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TOWARDS THE LOCALIZATION OF THE SDGs
Methodology This year’s edition of Towards the Localization of the SDGs comes at a critical juncture in the effort to achieve the SDGs. As noted in the UN Secretary-General’s Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals report, the COVID-19 crisis has halted, or reverted, much of the progress made over the past 6 years. The extent of the recoil is still unknown and will be largely determined by the strategies implemented to recover from the crisis.1 The present report therefore seeks to echo the voices of LRGs and their call for a sustainable and resilient recovery that promotes economic, social and environmental sustainability as the means for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Spurred on by the pandemic, the second year of the decade of action for sustainable development has highlighted the critical role played by LRGs in building an inclusive path towards delivery of the SDGs. This report analyses and presents the concrete ways in which LRGs have contributed to addressing the COVID-19 crisis on the ground, while trying to ensure—and at times even advance—the delivery of the SDGs, despite the many challenges faced. The evidence presented in this report is grounded in the experiences shared by LRGs and their associations via the 2021 “Survey on the role
of LRGs and their associations in the localization of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda” (see Box 2.1). Further first-hand evidence has been drawn from subnational SDG monitoring and reporting efforts, which—quite remarkably—have accelerated in recent years. In this regard, two specific modalities should be distinguished. On the one land, this report builds upon efforts undertaken in previous years regarding the compilation of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs); this initiative continues to expand across the world.2 The analysis presented in the first volume of the Guidelines for Voluntary Local Reviews, by UCLG and UN-Habitat, has been complemented with a further analysis of the VLRs published in 2021.3 The present report also reflects the key debates arising from the second volume of the Guidelines for Voluntary Local Reviews, which is to be launched during the 2021 HLPF. Its highlights include how to leverage the link between national and local reporting processes in order to accelerate SDG implementation. On the other hand, this report also weaves in the 15 Voluntary Subnational Reviews (VSRs) that were undertaken between 2020 and 2021.4 Since 2020, UCLG has been promoting the elaboration of VSRs in countries that are reporting to the HLPF. These subnational reviews are drafted
BOX 2.1
Surveys collected by the GTF/UCLG in 2021 For the preparation of this year’s edition of Towards the Localization of the SDGs, the GTF has collected 263 surveys, as opposed to the 204 collected in 2020. The surveys received have come from 92 different countries, 28 of which are reporting this year. Of the 263 surveys, 94 correspond to answers from LGAs (24 from reporting countries); 159 to answers from LRGs (including 5 from reporting countries that are not covered by the answers from the LGAs) and 10 to responses from partners. Most of the replies came from Europe (94 surveys), followed by Latin America (53), Africa (37), Eurasia (29), Asia-Pacific (28), and Middle East and West Asia (19). In Africa, most replies come from LGAs. In ASPAC, answers from LGAs and LRGs are balanced. In Eurasia, most replies come from Russian LRGs (26). In Europe, 34 LGAs from 28 countries have responded (plus NALAS: a subregional network from South-East Europe). In Latin America, the majority of the replies come from LRGs (34), particularly from Argentina and Brazil, and include those of 14 LGAs from 13 countries. In MEWA, the majority of the replies come from Turkish (10 of 19) and Palestinian LRGs (4). In NORAM, all 3 replies come from Canada.
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