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Mother Pelican
A Journal of Solidarity and Sustainability

Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2017
Luis T. Gutiérrez, Editor
Home Page
Front Page

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Advances in Sustainable Development

SUMMARY & OUTLINE

This supplement attempts to be a radar screen for recent/emerging/forthcoming advances in sustainable development. In selecting items for this supplementary page, priority is given to information about publications and tools with an educational and human-centric focus. This update includes the following reminders that sustainable development has a human face:

1. Suggestions for Prayer, Study, and Action
2. News, Publications, Tools, and Conferences
3. Advances in Sustainable Development
4. Advances in Integral Human Development
5. Advances in Integrated Sustainable Development
6. Sustainability Games, Databases, and Knowledgebases
7. Sustainable Development Measures and Indicators
8. Sustainable Development Modeling and Simulation
9. Fostering Sustainability in the International Community
Note: Items in this page are updated as information is received and as time permits. If the reader knows about new pubs/tools that should be announced in this page, please write to the Editor.

SDGs2015+BANNER.jpg

POST-2015 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations

Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Finalized text for adoption, United Nations, 1 August 2015

Historic New Sustainable Development Agenda Unanimously Adopted by 193 UN Members, United Nations, 25 September 2015

Libraries and Implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda, International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), 8 December 2015

An Action Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals, Douglas Frantz, OECD, 27 April 2016

Framework for Understanding SDG Interactions, Draft, ICSU, June 2016

New tool for designing SDG strategies released , Millennium Institute, 10 August 2016

For the latest on the SDGs, visit the Post-2015 and Future Goals Tracker and DELIVER2030 websites, and the SDG Targets Tracker

1. Suggestions for Prayer, Study, and Action

PRAYER

Prayer for Action in 2017

01.17.Song.of.Angels.jpg

Now the Work of Christmas Begins

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flock,
the work of Christmas begins:
to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner,
to rebuild nations, to bring peace among all,
To make music in the heart.

Howard Thurman (1899-1981)
African-American theologian, educator, and civil rights leader

STUDY

Futures Research & Conscious Evolution

11.16.JourneyEarthland.jpg
Journey to Earthland
The Great Transition to Planetary Civilization

Paul Raskin
Great Transition Initiative
Tellus Institute, 2016

A global scenario pioneer charts a path to an organic planetary civilization, a vision that opens before us as both possibility and exigency in an interdependent and dangerous century.

ACTION

Local and Global Action for the Common Good

The Elders

The Elders are an independent group of global leaders working together for peace and human rights. Contact them and support their work for the common good. See personal stories of people making a difference in their communities.
DO SOMETHING!


2. News, Publications, Tools, and Conferences

NEWS

cooltexticonnews


Sustainability Science (PNAS)


Elementa:
Science of the Anthopocene


The Anthropocene Review


SAPIENS


Environmental Research Letters


Progress in Industrial Ecology


Environmental Leader


Sustainable Development Magazine


Monthly Energy Review


The Environment Nexus


Energy and Climate News


BURN Energy Journal


Environmental News Network


Planet Ark
World Environmental News


Mother Earth News


Climate Action News


Sustainable Development Media


World Pulse


SustainabiliTank


Environmental Science & Technology


EcoWatch


WiserEarth News


New Internationalist


The Global Journal


Trade & Environment Nexus


Yes! Magazine


Human Development News


Science Daily
Earth & Climate News
Sustainability News
Science & Society News


International Institute for
Sustainable Development (IISD)
Reporting Services

Policy-Strategy Coverage

Sustainable Development Policy & Practice
Sustainable Development - Small Islands
Biodiversity Policy & Practice
Climate Change Policy & Practice
Energy Policy Issues
Multilateral Environmental Agreements
Earth Negotiations Bulletin

Theme Coverage

Sustainable Development
Biodiveristy & Wildlife
Chemicals Management
Climate & Atmosphere
Forests - Deserts - Land
Human Development
Intergovernmental Organizations
Trade & Investment
Water - Oceand - Wetlands

Regional Coverage

Africa
Asia
Europe
Lating America & Caribbean
Near East
North America
South West Pacific

Rio+20 Coverage

UNCSDRIOPLUS20
Sustainable Development Conference
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
4-6 June 2012


United Nations News Service
Rio+20: Making it Happen
UN Sustainable Development News
UN Gender Equality News


Value News Network


Catholic News Service


Anglican Communion News Service


Ekklesia Christian News Bulletin


Religion News Service


LiveScience News


Inter Press Service (PSI)


