Sustainable Development and SDGs: An Introductory Note with a reference from Bangladesh

This world made remarkable progress in reducing poverty. Many believe including Sustainability Guru Professor Jeffrey D Sachs, yet today’s global economic growth is not sustainable development. There is growing income inequality, social exclusion, and joblessness for many youths. The world faces profoundly threatening environmental trends and crises. According to the most recent estimates by the World Bank, in 2013, 767 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day. Extreme poverty continues in much of Africa and parts of Asia and Latin America. A vast majority of the global poor live in rural areas and are poorly educated, mostly employed in the agricultural sector, and over half are under 18 years of age. According to a study of the World Bank, the work to end extreme poverty is far from over, and a number of challenges remain. It is becoming even more difficult to reach those remaining in extreme poverty, who often live in fragile contexts and remote areas. Access to good schools, healthcare, electricity, safe water, and other critical services remains elusive for many people, often determined by socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, and geography. Moreover, for those who have been able to move out of poverty, progress is often temporary: economic shocks, food insecurity, and climate change threaten to rob them of their hard-won gains and force them back into poverty. It will be critical to find ways to tackle these issues as we make progress toward 2030. So, we need to understand why we need the economic progress of our society. Joseph E Stiglitz, a famous American Economist, mentioned “Development is about transforming the lives of people, not just transforming economics”.

As you are all aware, the world continues to face twin challenges: of expanding economic opportunities for all in the context of a growing global population; and addressing environmental challenges that, if left unaddressed, could undermine our ability to seize these opportunities. In the face of pressing economic and environmental challenges, national and international efforts are needed to promote sustainable growth. It could be achieved through low-carbon growth, a growth mechanism that will ensure sustainable use of natural resources, efficient and prudent use of energy, conservation of global biodiversity, and ecosystem. Low-carbon growth is a matter of both economic growth policy and sustainable environment protection policy. It is important to tackle two key imperatives simultaneously: the continued inclusive economic growth needed by developing countries to reduce poverty and improve wellbeing; as well as improved environmental management needed to tackle resource scarcities and climate change.

The world leaders recognise those challenges and have started to undertake different policies and strategies that are sustainable. I would like to draw your attention to a few issues related to the journey of Sustainable Development in the international negotiations. ‘Brundtland Commission’, formally known as “World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED)” of the United Nations since 1983, is one of the widely mentioned initiatives on Sustainable Development. It is known as, by the name of Ex- Norwegian Prime Minister GRO HARLEM BRUNDTLAND, who was the first chair of the commission. In 1987, that Commission published a document, i.e., “Our Common Future”, where Sustainability was defined as “the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Though sustainability has its contextual meaning, in development discourse, many argue, sustainable development is the economic development that is socially accepted and inclusive, and environmentally green. However, we also know about Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and its outcome document, Agenda 21 where sustainability was the key issue. In recent years, sustainability is the key to any development agenda. Recently, Professor Jeffrey D Sachs, Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network argued in his ceremonial book The Age of Sustainable Development that “the normative side of sustainable development envisions four basic objectives of a good society: economic prosperity; social inclusion and cohesion; environmental sustainability; and good governance by major social actors, including governments and business”. I would like to share another quote from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He mentioned that “Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship, and strengthen governance”.

We all know, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are now in action which was widely consulted across the world at the preparation stage. As a background, we also know, one of the main outcomes from the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012 was an international agreement to negotiate a new set of global SDGs to guide the path of sustainable development in the world after 2015. It was portrayed in its outcome document known as ‘The Future We Want’. At the seventieth session of the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2015, the member states adopted the SDGs. The declaration was titled  “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. It has created a milestone in the world history of development. The 193 member states expressed their sincere commitments to work towards implementing the 2030 Agenda within their own countries and at the regional and global levels. 17 Goals with 169 associated Targets came into effect on 1 January 2016 and would guide the international development agenda over the next 15 years. I believe you all are familiar with goals and targets. For this, I am not going to read out all these goals and their targets.

Box 1: Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 1	End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2	End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3	Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4	Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning
Goal 5	Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6	Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
Goal 7	Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 8	Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Goal 9	Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10	Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11	Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12	Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13	Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 14	Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
Goal 15	Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16	Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies and establish accountable and inclusive institutions
Goal 17	Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

The core principle and values of SDGs is that no-one should be left behind. The goals are adopted to stimulate action over the next 15 years in 5 areas of critical importance, i.e., people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. 10 key facts about the SDGs that are campaigned by UN agencies are as follows.

1.             The SDGs need you - It’s not only up to governments, but it’s up to all of us to take action.  Even little things can make a big impact.

2.             The SDGs will change the way the world does business – They want to transform the world economy so it works without violating workers rights and harming the environment.

