A New Generation of Partnerships for a Sustainable Future without Poverty
By Patrick Haverman, UNDP Asia-Pacific Partnerships Advisor
As I weave between the cars in the sweltering Bangkok traffic, it’s easy to wonder whether biking to work and being vegetarian will ever be enough to halt rising temperatures and climate change. It’s easy to feel deflated in a world consuming its future at a rate that nature cannot replenish. It takes someone like Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old climate champion from Sweden, to remind us that each of us can make a difference.
The truth is, the “wins” rarely make it to the headlines.
This is one of the phenomenal changes in quality of life that have happened during the past 30 years under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). And these changes were made possible by millions of people, governments and NGOs working together.
But we realized that much more needs to be done and we needed a new plan.
Building on the successes of the MDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the global agenda to tackle the most pressing environmental, social and economic challenges we are facing today.
They are a complex set of interconnected goals and at the global level, total investments of 5 to 7 trillion USD per year is needed to achieve the SDGs. In developing countries this means investments in basic infrastructure, food security, health, education and climate change mitigation and adaptation. This is key particularly in Asia that is forecast to remain the world’s fastest growing region through 2030 with major infrastructure projects taking place.
The SDGs can only become reality through integrated solutions, and UNDP, in the role of an SDG integrator, is working regionally and locally to mobilize funds to support financing and implementation of the SDGs.
We also need an “all on board” approach and that is why we’re partnering with other UN agencies, governments, private sector, civil society organizations, and financial institutions to ensure we leave a better planet for future generations.
A great case in point is our collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a major financier for infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region, with whom UNDP has a long history of working together in the ground in areas like Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh where we have long supported community development, and now we have teamed up for a sustainable resource project, and in Kazakhstan where we are working to push the SDG agenda forward.
Supporting sustainable development is key particularly in Asia that is forecast to remain the world’s fastest growing region through 2030 with major infrastructure projects planned for the coming decade. If we build green and climate friendly infrastructure, and support clean energy and innovative financing, everyone will benefit. To achieve the SDGs, we all need to collectively step up and forge a new generation of partnerships that brings together our strengths and advantages.
In fact, this week in Washington DC, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and ADB President Takehiko Nakao will sign a renewed MOU to strengthen our partnership. We will together work for green and climate friendly infrastructure, clean energy and support innovative financing. With UNDP in the role of an SDG integrator and ADB as a key funding partner, we are looking forward to supporting the progress towards achieving the SDGs.
And as for me, I keep doing the small things like cycling to work everyday, and push for a new generation of partnerships that can take care of the ‘big things’ for development in the region.
