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TOWARDS THE LOCALIZATION OF THE SDGs
6. Conclusions and way forward
The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals remain essential to build a more inclusive and sustainable future, and even more so in the present circumstances, when the global pandemic is having an immeasurable impact on the social and economic fabric of our communities. The 2030 Agenda should be the framework to guide the recovery process in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, in order to preserve the wellbeing of our populations and for the protection of our planet. Its ambitious goals represent the fundaments that breathe life into the concepts of solidarity and cooperation. This was the message of the UN Secretary-General in his report to the HLPF this year. This is the feeling of our constituency based on the experiences in cities and territories. The achievement of the SDGs, however, is at risk. In this context, LRGs from all over the world reaffirm their strong commitment with the Global Agendas (the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, the New Urban Agenda, the Sendai Framework, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda), as this report shows. LRGs are leading the expansion and amplification of the SDG localization movement, in all regions and continents. It is impressive how powerful regions, provinces, cities from all sizes, metropoles, intermediary cities and towns (from New York to Seoul, from the Åland region in Finland to the Azuay province in Ecuador, from Kisumu county in Kenya to Bishkek in the Kyrgyz Republic), are all making efforts to mainstream the SDGs into their local plans and policies, mobilizing their communities, even when their resources and capacities are limited, even in least developed countries such as Benin.
Towards the Localization of the SDGs, being the fourth edition of this report, demonstrates that there is a sort of shifting tide towards the localization of the SDGs. It underlines LRGs’ role on the front lines of COVID-19, keeping people safe and delivering vital services. It shows the important progress made in local plans and policies to mainstream the SDGs and related agendas. Progress is happening at different paces and with different scopes. It emerges from the bottom, driven from cities and territories with the support of their communities, and some other times it is propelled by national policies that acknowledge that “the SDG agenda is stronger if localization is stronger” (Uganda’s 2020 VNR). Yet, such progress still needs to be bolstered, strengthened and upscaled. The report presents a wide range of LRG contributions to “Bolstering local action to accelerate implementation” and participates in the annual assessment efforts at the HLPF 2020. It lists hundreds of experiences and policies: from responses to the COVID-19 pandemic to groundbreaking policies that contribute to sustainable urbanization and more balanced territorial development. It shows the contrast between the progress made by cities and regional governments in the global North as well as those in the global South. It highlights the challenges faced by cities in the regions where urban growth will be concentrated during the coming decade and where the battle for the achievement of the SDGs will be particularly challenging. It analyses the experience of LRGs in the 47 countries reporting this year, but also addresses many other countries. This conclusion summarises the key findings and proposes next steps for the Decade of Action.