3.             The SDGs are one for all and all for one - No goal is more important than the other and they all complement each other.

4.             The SDGs will address climate change - Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time and it affects every country on every continent.

5.             The SDGs will eradicate extreme poverty – The predecessors of the global development goals, the MDGs, have helped cut extreme poverty by half from their establishment in 2000 until today. That is a great achievement but it is not enough! These goals aim to end poverty in all its forms and everywhere by 2030.

6.             The SDGs will leave no one behind – They are for young and old people, for small and big countries, for people living in rural areas and people in busy cities.  They will leave no one behind.

7.             The SDGs are hands-on - They contain concrete plans on how to change the world, how to pay for it and how to make sure that everybody is on board.

8.             The SDGs are “Global” – They tackle challenges for all countries across the globe.

9.             The SDGs are the people’s goals – The goals have been developed by all the 193 UN Member States, NGOs and people like you, all working together.

10.         The SDGs are the world’s ultimate to-do list for the next 15 years - The 17 goals are for making this planet a better place by 2030 which includes ending extreme poverty, fighting inequality, and fixing climate change.

In the context of Bangladesh, SDGs are relevant at least for two reasons. First, Bangladesh is going to be a middle-income country soon as portrayed in the Vision 2021. It is expected that a lot of economic activities will be undertaken in Bangladesh in the near future which would require balanced strategies that will bring economic, social, and environmental benefits to the country.  Second, it is largely agreed that climate change will be one of the many threats to sustainable development. Unfortunately, Bangladesh is an innocent victim of climate change and one of the most climate-vulnerable countries where millions of people have already been directly affected.

The General Assembly, in its resolution 70/1 of 2015, decided that the global indicator framework, to be developed by the Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs), would be agreed upon by the UN Statistical Commission and adopted thereafter by the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, in line with the existing mandates. They are working on it. However, UN Statistical Commission mentioned in their website that “a robust follow-up and review mechanism for the implementation of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will require a solid framework of indicators and statistical data to monitor progress, inform policy and ensure accountability of all stakeholders”.

Before finalizing the goals, there were some principles on indicator formulation already discussed during SDGs formulation period. For example, the Rio+20 Outcome Document Indicate that the goals and their indicators are intended to be “action-oriented, concise and easy to communicate, limited in number, inspirational, global in nature and universally applicable to all countries while taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities.” They should be “focused on priority areas for the achievement of sustainable development.”

In the context of Bangladesh, General Economics Division (GED) has prepared two documents related to indicators for measuring the progress of SDGs. These are: “Data Gap Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Bangladesh Perspective’’ and “A Handbook on Mapping of Ministries by Targets in the implementation of SDGs aligning with 7th Five Year Plan (2016-20)”. The priority for SDGs will vary from country to country depending on their contexts and need. Indicators for these Goals are yet to be finalized.

Achieving the targets of SDGs within a stipulated time would require professional engagement and sincere commitments of governments and other stakeholders. Bangladesh is working towards these. As we know, the charter of SDGs, prepared by UN in consultation with all countries, celebrates the dedication of the global communities in upholding their social responsibility to lead public debate and action towards a sustainable future, where Bangladesh was an active advocate in global negotiations. I am also sure that the discussion on sustainability in every country of the world would continue as the SDGs have provided the principles and values to inform tangible commitments, which are going to be outlined in the country’s own sustainability plan. The Government of Bangladesh involves all stakeholders in the process of SDG development since 2010. GED of Planning Commission and other offices related to SDGs in Bangladesh welcomes the encouraging response and engagement they have received in the consultation to date and looks forward to have further consultation on the development of the indicators to measures the achievement of SDGs’ targets.

I would like to reiterate my gratitude to the Government of Bangladesh, for promoting and supporting initiatives that are sustainable. As you may know, a high power monitoring cell was established and a principal coordinator (SDG) was appointed to look after the work of SDGs in Prime Minister’s Office of Bangladesh. They have been relentlessly working to promote different policies, strategies, and guidelines for sustainable growth in the country. These all are positive initiatives from the government of Bangladesh to encounter the challenges in achieving the targets of SDGs and hopefully, the government would do extraordinarily well as Bangladesh did in achieving MDGs. I am sure; you know that Bangladesh has made outstanding progress in MDGs achievement. This country already met several targets of the MDGs like reducing headcount poverty and poverty gap ratio, reducing the prevalence of underweight children, attaining gender parity at primary and secondary education, under-five mortality rate reduction, containing HIV infection with access to antiretroviral drugs, children under five sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets, the cure rate of TB under DOTS, and others. In addition, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in, increasing enrolment at primary schools, lowering the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio, improving immunization coverage, and reducing the incidence of communicable diseases. There are some areas in need of greater attention. 