Triple Bottom Line
CSR News


The Progress Report


Global Health News


Kosmos Journal


Environment & Technology
Scholarly Journals

Environment & Society Section
American Sociological Association


ELDIS NEWSFEEDS

Eldis Development Newsfeeds

General - all subjects

Newsfeeds by Subject

Ageing populations
Agriculture
Aid and debt
Children and young people
Climate Change
Climate adaptation
Conflict
Corporate responsibility
Education
Environment
Finance policy
Food security
Gender
Globalisation
Governance
HIV and AIDS
Health
Health systems
ICT for development
Influencing policy
Jobs
Jobs, Events and Announcements
Livelihoods
MDGs
Manuals and toolkits
Migration
Participation
Poverty
Trade policy

Newsfeeds by Region

Africa
East Asia and Pacific
Latin America and Caribbean
Middle East and North Africa
South Asia

PUBLICATIONS

cooltexticonpubs


World Energy Outlook 2016
IEA, November 2016


Emissions Gap Report 2016
UNEP, November 2016


Atlas of the Human Planet 2016
Publications Office of the European Union
October 2016


Living Planet Report 2016
World Wildlife Fund, 2016


State of the World Population 2016
UNFPA, October 2016


Pathways to Urban Sustainability
National Academies USA, October 2016


State of Nature 2016
RSPB, UK, September 2016


World Population Data Sheet 2016
Population Reference Bureau, 2016


Frontiers in Decadal Climate Variability
National Academy of Sciences
July 2016


Annual Energy Outlook 2016
Energy Information Administration
July 2016


The Future of Jobs
World Economic Forum, July 2016


State of the World's Children
UNICEF, June 2016


Pollution in People
Environmental Working Group
June 2016


2016 Multidimensional Poverty Index
Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative
June 2016


2016 Global Peace Index
Institute for Economics and Peace
June 2016


The Price of Privilege
ActionAid, April 2016


Global Trends in
Renewable Energy Investment

UNEP, March 2016


Next Generation Earth System Prediction
NAS, March 2016


World Happiness Report
UNSDSN, 20 March 2016


One Humanity: Shared Responsibility
UN Secretary General
World Humanitarian Summit
May 2016 (Draft)


Global Trends & Opportunities
2016 and Beyond

SustainAbility, February 2016


Transitioning Toward Sustainability:
Advancing the Scientific Foundation

National Academy of Sciences
January 2016


World Economic
Situation and Prospects

UNDESA & UNCTAD, January 2016


Automation & Connectivity:
The Fourth Industrial Revolution

UBS/WEF, January 2016


Digital Dividends
World Development Report 2016

World Bank, January 2016


Global Risks Report 2016
World Economic Forum (WEF)
January 2016


Dirty Toys Made in China
Global Labor and Human Rights
December 2015


Call for an Ethical Framework for Climate Services
WMO, 12 November 2015


2015 Energy Trilemma Index
World Energy Council, November 2015


Global Wealth Report 2015
Credit Suisse, October 2015


The Challenge of Resilience
in a Globalised World

Joint Research Centre, EU, October 2015


Climate Change and the U.S. Energy Sector
US Department of Energy, October 2015


Pathways to Deep Decarbonization
UN SDSN, October 2015


Playing to Win:
The New Global Competition
for Corporate Profits

McKinsey Global Institute, September 2015


America's Future:
Environmental Research and Education
for a Thriving Century

NSF, September 2015


2015-16 State of the Future
Jerome C. Glenn, Elizabeth Florescu, et al
Millennium Project, 2015


Transforming our World: The 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development
Finalized text for adoption,
United Nations, 1 August 2015


World Water Development Report
United Nations, July 2015


World Population Prospects
United Nations, July 2015


Climate Change: A Risk Assessment
Centre for Science and Policy
Cambridge University, July 2015


Democratic Equality, Economic Inequality,
and the Earth Charter

Steven C. Rockefeller
Earth Charter, 29 June 2015


Climate Change in the United States:
Benefits of Global Action

EPA, June 2015


Renewables 2015
Global Status Report

REN21, June 2015


Demographic Vulnerability Report
Population Institute, June 2015


FAO and Post-2015:
Nourishing People,
Nourishing the Planet

FAO, May 2015


Global Financial Stability Report
IMF, April 2015


World Happiness Report
United Nations, April 2015


National Footprint Accounts
Global Footprint Network, March 2015


Health & Fracking:
Impacts & Opportunity Costs

MEDACT, March 2015


Global Sustainable Investment
Clean Technica, 26 February 2015


World Report 2015
Human Rights Watch, 12 February 2015


Short-Term Renewable Energy Outlook
U.S. EIA, 10 February 2015


Global Risks Report 2015
WEF, January 2015


World Energy Outlook 2014
IEA, 12 November 2014


Beyond Downscaling:
A Bottom-Up Approach
to Climate Adaptation
for Water Resources Management
AGWA, October 2014


