Juha Uitto

Juha Uitto is director of the Independent Evaluation Office of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Since 1999, he has conducted and managed evaluations with the GEF and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where he has served as senior monitoring and evaluation specialist/coordinator, evaluation advisor, and deputy director of the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office. Uitto spent the 1990s with the United Nations University in Tokyo as coordinator of the university’s research and training programs in the areas of environment and sustainable development, including disaster risk management. His earlier positions were with the Nordic Africa Institute and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. He was educated at both the University of Helsinki and the University of Lund, and holds a PhD in social and economic geography. Uitto has held visiting positions at Rutgers University, Kyoto University in Japan, and the University of Montana. He is published widely on topics related to natural resources management, sustainable development, environmental hazards, and evaluation. His recent books include "Evaluating Environment in International Development," "Sustainable Development and Disaster Risk Reduction," "Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development," and "Universities and the Sustainable Development Future." He serves on the editorial board of the journal, Environmental Hazards.