Post-2015 development agenda: Implementation challenges

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were a universal pledge to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity, and free the world from extreme poverty and hunger. The MDGs, with eight goals and a set of 21 measurable time-bound targets, established a blueprint for tackling the most pressing development challenges of our time. At the 2010 MDG Summit, UN member states initiated steps towards advancing the development agenda beyond 2015 which is the end period of the MDGs. In June 2012 at Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, UN member states adopted 'The Future We Want' outcome document, which set in motion many of the inter-governmental processes for the post-2015 development agenda.
BANGLADESH'S PROPOSAL TO UN: The General Economics Division (GED), Bangladesh Planning Commission in an inclusive and participatory manner prepared the national document of Bangladesh containing 11 goals like the following:   
Goal 1: Unleash human potentials for sustainable development
Goal 2: Eradicate poverty and reduce inequality
Goal 3: Ensure sustainable food security and nutrition for all
Goal 4: Universal access to health and family planning services
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality
Goal 6: Ensure quality education and skills for all
Goal 7: Increase employment opportunities and ensure worker rights
Goal 8:  Ensure good governance
Goal 9: Promote sustainable production and consumption
Goal 10: Ensure environmental sustainability and disaster management
Goal 11: Strengthen international cooperation and partnership for sustainable development
The national proposal of Bangladesh for Post-2015 Development Agenda contains 11 goals, 58 targets and 241 measurable indicators. On the other hand, the UN draft final Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have proposed 17 goals with 126 targets. It is comforting to mention that out of 11 goals proposed by Bangladesh, nine goals are very common with the proposals of UN draft final SDGs. The issues of the common goals are: Poverty, Inequality, Gender equality, Food security & nutrition, Healthy lives, Quality education, Productive employment, sustainable production and consumption, Environmental sustainability and Global partnership. Bangladesh proposed inequality along with poverty but inequality has been proposed as a separate goals in the UN proposal. Bangladesh's proposal of Good governance is met by the proposal of accountable and inclusive institution of the UN. Two goals of UN related to 'water & sanitation' and 'sustainable energy' are, however, included as targets in Bangladesh's proposal. The goals proposed by UN relating to 'climate change', 'resilient infrastructure', 'conservation of natural resources' are also included as targets in Bangladesh's proposal.  
The UN draft final SDGs will be placed in the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) in September next for approval.
7TH FIVE YEAR PLAN OF BANGLADESH TO ADDRESS THE SDGS: The government of Bangladesh well-tuned its development strategies aligning with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and hence results were applauded by the international communities. At this moment, the government is in the process of finalising the 7th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), which would be a flagship document of Bangladesh to address the SDGs. While formulating the plan document, the proposed goals by the Open Working Group (OWG) were taken into consideration so that the probable goals of the SDGs can be reflected in the national plan and budgetary allocations. The goals of SDGs were also given emphasis while setting up the priority areas of the 7th FYP.
The UN Growth Commission, headed by Nobel Laureate Michael Spence, concluded that high growth that is transformative in impact for developing economies would have to be 7.0 per cent or higher annually. This is also the minimum growth rate for LDCs (least developed countries) proposed by the Open Working Group (OWG) in the post-2015 UN Development Agenda. The Bangladesh government believes that, given past performance and future outlook, average annual growth rate of 7.4 per cent during the 7th FYP period would be realistic and attainable.  
IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES OF POST 2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA: It is well-known that resource constraint is one of the major impediments to achieving the MDGs in many developing countries like Bangladesh. The challenges ahead of Bangladesh for the Post-2015 regime also call for mobilising required resources and targeted interventions in the areas lagging behind. In Bangladesh, the growth of domestic resource mobilisation at the average rate of 18 per cent a year during the last six years was commendable. However, during the same period, Bangladesh received, on an average, US$ 1.73 billion as ODA in a year against the required amount of US$ 3.0 billion for implementing the MDGs.
The interdependent mix of domestic and external mobilisation of financial resources, technology development and transfer, capacity-building, equitable globalisation and trade, regional integration, as well as, the creation of a national enabling environment required to implement the new sustainable development agenda, particularly in developing countries like Bangladesh, would be crucial.
The implementation of the post-2015 development agenda will require the States and other relevant actors to adopt policies and mobilise resources to advance equitable, human rights-based, sustainable development. A renewed and strengthened global partnership will be required for expediting the means of implementation to address the social, economic and environmental dimensions in an integrated manner and strengthening governance and accountability frameworks. In this regard, capacity building for people and institutions would be necessary.
