The imbalance between our ideals and our way of living has put sustainable development on the line. With this thought in mind, the United Nations General Assembly drafted 17 global goals in 2015 intending to achieve them by 2030. These goals are known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals aim to achieve no poverty, zero hunger, quality education, and gender equality, among others.
As a result of this resolution by the UN General Assembly, nations all over the world have started taking global initiatives for sustainable development. But how do we assess the progress made by the countries, if any? So, June 2018 saw the birth of the online publication SDG-Tracker. Based at the University of Oxford and on the Our World in Data database, the SDG-Tracker monitors the progress made by the nations.
The UN has resolved to sustain our present to ensure a future.
Some global law initiatives for sustainable development are as follows:
- The NITI Aayog, established by the Government of India, is a step in the direction of sustainable development. March of 2018 also saw Haryana becoming the first state of India with its annual budget focused on SDGs.
- To monitor and make progress towards the SDGs, Bangladesh publishes the Development Mirror.
- The Baltic 2030 Action Plan is the result of the global law initiatives for sustainable development of the Baltic nations, via the Council of the Baltic Sea States.
- Bhutan has taken a holistic approach towards attaining the SDGs. It is currently in pursuit of Gross National Happiness (GNH) which has its goals aligned with those of SDGs.
Some of the independent global initiatives for sustainable development are as follows:
- Independent campaigns such as “Project Everyone” are also a part of the global efforts for pursuing the SDGs. This campaign has received support from the UN Agencies, which are a part of the United Nations Development Group.
- The “Le Temps Presse” festival in Paris uses cinematography as its medium to spread awareness about the SDGs.
Educating people about the SDGs will help provide nations with the tools to achieve them. Some of the free online courses that teach people about global initiatives for sustainable development are as follows:
- The challenges of global poverty’ course provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology..
- The ‘Organic farming for sustainable agricultural production’ course offered by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and NPTEL is available on Swayam.
- ‘An introduction to global Health’ course by the University of Copenhagen.
- ‘The best start in life: Early Childhood Development for Sustainable development’ offered by SDG Academy.
- The ‘Understanding Violence Against Women: Myths and Realities’ offered by the University of Strathclyde.
The list of courses is not exhaustive, and neither are our responsibilities to attain the SDGs. It is high time we understand the predicament we are in, and take the necessary remedial steps.
