The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
1. SDGs came into effect in January 2016
2. All targets set under SDG to be met by 2030
3.These goals are set by United Nations.
What are the goals?
There are 17 goals which are built on the success of Millennium Development Goals. These goals are interconnected and achievement of one goal contributes to achievement of other goals. These 17 goals are:
- No poverty
- 836 million people still live in extreme poverty.
- About one in five persons in developing regions lives on less than US$1.25 per day.
- Most of the concentration of these poor people lies in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
- The aim of the goal is to end poverty, promote prosperity and people’s well-being while protecting the environment
- Zero hunger
- Globally, one in nine people in the world today (795 million) are undernourished.
- The SDGs aim to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, making sure all people – especially children – have access to sufficient and nutritious food all year round.
- Good health and well-being
- More than six million children die before their fifth birthday each year.
- Four out of every five deaths of children under age five occur in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.
- The aim is to achieve universal health coverage, and provide access to safe and affordable medicines and vaccines for all.
- Quality education
- More than half of children that have not enrolled in school live in sub-Saharan Africa.
- An estimated 50 per cent of out-of-school children of primary school age live in conflict-affected areas.
- 103 million youth worldwide lack basic literacy skills, and more than 60 per cent of them are women.
- This goal ensures that all girls and boys complete free primary and secondary schooling by 2030. It also aims to provide equal access to affordable vocational training, to eliminate gender and wealth disparities, and achieve universal access to a quality higher education
- Gender equality
- In sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania and Western Asia, girls still face barriers to entering both primary and secondary school.
- The SDGs aim to ensure that there is an end to discrimination against women and girls everywhere.
- Affording women equal rights to economic resources such as land and property are vital targets to realizing this goal. So is ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health
- Clean water and sanitation
- Around 663 million people are not having access to improved drinking water sources.
- At least 1.8 billion people globally use a source of drinking water that is fecally contaminated.
- By 2050, it is projected that at least one in four people will be affected by recurring water shortages.
- The goals aims to ensure universal access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030
- Affordable and clean energy
- It aims to ensure universal access to affordable electricity by 2030 by investing in clean energy sources such as solar, wind and thermal.
- Decent work and economic growth
- According to the International Labour Organization, more than 204 million people were unemployed in 2015.
- 470 million jobs are needed globally for new entrants to the labour market between 2016 and 2030.
- The SDGs promote sustained economic growth, higher levels of productivity and technological innovation. Encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation are key to this, as are effective measures to eradicate forced labour, slavery and human trafficking.
- With these targets in mind, the goal is to achieve full and productive employment, and decent work, for all women and men by 2030
- Industry, innovation and infrastructure
- Investment in infrastructure and innovation are crucial drivers of economic growth and development.
- With over half the world population now living in cities, mass transport and renewable energy are becoming ever more important, as are the growth of new industries and information and communication technologies.
- More than 4 billion people still do not have access to the Internet, and 90 percent are from the developing world. Bridging this digital divide is crucial to ensure equal access to information and knowledge, as well as foster innovation and entrepreneurship
- Reduced inequalities:
- Income inequality is a global problem that requires global solutions.
- The richest 10 percent earning up to 40 percent of total global income.
- The poorest 10 percent earn only between 2 percent and 7 percent of total global income.
- In developing countries, inequality has increased by 11 percent if we take into account the growth of population
- The Gini Coefficient of income inequality for India has risen from 33.4% in 2004 to 33.6% in 2011.
- Sustainable cities and communities
- More than half of the world’s population now live in urban areas. By 2050, that figure will have risen to 6.5 billion people – two-thirds of all humanity.
- Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces.
- In 1990, there were ten mega-cities with 10 million inhabitants or more. In 2014, there are 28 mega-cities, home to a total 453 million people.
- Making cities safe and sustainable means ensuring access to safe and affordable housing, and upgrading slum settlements.
- Responsible consumption and production
- Achieving economic growth and sustainable development requires that we urgently reduce our ecological footprint by changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources
- Agriculture is the biggest user of water worldwide, and irrigation now claims close to 70 percent of all freshwater for human use.
- The efficient management of our shared natural resources, and the way we dispose of toxic waste and pollutants, are important targets to achieve this goal.
- Encouraging industries, businesses and consumers to recycle and reduce waste is equally important, as is supporting developing countries to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption by 2030.
- Climate action
- Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, and are now more than 50 percent higher than their 1990 level.
- The annual average losses from earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones and flooding amount to hundreds of billions of dollars, requiring an investment of US$6 billion annually in disaster risk management alone
- The goal aims to mobilize $100 billion annually by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries and help mitigate climate-related disasters.
- Life below water
- Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods.
- 30 percent of the world’s fish stocks overexploited, reaching below the level at which they can produce sustainable yields
- Oceans also absorb about 30 percent of the carbon dioxide produced by humans, and we are seeing a 26 percent rise in ocean acidification since the beginning of the industrial revolution
- The SDGs aim to sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems from pollution, as well as address the impacts of ocean acidification
- By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information
- Life on land
- Plant life provides 80 percent of our human diet, and we rely on agriculture as an important economic resource and means of development
- Forests account for 30 percent of the Earth’s surface, providing vital habitats for millions of species and important sources for clean air and water; as well as being crucial for combating climate change
- Unprecedented land degradation, and the loss of arable land at 30 to 35 times the historical rate.
- Drought and desertification is also on the rise each year, amounting to the loss of 12 million hectares and affects poor communities globally.
- Of the 8,300 animal breeds known, 8 percent are extinct and 22 percent are at risk of extinction.
- The SDGs aim to conserve and restore the use of terrestrial ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, drylands and mountains by 2020
- Peace, justice and strong institutions
- Without peace, stability, human rights and effective governance, based on the rule of law – we cannot hope for sustainable development
- The SDGs aim to significantly reduce all forms of violence, and work with governments and communities to find lasting solutions to conflict and insecurity
- By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
- Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion cost some US $1.26 trillion for developing countries per year; this amount of money could be used to lift those who are living on less than $1.25 a day above $1.25 for at least six years
- Partnership for the goals
- The SDGs can only be realized with a strong commitment to global partnership and cooperation
- The goals aim to enhance North-South and South-South cooperation by supporting national plans to achieve all the targets
- Promoting international trade, and helping developing countries increase their exports, is all part of achieving a universal rules-based and equitable trading system that is fair and open, and benefits all.
Role of UNDP in Sustainable Development Goals
UN’s Development arm, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has worked with the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) in developing a strategy for effective and coherent implementation support of the new sustainable development agenda under the acronym ‘MAPS’ (Mainstreaming, Acceleration, and Policy Support)
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References
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html