Sustainable Development Goals: Implications for LDCs

The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) was constituted by the UN Secretary General in 1983 under the chairmanship of Gro Hurlem Brountland, a former prime minister of Norway, to prepare a report on attaining sustainability in development. The commission submitted its report, entitled, Our Common Future, in 1987. It called for sustainable development defined as 'development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. Then came the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development-UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. This was a landmark international conference in relation to economic and social development and environmental protection. It produced five important documents, which are: Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Statement of Forest Principles, Agenda 21, Convention on Biodiversity, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The Rio declaration at the UNCED of 1992 endorsed a total of 27 principles towards achieving sustainable development that are captured in Agenda 21. Chapter 8 of Agenda 21 commits the governments to develop and pursue the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS).  The conference of 1992 addressed sustainability from the point of view of environmental protection, economic growth, and social development.
At the Rio+5 Summit in 1997, governments reaffirmed that the NSDS was an important mechanism for achieving sustainable development. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in 2000, heads of state and government reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of sustainable development and other provisions of Agenda 21.
At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, governments adopted the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) which called upon countries to take immediate steps to make progress in the formulation and elaboration of the NSDS, and begin their implementation by 2005. The Ministerial Declaration adopted at the fifth Ministerial Conference on "Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific" held in Seoul in 2005 introduced the approach of environmentally sustainable economic growth (Green Growth). The Green Growth is a new growth strategy that can turn the tradeoff between economic growth and environmental protection into a win-win synergy in which 'going green' drives economic growth. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro from June 13-22, 2012 (Rio+20) was participated by 191 UN member states including 79 heads of state or government. The outcome of the Conference, titled "The Future We Want" provides outline of sustainable development and the path to achieve it. The Rio+20 Conference re-emphasised the three legs of sustainable development, namely, economic, social, and environmental issues. This conference called for the formulation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) for the post-2015 period.
EMERGENCE OF SDG AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDC): As part of global UN process Bangladesh came up with its proposals to the UN on the Post-2015 Development Agenda through inclusive and participatory consultative process. It contains 11 goals, 58 targets and 241 measurable indicators.
A 30-member Open Working Group (OWG) was established on January 22, 2013 by the decision of the UN General Assembly. The OWG was tasked with preparing a proposal on the SDGs for consideration during the 68th session of the General Assembly in September 2013. After 18 months of hard work, the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals produced its final report on July 19, 2014, which contains 17 proposed goals with 169 targets for the consideration of the United Nations General Assembly.
The UN Secretary-General appointed High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP) came up with 12 goals with six cross-cutting issues. The UN General Assembly agreed on September 10, 2014 that the proposal of the Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) would be the main basis for a concise set of sustainable development goals that will encapsulate a truly transformative post-2015 sustainable development agenda.
A least developed country (LDC) is a country that, according to the United Nations, exhibits the lowest indicators of socio-economic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed by the UN in its resolution 2768 (XXVI) of  November 18, 1971. A country is classified as a Least Developed Country if it meets three criteria:
I) Poverty [adjustable criterion: three-year average gross national income (GNI) per capita of less than US $992, which must exceed $1,190 to leave the list as of 2012]
II) Human resource weakness [based on indicators of nutrition, health, education and adult literacy] and
III) Economic vulnerability [based on instability of agricultural production, instability of exports of goods and services, economic importance of non-traditional activities, merchandise export concentration, handicap of economic smallness, and the percentage of population displaced by natural disasters]
LDC criteria are reviewed every three years by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Countries may "graduate" out of the LDC classification when indicators exceed these criteria. The United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) coordinates UN support and provides advocacy services for the Least Developed Countries. The classification of LDC (as of January 24, 2014) applies to 48 countries. Bangladesh is included in the list.
Since the LDC category was initiated, only three countries have graduated to developing country status. The first country to graduate from LDC status was Botswana in 1994. The second country was Cape Verde, in 2007. Maldives became the third country to graduate to developing country status on January 01, 2011.
Three main characteristics of an LDC is vulnerability, instability and exposure to natural shocks.
