SDG Trade-offs, Synergies, and Cohesive Implementation
In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) “as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity” (UNDP). Each goal describes a general objective, and within each goal, specific targets describe more detailed steps to be achieved toward that objective. There are indicators for each target, being variables and values measuring the achievement of each target.
When SDGs are implemented at local and national levels, synergies and trade-offs may emerge.
Synergies refer to circumstances in which efforts to achieve 1 SDG facilitate the achievement of other goals or targets (Alcamo et al 2020: 1562). Some strategies, known as synergy drivers, have been revealed to encourage synergistic benefits between SDG implementation at different scales (Alcamo et al 2020: 1562).
For example, national support for sustainable agricultural practices can assist in the simultaneous achievement of goals relating to hunger (SDG 2), health (SDG 3), land biodiversity (SDG 15), and sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) (Alcamo et al 2020: 1567). Governmental promotion of sustainable supply chain management clears the way for progress toward decent work (SDG 8), social justice, (SDG 16), land biodiversity (SDG15), global partnerships (SDG 17), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), reduction of climate risks (SDG 13), and healthier aquatic environments (SDG 14) (Alcamo et al 2020: 1568). Jurisdictional frameworks for land use governance may enable improvements in sustainable agriculture (SDG 2), forest conservation (SDG 15), and stronger institutions (SDG 16) (Alcamo et al 2020: 1568).
Trade-offs arise where attempts to achieve 1 SDG obstructions the achievement of other goals or targets (Alcamo et al 2020: 1562).
In Tanzania, for instance, the national push toward reducing poverty (SDG 1) by commercializing agriculture to increase food production resulted in the exploitation of fertile land at the expense of smallholders, thereby compromising the attainment of the goals to end hunger (SDG 2), promote decent work (SDG 8), and minimize inequality (SDG 10) (Alcamo et al 2020: 1563). In Ecuador, national prioritisation of growth (SDG 1) through oil extraction has contributed to destruction of the environment and worsened the health of poor, local, and/or Indigenous communities close to project sites (Alcamo et al 2020: 1563), thereby impeding the achievement of the goals relating to health (SDG 3) and better life on land (SDG 15).
In critical transition zones such as peri-urban areas and forest margins, SDG interactions are particularly important for their implementation (Alcamo et al 2020: 1562-3). Critical transition zones deserve scrutiny as they represent the convergence between fast-paced change and at-risk populations, compounded by the deterioration or depletion of natural ecosystems (Alcamo et al 2020: 1563).
In order to close the gap between national SDG planning and local implementation, national leadership must first engage with local stakeholders more closely and directly. Local communities, especially those affected by national policies, must be represented and participate in national planning and decision-making processes (Alcamo et al 2020: 1563). National government must also lend support for local implementation initiatives (Alcamo et al 2020: 1563-1564). To avoid grave environmental and social injustice resulting from divergences between national- and local-level implementation, priority must be given toward strengthening institutions such as by preserving the rule-of-law and tackling corruption (Alcamo et al 2020: 1564).
References:
Alcamo, J., J. Thompson, A. Alexander, A. Antoniades, I. Delabre, J. Dolley, F. Marshall, M. Menton, J. Middleton, and J.P. Scharlemann. (2020). ‘Analysing interactions among the sustainable development goals: findings and emerging issues from local and global studies’. Sustainability Science 15(6) 2020, pp.1561–1572.
United Nations Development Program (“UNDP”). ‘The SDGs In Action’. https://undp.org/sustainable-development-goals