The United Nations is scheduled to hold a summit in New York in September to approve the Sustainable Development   Goals (SDGs). An Open Working Group produced the final outcome document of the SDGs in July 2014 providing the draft 17 goals and 169 targets. This is an ambitious programme; the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) had eight goals only. Before the summit in September there will be another meeting in Addis Ababa to discus the implementation of the SDGs goals and targets. In case of MDGs no such prior deliberation on implementation was made.
The SDGs will evidently learn from the experience of MDGs. The MDGs were mainly about the poor people in the low-income countries. It did not address the issues of productive employment and environment adequately. The planning and implementation process was also top-down with little scope for participation by the low-income countries involved. In a departure from this it was decided that an Open Working Group comprising member states will be set up to formulate a new list of goals where development and environmental process would be combined. Along with the Open Working Group a number of channels have been opened for public consultation on the new goals. This will take place within the UN system and beyond because one of the criticisms of the MDGs process was that it was a top-down process and most member countries were never consulted.
There is scepticism regarding too many goals and targets in the SDGs. Doubts have been expressed as to how they will be implemented at the country level given the resource constraint. Questions are being asked whether it will be possible to implement the 169 targets and 17 goals. MDGs had eight goals and even these limited number could not be fully implemented by most countries.
If nations can strengthen the means to implement the overarching goals and targets then the vision may not look unrealistic. Strengthening the means will depend on at least four factors which have to be built into the methodology to be adopted in this regard.
* First, people's participation from design to valuation has to be ensured in determining whether sustainability can be achieved. In order to promote participation governance will have to be decentralised to empower local population to make decisions and assume responsibility for implementing the social development set as goals. Sustainable development is a reflection of the extent to which people can own their particular development process. Therefore, institutionalising local open spaces to permit people to come together to build partnership and shared action plans is of crucial importance in achieving the SDGs. Fortunately, there is a growing trend all over the world for decentralisation. It will, therefore, not be a new requirement to be asked from governments. Decentralisation is already seen as a means to strengthen governance and the development process with the participation of local people.
* The second important requirement for implementation of SDGs will be capacity building among stake holders. There will be critical need for quality performance by organisers of local community activities in order to promote participatory development. The organisers will have to be trained to ensure that all voices are represented and heard. They should be aware of the existing power relationships in the community so that effective engagement can be made with these to evolve a broad-based development process.
* Third, it would be helpful if measures for sustainable implementation are described in cultural terms understood by the stake holders. Ensuring that participation and decentralisation are explained in local cultural terms would allow local community to see their values fully incorporated in the steps needed to implement SDGs. In MDGs, the cultural dimension was not so important as the approach was technocratic. In SDGs, the most important policy development will emerge from lessons gained from the experiences of community participation in development within familiar cultural milieu.
* The fourth and final requirement for the implementation of SDGs is the most important one - it will be mobilisation of resources. In MDGs, mobilisation of resources was half-hearted and countries were more or less left to fend for themselves with official development assistance coming in trickles. Commitment from external sources remained largely unfulfilled. The Addis Ababa conference that is going to take place in July before the adoption of the SDGs will exclusively discuss financing and implementations. Availability of resources from external and internal sources will be carefully assessed and responsibilities properly earmarked. The July conference on financing and the Paris climate conference in December this year by the United Nations Framework Convention Climate Change will also contribute to the implementation of SDGs. If the Doha Round becomes successful many of the trade and investment-related targets will have good prospects of being implemented. Duty-free and quota-free market access, removal of non-tariff barriers and service exports will be all in conformity with the SDGs goals and targets. There will be other parallel processes of international development agenda. If the goals of these can be integrated into the overall strategy of SDGs the prospects for successful implementation will get a shot in the arm.
Bangladesh won plaudits for achieving the major targets of MDGs mostly with own resources. It should not be difficult for the country to rise to the occasion in respect of SDGs. However, the challenge will be greater this time. Â
hasnat.hye5@gmail.com
Implementing Sustainable Development Goals
Hasnat Abdul Hye | Published: June 10, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
Share if you like