CHALLENGES FOR LDCS IN SDG ERA: Global economic slowdown is also reaching the LDCs in the form of reduced ODA flows and increased fluctuations in commodity prices resulting decline in export.  Though progress remains slow and uneven across the LDCs, some countries are rapidly coming up. Rwanda is in the top position, followed by Bangladesh and Cambodia. At the bottom of the list are three African countries: Somalia, Equatorial Guinea, and Sudan. Four countries are unlikely to meet any of the targets: Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and South Sudan.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the post-2015 international development framework and its goals will be 'universal' in nature. It remains to be seen how, in an uneven world, a universal framework can accommodate the specific concerns and interests of countries, including the LDCs, with special needs. As we move towards 2015, we must consider the actual state of delivery of MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) in the LDCs, and address the challenging issues of probability of encountering more economic meltdown, dwindling of economic aid and adverse impacts climate change to realise the international political commitment to "leave no one behind".
CHALLENGE FOR BANGLA-DESH AND MANY OTHER LDCS:
l Lack of skilled manpower in most of the sectors
l Low technology and knowledgebase
l Huge resource constraints followed by close to no investment for R&D (research and development)
l Insufficient and inefficient infrastructure
l Pains in democratic transformation and resulting poor FDI (foreign direct investment) and domestic investments
l Not receiving promised ODA (official development assistance)
IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES OF POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA (SDG): Resource constraint is one of the major impediments to achieving the MDGs in many developing countries like Bangladesh. The targets of MDG-8 do not capture all of the actions that countries need to undertake within a cooperative framework to deliver a 'global partnership'. So, new forms of global partnership for development would be required in the new development paradigm after 2015, leveraging resources by diverse funding mechanisms.
Financial resources, development of technology and transfer, capacity-building, equitable globalisation and trade, regional integration, as well as, the creation of a national enabling environment would be required to implement the new sustainable development agenda, particularly in developing countries.
Increasing migration comes with opportunities and challenges. Managed properly, migration can contribute significantly to wealth, trade, job creation, and social empowerment. But migration can also create dislocation in families where migration is restricted to individuals, and can also contribute to skills shortages in sending countries. The absence of adequate legal channels for immigration can seriously erode the protection of rights. Hence, lawful, protected, realistic and needs-based human mobility would be required and promoted.
As a source of development finance, FDI and other private fund flows are much greater than official aid. FDI represented approximately 4.0 per cent of financial inflows to developing countries in 2009, compared to private remittance flows (2.0 per cent) and ODA (0.5 per cent).
Higher education with skill development, particularly with the help of developed countries, would be required to establish educational institutions of international standard quality in the developing countries.      
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that, globally, the level of investment needed to realise SDGs will be to the order of $5.0 trillion to $7.0 trillion per year, on average, over the period to 2030. Estimates for investment needs in developing countries alone range from $3.3 trillion to $4.5 trillion per year. At the current level of investment that leaves an annual gap of $2.5 trillion in developing countries alone.  The role of private sector investment will be indispensable. The SDG's will require a step-change in how public and private investment works together in all countries. Governments of donor countries governments cannot and must not fall short on their existing commitments, including the target of providing 0.7 per cent of GNI of developed countries in aid flows to developing countries.  
Aid for trade should be the key issue in global partnership mechanism. Free trade and preferential trade for LDCs are also crucial to achieve SDG targets. For promoting trade different forms of non-tariff barriers must be withdrawn.
Stronger domestic resource mobilisation, increased quantity and quality of ODA, FDI and remittances as well as regional integration will also be of great importance.
FOURTH PILLAR OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Governance issue is very critical for achieving development targets, specially in LDCs. Governance is termed as the fourth pillar of sustainable development along with social, economic and environmental pillars.
NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (NSDS) OF BANGLADESH: The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh says in Article 18 A: Protection and Improvement of Environment and Biodiversity: "The state shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to preserve and safeguard the natural resources, biodiversity, wetlands, forests and wildlife for the present and future citizens". Sustainable development is thus a constitutional obligation in Bangladesh and concrete steps are needed to meet it.
Bangladesh NSDS prepared by General Economics Division is based on the existing plans, policies and strategies. It is also based on the globally accepted principles of sustainable development defined in Agenda 21 of the Rio Declaration, Johannesburg Declaration and Implementation Plan, and Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific.
The NSDS has addressed mainstreaming sustainable development challenges across sectors and integrate economic, social and environmental objectives across sectors. It also includes mechanism for monitoring implementation progress and institutional mechanism for people's participation. NSDS needs to be meticulously implemented and monitored to ensure sustainable development.
Prof. Dr. Shamsul Alam is Member, General Economics Division, Bangladesh Planning Commission. The article is based on a presentation he made as a discussant at the Regional Seminar on Financing Graduation Gaps of Asia-Pacific LDCs which was arranged by Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry
of Finance on October 28-30,
2014 in Dhaka.
shamsul alam