2014 Global Hunger Index
IFPRI, October 2014


The New Climate Economy
United Nations, September 2014


Living Planet Report 2014
Global Footprint Network, September 2014


Sustainable Development Goals
and Inclusive Development

UNU-IAS, September 2014


Sustainable Development Goals
and Indicators for a Small Planet
Part II: Measuring Sustainability

ASEF, August 2014


The Plain Language Guide
to Rio+20: Preparing for the
New Development Agenda

Felix Dodds et al, 28 July 2014


Human Development Report 2014
UNDP, 24 July 2014


Millennium Development Goals
Report 2014

UNDP, 7 July 2014


Prototype
Global Sustainable Development
Report (GSDR)

UN DSD, 1 July 2014


Agreeing on Robust Decisions:
New processes for decision making
under deep uncertainty

World Bank, June 2014


Early Childhood Development:
The Foundation of
Sustainable Human Development
for 2015 and Beyond

UN SDSN, 4 May 2014


What’s In A Name?
Global Warming vs Climate Change

Yale Environment, May 2014


World Health Statistics 2014
WHO, 2014


The Arctic in the Anthropocene:
Emerging Research Questions
, National Academy of Sciences, 2014


Annual Energy Outlook 2014
US EIA, 30 April 2014


Global Trends in
Renewable Energy Investment 2014

UNEP-Bloomberg, April 2014


International Human Development Program
Annual Report 2013

IHDP, April 2014


Momentum for Change 2013
UNFCCC, 2014


Global Gender Gap Index 2013
WEF, April 2014


NAPAs and NAPs in
Least Developed Countries

Gabrielle Kissinger & Thinley Namgyel
ECBI, March 2014


Water & Energy 2014
United Nations, 21 March 2014


Inclusive and Sustainable
Industrial Development

UNIDO, March 2014


What We Know:
The Reality, Risks, and Response
to Climate Change

AAAS, March 2014


The State of Natural Capital
UK NCC, March 2014


Women's Lives and Challenges:
Equality and Empowerment since 2000

USAID, March 2014


Climate Change: Evidence & Causes
NAS/RS, 27 February 2014


Beyond 2014 Global Report
ICPD, 16 February 2014


World Youth Report 2013:
Youth Migration and Development

UN-DESA, 14 February 2014


State of the World's Children 2014
UNICEF, January 2014


Assessing
Global Land Use:
Balancing Consumption
with Sustainable Supply

UNEP-IRP, January 2014


Sustainability Investment Yearbook 2014
RobecoSAM, January 2014


TOOLS & DATABASES

cooltexticontools


EXIOBASE
Input-Output Tables for
Regional Footprint Analysis

NTNU/TNO/SERI, January 2015


Sustainable Society Index 2014
SSI, 17 December 2014


CAIT Equity Explorer
WRI, October 20114


WBCSD Tools Box


Post-2015 SDGs Target Database
Project on Sustainability Transformation
Ministry of the Environment, Japan


Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA)
Sustainable Development Evaluation Tool

UNDP, 16 September 2014


2014 Global Peace Index (GPI)
Institute for Economics and Peace, 2014


UN CC: Learn Climate Change
United Nations, 2014


Global Consumption Database
World Bank, 2014


LEAP Scenario Explorer:
Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning

Stockholm Environmental Institute, 2014


Momentum for Change Interactive
UNFCCC, 2014


Sustainable Human Development Index (SHDI)
IFMR LEAD, Tamil Nadu, India


Environment & Gender Index (EGI)
IUCN


Livelihood Strategies
Knowledge Bank

Development Cafe


Global Forest Watch System
World Resources Institute


WomanStats & World Maps
WomanStats Project


EUREAPA
Scenario Modelling and Policy Assessment Tool

European Union


OPEN EUOne Planet Economy Network
European Union


Constitutional Gender Database
UN Women


OpenGeoSci Maps
GeoScience World


EOSDIS
Earth Data Website

NASA


2013 Legatum Prosperity Index
Legatum Institute


Global Slavery Index 2013
Walk Free Foundation


Food Policy Network Resource List
School of Public Health
Johns Hopkins University


Water Change Modelling System
WCMS, EU LIFE Project


Earth Charter Virtual Library
Earth Charter Initiative


Resource & Documentation Centre
European Gender Equality Institute


Climate Justice Research Database
Mary Robinson Foundation


IPCC Data
Distribution Centre

Climate Data, Simulations, and Synthesis
Data on Related Socio-Economic Factors
UN IPCC


Nitrogen Footprint Calculator
ECN & Oxford University


Exploring Oil Data
Open Oil


Sustainability SWOT (sSWOT) Analysis Tool
World Resources Institute


CAIT Climate Data Explorer
World Resources Institute


Sustainable Technologies Databases
EWBI International


Renewable Energy Interactive Map
REN21


Global Transition to a New Economy
Interactive Map

New Economics Institute


Map of Climate Think Tanks
ICCG


Energy Access Interactive Tool
IIASA


Long Range Energy Alternatives
Planning System (LEAP)