The government of Bangladesh, in partnership with the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation and the United Nations Development Programme, convened an important global meeting on May 17-18, 2015. The salient features of the discussion were as follows:  
* There are differing concepts and definitions of aid and development finance among various international actors. The importance of reliable and comparable data is a precondition for effective cooperation. Peer review and mutual accountability benefit all partners in leveraging technical and financial support to achieve SDGs.  
* A central objective of effective cooperation and implementation should be to harness the potential of the private sector by promoting human resource development and investment in infrastructure, providing a foundation for sustainable progress.  
* Role of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) in promoting women entrepreneurship, clean energy and developing southern grown development solutions was discussed in the meeting.
* Regional cooperation and regional integration create a common platform for developing countries to promote common prosperity and better utilisation of their resources. Regional connectivity in terms of roads, railways, air routes and telecommunications networks can be enhanced by learning from experiences of regional cooperation initiatives including SAARC, BIMSTEC, EU, ASEAN, among others. Infrastructure is extremely important in terms of regional connectivity and poverty reduction, and cooperation is critical to connect with neighbours and avoid competition for resources.  
* Information and communications technology (ICT) for development is an issue that has special significance and potential in the realm of South-South Cooperation and Financing for Development.   
* Reaching universal connectivity would entail wide-ranging economic and social benefits, however many gaps exist in broadband infrastructure, and financing this infrastructure is a persistent challenge.  
* Overall, infrastructure is essential for the development of LDCs and LLDCs (Land-Locked Least Developed Countries). Public-Private Partnerships should be encouraged in infrastructure, and state domination and monopolies should be avoided. In facilitating public-private partnerships, quality criteria relating to transparency, accountability and inclusiveness are essential. Private sector needs to be combined with development goals, and initiatives that are able to be undertaken commercially should not be done with public funds.
* Human-centred development must remain at the core of Financing for Development initiatives in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Investments in education, youth skills development and empowerment, maternal and child health, and sustainable urbanisation are critical in ensuring that progress is achieved and sustained. Demand-driven skills training and certification in line with the National Technical and Vocational Qualifications Frameworks (NTVQFs), especially for youth and women, will allow countries to harness the full potential of their demographics from Demographic Dividend, as in the case for Bangladesh. Investing in the economic empowerment of women, in securing wider access to differently able people in economic activities, and learning from Southern partners who have made progress in gender equity in traditionally or culturally sensitive situations, will unleash powerful resources, financial and otherwise, for attaining the achievement of the Post-2015 development agenda. Earning international migration on demand basis will help generate funds for development and more vale addition in resource creation of the nations.  
* Climate change will potentially exacerbate some negative impacts of migration, requiring greater efforts towards disaster risk reduction. The 5th Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-AR5) has predicted that sea-level rise threatens coastal and deltaic rice production areas in Asia, such as those in Bangladesh and the Mekong River Delta. Coastal freshwater wetlands may become vulnerable to saltwater intrusion with rising sea-levels. By 2050 Bangladesh will face incremental cost to flood protection of US$ 2.6 billion initial costs and US$ 54 million annual recurring costs. This will mean strengthening resilience of cities to absorb urban migrants, and protecting and supporting populations in vulnerable coastal areas or suffering soil degradation.
* Finally, developments agenda for the years following 2015 will by necessity have to focus on making growth and economic development both sustained and sustainable. It will require not just ensuring that economic growth is entrenched into the fabric of developmental policy, but also by ensuring that economic growth takes place within the rubric of sustainability and without environmental damage. The developing countries, without forging strong effective global partnership, would really face huge challenges for implementing the new development agenda, nevertheless.  
We have to highlight: (a) actions to ensure the full and accountable implementation of the post-2015 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals at all levels - local, national, regional and global; (b) strengthen and support participation of the people, especially those living in poverty and marginalisation, volunteers and civil society in the accountable implementation of the post-2015 agenda and the SDGs; and (c) building a global movement focused on following up on the implementation of the post-2015 agenda and the SDGs, with inclusive and participatory processes with a balanced leadership from the Global South and North representing all regions.
Professor Shamsul Alam is Member (Senior Secretary), General Economics Division (GED), Bangladesh Planning Commission. Dr. Alam led the preparation of the first 'Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2010-2021', Sixth Five-Year Plan of Bangladesh, 2011-2015, National Social Security Strategy of Bangladesh and now is leading the preparation of the Seventh Five-Year Plan of Bangladesh, 2016-2020 which is at the final stage. Mohammad Monirul Islam, Deputy Chief, GED, provided assistance in preparing this policy article.
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