Pablo Gandara (International Urban Co-operation Asia Team Leader, seated) with the EU delegation at the Asia Pacific Urban Forum 7
HEARD of “The Future We want”? Most likely not. Yet, this is the wonderful Common Vision to build a better world for all together, born out of the UN Rio+ 20 Conference.
I have never heard of it myself until after being invited by the EU-sponsored International Urban Co-operation Asia Team leader, Pablo Gandara, to cover the UN-Habitat Asia Pacific Urban Forum in Penang, at the Spice Convention Centre on Oct 16-17.
There, I saw to my great amazement how “The Future We Want” welded an inspirational power that packed 4,000 top brass from all over Asia Pacific into one single group to see how to forge a better world together, at the Spice Convention Centre.
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The present and past people don’t want
“The Future We Want” implies a rotten present and a past they don’t want!
Nobody knows better than the UN folks about present and past incessant wars and conflicts of the 20th century with a total WW1 which prompted founding of the League of Nations in 1920 to promote peace before the great powers formed opposing alliances into Allies versus Axis in another total WW2 and slaughtered 80 million of each other by 1945.
Come 1950, the Korean War erupted, followed by the Indo China war in 1954, and a 10-year Vietnam War with 60,000 American soldiers and near one million Vietnamese dead.
Opening ceremony of UN Habitat Asia Pacific Urban Forum.
Wars and rancour
Endless wars continued thereafter in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, Syria, Yemen, a current upsurge of religious and nativist rancour, protectionist carriers and every-nation-for-itself policies.
Many people are sick and tired of all the spikes and hatred that had gone on and on. Socially, has the world been good?
One in seven were said to live in extreme poverty, one in nine under-nourished, 50 million boys and girls out of primary school, 73 million people unable to find a job – every day we are one step closer to heating up the earth beyond repair. By 2050, there will be 9 billion people on earth and things are likely to get worse, not better.
So, is that the future we want?
More wars, extreme poverty, religious and nativist rancour against immigrants and other religions, depletion of more more scarce resources, economic and financial collapses, job losses, and unwillingness of the status quo powers to co-ordinate their common actions to stamp out wars and rise to global challenges.
UN stand against the dark forces
Yet, it is the United Nations which stand against these dark forces and espoused a better future world most people want through concrete global actions and partnerships to implement what they call sustainable development goals (SDG) to reverse the rot.
The problem is most people are not even aware of UN’s sustainable development goals, much less giving UN the credit and support for what it is trying to do for the benefit of the human race.
Urban Resilience presentation session chaired by Michel Mouchiroud, EU Delegation to Thailand.
UN’s new path in simple language
But here it is, UN’s Sustainable Development Goals explained in the simplest language, by the United Nations Development Programme.
“It all went back to 2012 when leaders and citizens came together to put the world on a new path, a path of sustainable future for our planet to ensure that social, economic growth and a clean and secure environment go hand in hand to go beyond economic wealth as the only measure of progress.
“Sustainable development means meeting the needs of today and ensuring meeting those of generations to come, lifting the people out of poverty while protecting the planet’s resources.
“It means equal opportunity, decent jobs, safe drinking water, sufficient food, quality health care and education, access to affordable energy for all.
“Sustainable human development means a more secure world. This is the future we want. Vote for the future we want.”
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Japan-led discussion group.
Robust support from the European Union
The idea of sustainable development is not new. The UN had toyed with the concept since the 1980s.
As large regional hostilities and compounded by national and global financial crisis ripped the lives of nations apart, good people in the UN saw what happened and realised that to change to world, the nations need 1) a shared vision; 2) an all inclusive framework of actions and 3) clearly defined goals and targets.
So, after a UN Sustainable Development Summit held over three historic days between Sept 25-27, 2015, it ended in the adoption of Agenda 2030 and its famous but little known comprehensive list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals .
With UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) pushing hard at meeting these goals at its Asia Pacific Urban Forum 7 in Penang and the European Union asserted a strong and serious leadership role from both the EU Commission and EU-sponsored International Urban Co-operation (IUC) to support a robust partnership drive among nations and cities to achieve these 17 goals, I see hope for “The Future We Want”.
The 17 global Sustainable Development Goals few people know
Since so few people know what these 17 Sustainable Development Goals are, we list them here for everybody’s education and will come back to them more and more in future.
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life long learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
8. Promote sustainable inclusiveness and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries.
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production pattern.
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
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15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development.
‘The Future We Want’ in short
In conclusion, “The Future We Want” is a common vision for all nations.
It takes a renewal of political commitment which politicians should get to know, observe and perform.
It is a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. Worthy of note is SDG 16 which calls for an institutional framework for sustainable development.
Essentially this means effective governance at the local, sub-national, national, regional (Asia Pacific for example) and global levels representing the voices and interest of all for advancing sustainable development.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kow Yeow and Penang Mayor Yew Tung Seang at the UN Habitat Asia Pacific Urban Forum.
Emphasis on action
Nearly everybody I have heard stress the need for not only action but fast and serious action, as in the case of climate action, because of the sharp mean global temperature rise over the last two decades.
Penampang joins the big league of cities for SDG
My experience with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) of which Penampang District Council is now a member, is proof that it has a solid framework for action and follow-up. So there is little doubt that the Penampang District Council will eventually take serious actions to tackle its flood problem.
UN-Habitat officials led by Malaysian Maimunah Mohd Sharif (right): Organisers of the Asia Pacific Urban Forum.
Money is the key to SDG in the end
Lastly, the means of implementation – financing for development are indispensable for achieving full and effective translation of the sustainable development goals into tangible sustainable development outcomes.
Well, the three Penampang District Councillors, Freddy Ekol, Kevin Joibi and James Kenson who attended the 4th GCoM training module on finance in Seberang Parai, Penang, on Oct 14 and then at Equatorial Hotel on Oct 15, know the importance of money and the ability to secure funds is the ultimate secret on getting sustainable development goals done!