SEI Energy Community


Industrial Efficiency Policy Database
IETD


Technology Cost Database for Renewables
NREL


Mapping the Global Transition
to a New Economy

New Economics Institute


Open Source Software for
Crowdsourcing for Energy Analysis

UNIDO


Adaptation Support Tool
EU EEA


Terra Populus:
Integrated Data on
Population and Environment

NSF & University of Minnesota


Environmental Performance Index
Interactive Map & Database

EPI, Yale University


Environmental Data Explorer
UNEP


Clean Energy Information Portal
REEGLE


Mapping the Impacts of Climate Change
CGDEV


Eye on Earth
Global Mapping

EU EEA


Database of Actions on Adaptation
to Climate Change

UNFCCC


Climate Scoreboard
Climate Interactive


Calculator of the
Carbon Footprint of Nations

NTNU


Geospatial Toolkit (GsT) for
Integrated Resource Assessment

NREL


Climate Impact Equity Lens (CIEL)
Stockholm Environment Institute


Global Adaptation Index
Global Adaptation Institute


Gridded Population of the World
CIESIN, Columbia University


The New eAtlas of Gender
World Bank


Statistics and Tools
for Gender Analysis

World Bank


Gender Statistics Database
World Bank


Live World Data
The Venus Project


RETScreen
Clean Energy Analysis Software

RETScreen International


IGES CDM Methodology Parameter Data
IGES


IGES Emission Reductions Calculation Sheet
IGES


OECD Sustainable Manufacturing Toolkit
OECD


OECD Family Database
OECD


OECD Social Expenditure Database
OECD


Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services
and Tradeoffs (InVEST)

Natural Capital Project


Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC)
NASA & Columbia University


IGES GHG Database
IGES


Emission Factors Database
Ecometrica


FICAT
Forestry Industry Carbon Assessment Tool
Green Resources, Tanzania


Agent-based Computational Economics
of the Global Energy System

ACEGES


Climate Hot Map
Union of Concerned Scientists


Solar Thermal Barometer
EurObserv-ER


BioCarbonTracker
Ecometrica


FORMA
Forest Monitoring for Action
CGDEV


WEAP
Water Evaluation And Planning System
WEAP21


GLTN
Global Land Tool Network
UN-HABITAT


UN-Energy Knowledge Network
including
Multi-dimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI)
and Energy Development Index (EDI)
UNIDO


Measuring Energy Poverty
Visualization Platform

STATPLANET & UNIDO


United Nations Data
UN Statistics Database
UN MDG Indicators
UN Human Development Index (HDI)


Humanity's Footprint Data
Ecological Footprint
Footprint for Nations
Footprint for Cities
Footprint for Business
Carbon Footprint
Personal Footprint
Footprint & Biodiversity
Footprint & Human Development


Earth Policy Institute Data Sets
Population, Health, and Society
Natural Systems
Climate Change
Energy Resources
Transportation Systems
Food and Agriculture
Economics & Development


World Bank
World Development Indicators (WDI)
World Bank


Sustainable Society Index
StatPlanet Interactive Map


Interactive Mapping of
Population and Climate Change

Population Action International


Global Advocates Toolbox
Population Action International


Teaching and Learning
for a Sustainable Future:
Dissemination and Training Toolbox

UNESCO


Economic Input-Output
Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA)

Green Design Institute
Carnegie Mellon University


CONFERENCES & JOURNALS

cooltexticonconf


Conference Alerts
Find Conferences Worldwide
by Topic, Country, or Keywords.



Calls for Papers
Find Calls for Papers Worldwide
by Specialization, Country, or Keywords.



Journal Articles
The latest Tables of Contents
from thousands of scholarly journals
Search by journal title, ISNN, or keywords


Selected Announcements


Sixth World Sustainability Forum
WSF2017, Cape Town, South Africa
27-28 January 2017
Contact: conferences@mdpi.com


35th International Conference
of the System Dynamics Society

Cambridge, Massachusetts USA
16-20 July 2017
Contact: Roberta Spencer


Sustainability Transformations
Future Earth
University of Dundee, Scotland, UK
August 30-September 1, 2017
Contact: contact@futureearth.org


17th Congress of the
Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN)

Portuguese National Parliament
Lisboa, Portugal
25-27 September 2017
Contact: BIEN 2017

3. Advances in Sustainable Development

Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals:
Where to Start?

Nienke Palstra and Ruth Fuller

Originally published in Deliver 2030, 2 November 2016
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION

The SDGs – an agenda for change

The Sustainable Development Goals are an integrated and indivisible package of goals and targets that should be delivered for all people in all countries. Never before has a global agreement been so encompassing and had such potential to drive change. But with 17 interlinked goals and 169 targets, knowing where to start is a challenge!

