NOTES ON THE NEW GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

For The Bohol Tribune

In This Our Journey

NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS

Exit MDGs or Millennium Development Goals. Enter Sustainable Development Goals, the next global development agenda for another 15 years starting in 2016.

It will be recalled that in the year 2000, 189 member-states of the United Nations signed the Millennium Declaration, described as “a global commitment of countries, rich and poor alike, to achieve peace and security, respect for human rights, good governance, and human development - with attention given to the needs of the poor, the vulnerable and the children of the world.” 

This commitment was translated into what have been known as the Millennium Development Goals - or MDGs - a set of eight time-bound goals and targets designed to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

I recall the euphoria felt by many people on hearing the news of the signing of the MDG agreement which happened almost a decade after the end of the Cold War, this conflict between US allies and countries politically aligned with Russia.

Adoption of the MDGs as a common development agenda despite differences in ideologies, religions, economic system and status, geographic and cultural differences was itself a significant milestone for the human race. For the first time, there is an articulated and signed agreement to address problems which blights humanity in many cultures such as malnutrition, infant mortality, illiteracy, maternal mortality, gender inequality, malaria and other major diseases, lack of safe drinking water and sanitation, and on the whole, achieve global partnership towards development through an equitable financial system and a commitment to “good governance, development and poverty reduction … both nationally and internationally.”

I recall intense discussions among UN colleagues in Fiji during the late 1990s while formulating the planning strategies undertaken at country and regional levels the outputs of which became contributions to the formulation of the MDGs. Soon after the MDGs were adopted as the common global agenda, there were talks about the need to create a world government, presumably based at the UN no doubt brought about by the realization that problems such as poverty, climate change, organized crime, including illegal drug trade, conflicts brought about by ethnic, cultural and political differences and corruption in governance cannot be handled by nation-states alone.

This optimism for new world order simmered down with the shocking 9/11 World Center bombing a litte more than a year after the signing of the global development agenda which was generally perceived to herald a regime of peace for all mankind. All the dreams about turning bullets into plowshares vanished into thin air and something close to paranoia set in to discourage if not to totally eliminate the hope for genuine world peace.

Against this backdrop of conflicts arising from the so-called  “Clash of Civilizations,” conflicts due to extremism in religious beliefs fused with ambitions for political domination, the pursuit of the MDGs happened nevertheless. During the last three years or so, there were intense and comprehensive efforts to sum up experiences in pursuing the MDGs at international, regional, national and even at subnational levels both to assess progress or lack of it and, more importantly, to extract lessons to guide current efforts to craft a new global development agenda.

This assessment of the MDGs reflects a consensus shared by political leaders and technocrats among the member-nations of the UN:  
 
“The MDGs have made a huge and significant impact on the lives of billions across countries and over the years; and by unifying the world’s priorities, the MDGs served to provide an overarching framework for development work across the world.
 
“However, progress has been uneven. Continuing gaps – on poverty, hunger, health, gender equality, water, sanitation and many other issues – will still need attention in most of the world’s countries and regions even after 2015.”

A more specific assessment of the MDGs is as follows:

“There is broad agreement that while the MDGs provided a focal point for governments on which to hinge their policies and overseas aid programs to end poverty and improve the lives of poor people – as well as provide a rallying point for NGOs to hold them to account – they have been criticized for being too narrow.

“The eight MDGs – reduce poverty and hunger; achieve universal education; promote gender equality; reduce child and maternal deaths; combat HIV, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; develop global partnerships – failed to consider the root causes of poverty, or gender inequality, or the holistic nature of development. The goals made no mention of human rights, nor specifically addressed economic development. While the MDGs, in theory, applied to all countries, in reality, they were considered targets for poor countries to achieve, with finance from wealthy states. Every country will be expected to work towards achieving the SDGs.

“As the MDG deadline approaches, around 1 billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day - the World Bank measure on poverty - and more than 800 million people do not have enough food to eat. Women are still fighting hard for their rights, and millions of women still die in childbirth.”

By September this year, member-countries of the UN are expected to sign a new commitment to pursue a set of goals determined after the international organization conducted what is considered the largest consultation program in its history. In contrast, the eight MDGs were reportedly drafted, or as legend would have it, by a think tank working in the basement of UN headquarters!

The Rio+20 summit held in 2012 mandated that an open working group, composed of representatives from 70 countries, be formed to conduct consultations and propose the post-2015 goals. In July 2014, the group published its recommendation and by September, it presented its draft report to the UN General Assembly.

An account of this extensive consultation process says: “Alongside the open working group, the UN conducted a series of  ‘global conversations’, which included 11 thematic and 83 national consultations, and door-to-door surveys. It also launched an online My World survey asking people to prioritize the areas they’d like to see addressed in the goals. Representatives from the Philippines, both from the Government and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) were part of this extensive consultation  towards the formulation of the new global development agenda.

The following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are expected to be approved by the member-countries of the UN next month to be pursued globally for the period 2016 to 2030: 

1) End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2) End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable    

    agriculture

3) Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages

4) Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities

      for all

5) Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6) Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7) Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8) Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive

    employment, and decent work for all

9) Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster

     innovation

10) Reduce inequality within and among countries

11) Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

12) Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13) Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (taking note of agreements

       made by the UN forum)

14) Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable

      developmentAdvertisement

15) Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage

      forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity

      loss

16) Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to

      justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17) Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable

     development

Within the goals are a proposed 169 targets, to put a bit of meat on the bones. Proposed targets under goal one, for example, include reducing by at least half the number of people living in poverty by 2030, and eradicating extreme poverty (people living on less than $1.25 a day). Under goal five, there’s a proposed target on eliminating violence against women. Under goal 16 sits a target to promote the rule of law and equal access to justice.

Of interest to us in Bohol will be the emphasis on localizing the SDGs given this statement from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon:

 “It is often said that, like all politics, all development is ultimately local. As the world strives for a more sustainable path in the years ahead, particularly beyond 2015, local voices and local action will be crucial elements in our quest… it is crucial to preserve and nurture political spaces where local authorities can have an impact on decision-making at the global level. Local authorities have significantly increased their engagement in global processes. The inputs of local leaders and municipal planners have never been more critical …”

Indeed this should be music to our ears since our project experiences in the Philippines and in Bohol particularly have validated the need to engage in more meaningful ways local communities, their organizations and the local government units to ensure the sustainability of  programs and projects.

Let me note here that localizing the global development agenda is not new in Bohol. Localizing the Monitoring System for MDGs was implemented in the province was launched in the  province  on 22 April 2005 and implemented for one year, from 16 March 2005 to 15 March 2006 in the municipalities of Tubigon, Bilar and Jagna with funding from EU and Oxfam Netherlands). Local and foreign NGOs implemented the project: Action for Economic Reforms, Process Bohol, Social Watch Philippines, La Aldea (a Spanish NGO), and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty.

It will be good to review the output of the project, Making a Difference (Localized Monitoring System on the MDGs), prior to the inception of the SDGs next year and gain lessons and insights on how to localize a global development agenda.  #SDGsbohol

NMP/31 July 2015/5.29 a.m.