However, in the context of SDGs, taking learnings from MDGs implementation, different national policies and strategies, such as National Sustainable Development Strategy, 2013 and National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh 2015, have been prepared by the Government. In relation to climate change, for example, the Government of Bangladesh adopted the key policy document, Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) in July 2009. Other relevant policies and strategies have also been developed. Further, the Government with its own resources set up The Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) in 2010. A significant number of projects have been or are being implemented utilizing BCCTF resources.

To engage the private sector in the process of SDGs, the Bangladesh government has taken a number of initiatives. For example, as you may know, Bangladesh Bank circulated a policy guideline for green banking to be followed by all banks back in 2011. Since then, they have been relentlessly working to promote green financing for sustainable growth in the country. There is a refinancing window available at Bangladesh Bank for green financing. These all are positive initiatives from the Central Bank towards green growth.

Involvement of Civil-Society Organizations, widely known as NGOs, in developing countries, such as Bangladesh will be crucial for the successful implementation of SDGs. Some might know, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), established by the Government of Bangladesh, has been working with NGOs since 1990.  Before proceeding further, please allow me to say a few words about what PKSF is doing to create pathways to low-carbon growth in the context of Bangladesh. As you know, PKSF is an organization, which was established by the Government of Bangladesh in 1990 for sustainable poverty reduction through employment generation and rural development programmes. PKSF has already formulated a strategy paper considering the targets of SDGs to complement the public sector efforts.  Its activities are directly linked with 13 Goals of SDGs. These goals are: Goal 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 16.  

I would like to highlight some key challenges, among many, in achieving the targets of SDGs.

First, we need to have better coordination among the actors and agencies. Coordination among the agencies will be an important element for the success of the initiatives that are going to address SDGs.

Second, financial allocation for achieving each target of the goals will be an important issue.

Third, a monitoring cell in the PM office and a coordination unit in GED may not be sufficient with respect to SDGs implementation. We may as well as need an active dedicated plan at the local level engaging people from all streams for SDGs implementation. We need to have extra efforts in integrating SDGs with the existing planning process of relevant ministries and departments.  

Fourth, a sound accomplishment of SDGs will require strong and effective participation and engagement of all stakeholders including public, private and civil society representatives. There should be a mechanism to make all responsible for each other’s activities with respect to SDGs implementation.

Fifth, the absence of an appropriate institutional mechanism to address the complex issues of sustainability. The document of SDGs itself recognizes the importance of policy and institutional synergies for its proper implementation.

Sixth, data will be essential for monitoring the achievement of SDGs. There is a need to standardize and bring coherence to relevant concepts and definitions of variables for comparability. Concerted efforts need to be taken to enhance the quality of disaggregated data (e.g., spatial, gender, age-group, ethnicity) generated through the use of modern technology. Data should be made available in a timely manner to facilitate real-time decision making.

Seventh, quality research will be needed in SDGs implementation. For this, the role of tertiary educational institutions and higher education from home and abroad will be crucial.

Eighth, SDGs are predominately global targets. Global coordination and cooperation are undoubtedly important. But, considering regional differences, regional cooperation will also be needed. For example, SAARC may have a critical role in the context of South Asia.  

I believe, SDGs are not only creating new challenges for this world but also expanding opportunities to produce new ideas and share that knowledge among countries. I hope this conference will bring out some positive suggestions for the policymakers. We look forward to receiving your thoughts on the sustainability of our country and the world.

Last, but not least, “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” is an enduring document that defines universal principles, values and high level of commitments for each of SDG targets from all member countries of UN. However, given only 15 years to make these changes possible, there is no time to be wasted. We should act now. Let us join hands to strengthen the efforts that are equitable, human-centric and environment-friendly. It ought to be in our heart that no-one should be left behind. Together, we can build a sustainable world.

Reference

General Economics Division (GED), 2015 The Millennium Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress Report 2015, Dhaka: General Economics Division (GED), Planning Commission, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

General Economics Division (GED), 2016 A Handbook on Mapping of Ministries by Targets in the implementation of SDGs aligning with 7th Five Year Plan (2016-20), Dhaka: General Economics Division (GED), Planning Commission, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

General Economics Division (GED), 2017 Data Gap Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Bangladesh Perspective (Final Draft), Dhaka: General Economics Division (GED), Planning Commission, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

ICSU, ISSC (2015): Review of the Sustainable Development Goals: The Science Perspective, Paris: International Council for Science (ICSU).

Sachs, Jeffrey D. 2015 The Age Of Sustainable Development, New York: Columbia University Press

United Nations, 2015 Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, United Nations; General Assembly, A/RES/70/1.

United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) 2012, Rio+ Outcome Document “The Future We Want”, Rio+20 The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 20-22 June 2012.