We’ve outlined some risks and recommendations on the prickly issues of prioritising, phasing and indivisibility. It summarises a paper that goes into more detail here.

5 Risks:
  1. Cherry picking: In prioritising some SDGs over others, there is a risk that governments, private sector companies and other stakeholders adopt a ‘pick and choose’ approach where they pick easy wins and choose to avoid more controversial aspects of the agenda.
  2. ‘SDGs washing’ by the private sector: Private sector companies may fund social or environmental projects while stopping short of changes to their business practices. This could lead to a situation where businesses report on delivering some SDGs while other aspects of their business practices could undermine other goal areas.  For example, a company that funds small-scale community health projects while contributing to major environmental damage in its everyday business.
  3. Raising the bar: We should be mindful of developed countries prioritising issues which are easier to achieve and overstating their accomplishments, while avoiding goal areas that are more challenging in their context (e.g. energy and sustainable production and consumption).  It is important to remember the SDGs and their targets are a floor and not a ceiling.
  4. ‘Siloed’ approach: The format of the goals risks creating a ‘siloed’ response, but in reality the progress on one goal often depends on progress in another area. Many important issues, such as gender equality, violence, health, climate change, and sustainable consumption and production, cut across different goals and targets.
  5. Policy coherence for sustainable development gets missed:Focusing on certain goals may have unintended consequences and undermine progress in other areas – whether domestically or globally. Only by approaching the SDGs in an integrated way will these policy coherence and domestic-global issues be identified and addressed.
5 Recommendations:
  1. Informed prioritisation: For prioritisation to be meaningful, it should be backed by clear rationale and evidence, countries should first assess their status in relation to goals and targets. Analysing the linkages between goals and targets and taking an integrated approach should always be a starting point.
  2. Start with the most transformational goals and targets: Where a phased approach is needed, countries should start with the goals and targets which require urgent action and have the potential to be most transformative given their national context. This looks different for different countries.
  3. Leave no one behind:  To achieve the goals, it will not be enough to prioritise the majority of people, while failing to deliver for those who are socially excluded. Governments should ensure progress against the SDGs is made for all people, particularly marginalised groups, even if it is more difficult or expensive.
  4. National plan and consultation: Governments should set out national plans for SDGs implementation, with an explicit rationale for tackling the most transformative goals. National implementation plans should be developed openly and transparently in collaboration with civil society and the private sector and be informed by public and parliamentary consultation.
  5. Working with partners to address the goals: While the SDGs need to be implemented as a whole, not every stakeholder needs to address every goal and target. Working strategically with partners, including through new multi-stakeholder partnerships, could ensure that gaps are covered and the linkages between goals understood. This would help ensure the goals are addressed comprehensively but with different organisations retaining their specialisms and expertise.
Integration is key

The SDGs are the most ambitious and comprehensive global agenda ever to have been agreed.  If implemented in their entirety they stand to transform our world to be safer, fairer and healthier. Approaches to implementation need to be pragmatic but the principles of integration and indivisibility must be upheld in any process of prioritisation and phasing goals and targets.


Nienke Palstra is Policy and Advocacy Adviser (Child Protection) at UNICEF UK. Ruth Fuller is Policy Advisor (International Development) at WWF-UK.

4. Advances in Integral Human Development

2015 Human Development Report

Launched 14 December 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ehiopia

From a human development perspective, work, rather than jobs or employment is the relevant concept. A job is a narrow concept with a set of pre-determined time-bound assigned tasks or activities, in an input-output framework with labour as input and a commodity or service as output. Yet, jobs do not encompass creative work (e.g. the work of a writer or a painter), which go beyond defined tasks; they do not account for unpaid care work; they do not focus on voluntary work. Work thus is a broader concept, which encompasses jobs, but goes beyond by including the dimensions mentioned above, all of which are left out of the job framework, but are critical for human development.

Work is the means for unleashing human potential, creativity, innovation and spirits. It is essential to make human lives productive, worthwhile and meaningful. It enables people to earn a living, gives them a means to participate in society, provides them with security and gives them a sense of dignity. Work is thus inherently and intrinsically linked to human development.

But it is important to recognize that there is no automatic link between work and human development. Nor does every type of work enhance human development. Exploitative work, particularly exploitation of women and children, robs people of their fair share, their rights and their dignity. Likewise, work that is hazardous - work without safety measures, labour rights, or social protection - is not conducive to human development.

More importantly, the linkages between work and human development must be seen in the context that over time the notion of what constitutes work has changed, areas of work have shifted and the modus operandi of work has evolved. What used to mean work three decades ago is no longer valid, and work is defined differently now. Now, some of these changes may contribute positively to various dimensions of human development, but some aspects of these new phenomena may have negative impacts for human development.

In the context of all these changes, time has come to relook at the issue of work in its various dimensions and dynamics through a human development lens. Thus the 2015 Human Development Report (2015 HDR) will be on Rethinking Work for Human Development.

To be launched in December 2015, the Report will zoom in on the fundamental question – how work can be rethought for human development –– to enrich human development. Given this broader perspective, the focus of 2015 HDR will be based on five building blocks:

  • Rethinking the linkages between work and human development identifying the positive intrinsic relationship between work and human development - Work provides livelihoods, income, a means for participation and connectedness, social cohesion, and human dignity - but also those situations where linkages are broken or eroded - child labour, human trafficking, etc.
  • Revisiting the new world of work, where the notions of work, areas of work and modus operandi of work have changed and the implications for human development. ICT and mobile devices are revolutionizing work. People can work anywhere. There is an e-economy. We ask the question – are these changes enhancing human development? And how may they best be harnessed to promote equitable opportunities?
  • Recognizing the worth of care work and its impact on human development. For instance care for those who cannot care for themselves is important in itself for human survival but there are other connections to human development: from an intergenerational perspective, care work is crucial for the cognitive development of children.
  • Refocusing on the notion of sustainable work to be incorporated into the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. This will include, among other issues, the environmental value of green and low carbon emission jobs and so on. And also the quality of work that can be sustained over long periods.
  • Recommending policy options for reorienting, reinventing and reorganizing work so that it enriches human development

Several targeted issues will be taken up throughout the report– youth employment, gender aspects of work, agriculture and rural development, the informal sector, and work during crisis and in post-crisis situations. In realizing the post2015 international agenda it will be critical to enable youth, who make up 50 per cent of the global population, and women, holding up half the sky, to find work opportunities that enable them to participate constructively, creatively and equitably in society.

Source: Selim Jahan, Director of the Human Development Report Office, UNDP

5. Advances in Integrated Sustainable Development

Integral Human Development and Subsidiarity

The Principle of Subsidiarity

Source: EZFord, YouTube, 23 February 2013

See also

"An issue or problem should be dealt with by the people who are closest to it"
Rudy Carrasco, PovertyCure Voice, 20 March 2012

Cardinal Reinhard Marx on Subsidiarity vs. Solidarity
Berkeley Center, Georgetown University, 20 June 2012

Integral Human Development and Subsidiarity: A Closer Look
Matthea Brandenburg & Carolyn Woo, Poverty Cure Voice, 10 January 2013

An Integrated Framework for Sustainable Development Goals
David Griggs et al, Ecology & Society, 19(4): 49, 2014

Integrated Approaches to Sustainable Development
Planning and Implementation

Capacity Building Workshop, United Nations, May 2015

6. Sustainability Games, Databases, and Knowledgebases

Source: Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)

Accessing information from the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) has never been easier. The GEOSS Portal has undergone a transformation, to be unveiled in time for GEO’s Thirteenth Plenary.

The European Space Agency (ESA) in partnership with Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) has built an intuitive interface to discover, access and use all of the ever-growing numbers of GEO-resources from a variety of providers all around the world.

Users can now perform temporal, thematic and geographic searches, allowing them to retrieve the resources they are looking for quickly and accurately. Keywords can be used to perform general searches and progressive filtering is applied to support users in refining and narrowing down their search results. A synthetic summary is presented of key metadata fields. Icon buttons help the user quickly assess the results' relevance. Make use of the GEOSS Portal’s feedback form and let us know what you think.

The team members that made this new look possible are: @CNR-side (GEO-DAB): Stefano Nativi and Mattia Santoro; @ESA-side (GEOSS Portal): Joost van Bemmelen, Guido Colangeli, Piotr Zaborowski; @Geo Secretariat-side: Paola De Salvo and Osamu Ochiai

Find tutorials on how to use the new GEOSS Portal here

Access the new look GEOSS Portal: www.geoportal.org

Read the full story on the enhanced GEOSS Portal here

Source: International Institute for Sustainable Development, 18 October 2016

A new online knowledge hub launched today provides an unparalleled view of multilateral, national and sub-national efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The International Institute for Sustainable Development’s SDG Knowledge Hub consolidates our Policy & Practice knowledgebases—and the tens of thousands of published articles contained within them. Focused on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and its Sustainable Development Goals, the platform draws on IISD’s network of experts to provide real-time information on SDG implementation.

“The development of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was one of the largest participatory processes ever,” said Scott Vaughan, President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. “Information sharing, measurement and assessment will need to continue if the global community is to achieve the aims set out in the new agenda.”

“The SDG Knowledge Hub provides a much-needed space for that exchange to take place,” said Vaughan.

IISD experts are at the meetings we report on, talking to those involved, and gathering information from official, primary sources. We also develop partnerships with the institutions and organizations we cover, and publish original content from invited experts who are working on the frontlines of SDG implementation. The SDG Knowledge Hub does not aggregate news from other sources.

The SDG Knowledge Hub will be presented at an event in Geneva, Switzerland, on October 26th, and on a webinar on November 3rd. Register for the Geneva event here, and the webinar here.

The value of the hub lays in the depth of information it will contain on each SDG, as well as the breadth of knowledge across all elements of the integrated 2030 Agenda. Content is organized and searchable according to the 17 SDGs. Information is also categorized according to actors, focusing on intergovernmental bodies, agencies and funds within the UN system, as well as national governments, major partnerships, stakeholders and non-state actors. In addition, content is searchable by seven regional groups as well as three regional groupings of small island developing States. A comprehensive calendar provides details on events that address SDG policy and practice.

Users can also filter posts by issue area, action type and specific elements in SDG 17, on the global partnership. This filter permits users to focus in on news based on whether it addresses means of implementation (MOI), such as capacity building and education, or the following systemic issues: data, monitoring and accountability; multi-stakeholder partnerships; and policy and institutional coherence.

7. Sustainable Development Measures and Indicators

Sustainable Development Goals ~ Targets Tracker

Source: Overseas Development Institute (ODI)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be the guiding framework for international development until 2030 and are intended to provide a reference for setting national policy priorities.

This unique, searchable database provides a snapshot of what those national priorities are. Users can compare existing national targets with the ambition of the SDGs. We intend this to be a living document, supplemented and kept up to date by crowdsourcing, and we encourage others to send us new information on national goals to update the tracker.

This research report: Mind the gap? A comparison of international and national targets for the SDG agenda, ODI, June 2015, documents the gaps and data issues that must be resolved if the SDGs are to be attained by 2030.

Please send any new information on national level targets in any of the areas covered by the SDGs to targets.post2015@odi.org.uk.

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Global Footprint Network's National Footprint Accounts 2015 Public Data Package

Ecological Footprint Infographics

Footprint Calculator

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Links to Global Partnership Data for the SDGs:

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability of water and sanitation
7. Ensure access to affordable and clean energy for all
8. Promote economic growth and decent work
9. Build resilient industrial infrastructures
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change
14. Conserve the oceans and marine resources
15. Protect terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity
16. Promote peace and inclusive societies
17. Strengthen global partnership for sustainable development

Human Development Data (1980-2015)

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8. Sustainable Development Modeling and Simulation

Integrated Model for Sustainable Development Goals Strategies (iSDG)



Source:
Millennium Institute, 13 January 2016

"C-ROADS is an award-winning computer simulation that helps people understand the long-term climate impacts of policy scenarios to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It allows for the rapid summation of national greenhouse gas reduction pledges in order to show the long-term impact on our climate." For more information, click here.

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9. Fostering Sustainability in the International Community

The Case for Sharing and Hope in 2017

Editorial Staff
Sharing the World Resources

Originally published by
Sharing the World Resources, 22 December 2016
under a Creative Commons License

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As the world situation continues to deteriorate, there is every hope that 2017 will see a critical new actor emerge on the international stage: a colossal movement of massed goodwill that demands an emergency response from governments to life-threatening poverty and hunger.

For many years now, STWR has made the case for a massive mobilisation of civil society around the issue of life-threatening poverty and hunger. Our basic advocacy position as an organisation could not be simpler: that the urgent need for world rehabilitation must begin with a united people’s voice that speaks on behalf of the least advantaged, giving the highest priority to the prevention of extreme human deprivation in every country. We submit that only through a universal demand for a fairer sharing of global resources can we begin to see a gradual reversal of disastrous current trends, even in terms of regional conflicts and environmental degradation. Yet this will require millions upon millions of ordinary people out on the streets in constant, peaceful demonstrations that are focused on the need for governments to redistribute essential resources to the most marginalised people of the world.

Ending hunger and poverty-related suffering is obviously not enough to shift the world onto a just and sustainable course, but – as we have reiterated in dozens of publications – we cannot underestimate the knock-on effects of this unprecedented show of global solidarity. Simple as the vision is, however, it may appear as if society is moving ever further away from such an appeal to our common humanity and compassion. With the rise of fascist parties in Europe, the recent election of a billionaire demagogue as president of the United States, and a widespread populist reaction against welcoming the growing multitudes of refugees and poor immigrants, what hope do we have of realising a truly global movement of ordinary citizens that is motivated by the acute suffering of others?

