Independent Consultant
Evaluation · Climate · Biodiversity · Policy
Galician by birth. Global by mission.
About
I am José Antonio Cabo, an independent consultant specialising in the evaluation, design, and management of environmental and climate programmes for multilateral organisations, development banks, and bilateral agencies.
My career began in the water — literally. Trained as a marine scientist at the University of Vigo with a year at the University of Rostock, I spent six years advising local governments and NGOs on integrated coastal zone management in the Philippines. That grounding in field realities, community dynamics, and ecosystem fragility shapes every evaluation I lead today.
From 2009 to 2011 I contributed to managing an environment and climate portfolio at UNDP Guatemala, co-leading project teams and supporting resource mobilisation efforts that helped bring in over $15 million in new GEF and Adaptation Fund financing, and engaging across government, civil society, and indigenous groups.
Since then I have worked as a fully independent consultant — leading evaluations for UNEP, UNDP, GEF, the Adaptation Fund, the Mitigation Action Facility, DANIDA, NORAD, the European Commission, and others. I hold an MSc in Environmental Economics from SOAS, University of London (Distinction) and a Certificate in Sustainable Finance from Oxford.
Currently based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Available for global assignments.
Expertise
Terminal evaluations, mid-term reviews, baseline studies, and learning exercises for GEF, UNDP, UNEP, and climate finance projects — theory-based, mixed-methods, OECD-DAC criteria.
Evaluation of climate mitigation and adaptation programmes — energy efficiency, electric mobility, renewable energy, NDC alignment, and carbon finance across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Marine protected areas, freshwater ecosystems, mangroves, coastal zones, urban biodiversity — from field implementation to global programme evaluation and independent assessments.
Evaluation of global water quality programmes; SDG 6.3.2, 6.5.1, and 6.6.1 monitoring; capacity development for national water agencies worldwide.
Theory of Change, results frameworks, M&E systems, and full project formulation — GEF pipeline projects, UNDP country programme contributions, and project documents.
Analysis of climate change impacts on communities, children, and ecosystems — vulnerability assessments, adaptation planning, and climate risk integration into national policies.
Design of monitoring frameworks, indicator systems, learning exercises, and baseline measurement tools — including multi-country scorecard methodologies.
Multi-stakeholder facilitation across government, UN, civil society, indigenous communities, and private sector — fluent in Spanish, English, and Portuguese across 30+ countries.
Selected Work
Background
Career Arc
Market research support; developed analytical and coordination skills before transitioning to international development.
Six years embedded in local NGOs and municipal governments in Aklan and Bohol; led teams on coastal resource management and community engagement. Established Mabaw Reef MPA.
Contributed to managing a GEF environment and climate portfolio; co-led project teams; supported resource mobilisation contributing to over USD 15 million in new GEF-5 and Adaptation Fund projects.
25+ evaluations led for UNEP, UNDP, GEF, Mitigation Action Facility, ECLAC, UNICEF, and others across 30+ countries. MSc completed with Distinction during this period.
Languages
Contact
Open to evaluation mandates, advisory roles, project formulation, and policy consultancies — short or extended — with multilateral organisations, development agencies, governments, and NGOs.
Currently taking on new evaluation and consultancy mandates, with particular interest in: