Group to truly become a knowledge bank? In this episode of What Have We Learned? we explore findings from IEG’s recent evaluation Learning in World Bank Lending, which examines how the World Bank captures, applies, and shares knowledge throughout the project cycle. Host Darlene Christopher is joined by Rasmus Heltberg (IEG), Andrea Kucey (World Bank), and Kristen Fenster (IFC) for a candid conversation on the Bank Group’s strengths, its persistent learning blind spots, and why informal, tacit knowledge often matters just as much as formal lessons.
This episode explores lessons from the World Bank’s support to the blue economy, a widely recognized approach to shift the way we work and think in ocean spaces. Blue economy principles emphasize planning, restorative, and inclusive actions that support the sustainable and equitable management of ocean resources for future generations.
This episode explores how monitoring and evaluation systems enable the World Bank Group to learn from its support for gender equality, assess whether it leads to meaningful change, and decide when to scale up or adjust efforts to maximize impact.