There may be high-profile media coverage about the proliferating humanitarian crises in Syria, Yemen, Nigeria and elsewhere, but we still barely hear about the hidden crisis of chronic hunger and malnutrition that afflicts up to 2.5 billion people, and leads to thousands of needless deaths every day. While committed NGOs and UN agencies work ceaselessly to ameliorate the worst effects of this shameless human catastrophe, we can only conclude that the lack of media attention given to its true scale is indicative of the lack of interest, the lack of concern or the sheer complacency of the public at large.

We can advocate for globally redistributive policies for as long as we like, but we will never see a complete turnaround in governmental priorities without this critical new actor on the world stage: a colossal movement of massed goodwill based on a single platform of universally shared concerns. That is why, at the centre of STWR’s proposals, is the call for activists and engaged citizens the world over to uphold Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as their protest slogan, goal and vision in the time ahead. As expounded in our flagship publication, a ceaseless call for implementing Article 25 is the ‘path of least resistance’ towards uniting citizens of both rich and poor societies, thereby impelling governments to redistribute resources and restructure the global economy. It is also the surest path towards reclaiming the United Nations as an organisation that belongs to ‘we the people’, potentially leading to a major democratisation of the UN system if governments are compelled to implement the principle of sharing into world affairs.  

Yet there is no hope of realising a consummate vision of universal rights and global equality without another critical factor, one that is seldom acknowledged by progressive political thinkers—namely, the engagement of the heart. STWR’s founder, Mohammed Mesbahi, has written a pioneering series of studies that revolve around this core theme, in which he articulates the need for a new kind of global activism that is no longer oriented ‘against’ the system or any ideology or ‘ism’, but is instead motivated by an inclusive call for economic sharing that can mobilise countless ordinary citizens across diverse continents with a common cause. It is futile to become ‘anti’ any belief or ideology, he argues, such as to go against capitalism; it is time to put capitalism in its right place and redistribute the world’s resources to where they are most needed.

It is also necessary to realise that we cannot make the world a better place, writes Mesbahi, without first looking after the most vulnerable people; and that means demanding from our governments an emergency relief programme to urgently prevent life-threatening conditions of deprivation across the world. Mesbahi makes it clear that a peaceful uprising of the public towards these ends is the very first stage in a process of world reconstruction, and it is the youth who can lead this formidable cause by following the simple instructions that are embedded within his continuing works. Activists in the United States, for example, would do well to heed and broadly disseminate the directives given in ‘Rise Up America, Rise Up!’, where a strategic case is made for reviving the Occupy movement through around-the-clock demonstrations that surround the UN headquarters in New York with a concerted focus on Article 25. Never before have we witnessed vast numbers of people in the streets calling for the abolition of extreme poverty in this manner, as expressed in ceaseless actions of solidarity that invite other nations to follow the same course of action.

However utopian this proposition may sound, it assumes nothing more than redirecting public attention towards immediate human need, which is far from an attempt to satisfy some vague or idealistic theory of world revolution. The only kind of revolution we need in the present context of widespread penury amidst plenty, of declining aid budgets amidst the escalation of human suffering, of economic austerity amidst increasingly concentrated wealth… is a psychological revolution that is defined by the common sense of an engaged heart. That again is the subject that preoccupies Mesbahi’s writings, and we would all do well to ponder what it means for us personally in our everyday lives, especially at this time of celebration and profligate consumerism at Christmas. For what does it mean to celebrate Christmas with love and goodwill when millions of men, women and children in poverty-stricken regions are deprived of the basic necessities of life, let alone the luxury of a Christmas banquet? As Mesbahi writes in ‘Christmas, the system and I’;

“In light of all the suffering and critical problems in the world, what better way to celebrate Christmas this year than to go out in the streets and peacefully demonstrate for an end to poverty and injustice. To say: no more cutting of trees! No more buying extravagant presents! And then to raise our voices for all the world’s people to be fed, cared for and nourished. Wouldn’t that be the best Christmas we have ever known, considering the fact that thousands of people are dying each day from poverty-related causes? Because then we would not only express our loyalty and affection for our own family and friends, but we would also stand in loving unity with the entire world. If Jesus were walking among us today, perhaps that is what He would call on us to do.”

This is the essential message that STWR will continue to spread in 2017 by whatever means we can, through our website and online networks, and in conferences and other fora. As the world situation continues to deteriorate, and as the reactions of love and hate continue to polarise our societies, the responsibility of people of goodwill to uphold the case for sharing has never been greater. Everywhere there is evidence that a new awareness is growing by the day, embracing the necessity of sharing as a last response to our culminating crises. Thus it may not be long until the rich world population finally joins forces with the poor, and together forges an enormous public opinion in favour of sharing the world’s resources.

ABOUT STWR

Share The World's Resources (STWR) is a not-for-profit civil society organisation with Consultative Status at the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The mission of STWR is to campaign for a fairer sharing of wealth, power and resources within and between nations.


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