Zahurul Alam :
(From previous issue)
So, in the implementation of the agendas, the countries need to strive for attaining program ‘maximum’ to attain at least program ‘minimum’. Important to note as well that quantity does not talk about the quality always. For example, enrollment and drop outs in education can well be measured. However, quality of education is a relative term since the standards are not universal. However, when we take the challenge of addressing global milestones and fulfilling global agenda, there must be room for compromising with certain criteria. A general rule to be considered in such case is that quality follows quantity. An extremely hungry person rarely would bother about the manner of cooking or table manner, while taking food after a long interval.
Thus, compromises are inevitable at certain points of time and in certain conditions.
The MDG accomplishment deadline is December 2015, which supposedly will automatically be followed by the SDGs. A close look into both the documents unveils the fact that both have poverty alleviation as the central theme.
Inaccomplishing that mission, the SDGs have broadened the sphere ofactivities and involvements geographically, methodologically and thematically. From such perspective, the SDGs can be defined as the improved version of the MDGs.The SDGs suggest for greater responsibilities of the nations in peace keeping, human rights, justice and good governance, gender equality, health, capacity building and partnerships at the inter and intra state levels.
The implementation of MDGs must have been and the SDGs must be challenging for the states, especially for those in the ‘Third World’in view of development’s inalienable affiliation to political stability, resource availability, level of corruption, resource management capacity, foreign intervention and dictates, decision making and implementation capacity of the national governments, level of democracy and governance, the capacity and strength of the private sector and the civil society to provide assistance to long termdevelopmental programs.
Current global political scenario also suggests for gaining and sustaining the capacity of a nation to combat terrorism and sustain that capacity for attaining sustainable development.
As is seen from the Table, at least six goals of the SDGs are in fact the continuation of the MDGs. The other goals, especially those related to major environmental damages and degradations are matters that should be taken care by those countries who contribute most to environmental degradation.
It is the developed countries, who must be proactively dealing with the environmental issues much more compared to the rest of the world.
As regards obligatory aspect of the SDGs and MDGs, the sovereign countries are under no compulsion to comply with any of the goals or the agendas what so ever. Each nation selects its own path of development independently.
The practicalities may be different in many cases, depending on the international politics and dominating attitude of the powerful countries.
Those are the major bottlenecks against development, freedom, independence, human rights and sovereignty of the states at the end of the day. Which country will accommodate what part of the SDGs and up to what extent, must completely depend on the decision of that individual country.
Emphasizing environmental and climatic issues in SDGs, coupled with other sustainability issues is important at the backdrop of the adversities created by indiscriminate use of technology. “Three out of four humanitarian disasters are now climate-related,”.. Ban Ki-Moon said. “Such disasters can wipe out decades of development….”
Investing in climate resilience could “save 23,000 lives a year, and up to $2 billion in asset losses.” The very concept of sustainable development that suggests judicious resource use considering requirements of future generations had so far been grossly ignored.
Conservation, creating scopes for increasing resources, maintaining cleanliness of the environment, eliminating causes of environmental damage, climate change impacts and many other issues and exploration of resources from the sea as substitutes for land based resources – all these issues have been provided importance in SDGs.
One of the most important parts of the SDGs is its suggestion to involve the developed nationsin the process of mitigating environmental adversities with reasonable compensation package: “Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible” promulgates SDG.
(Zahurul Alam, Ph.D is President, Governance and Rights Centre (GRC))
(Concluded)
