Blog Post #8: Is localisation the key to achieving the SDGs?
In our most recent workshop, “localisation” was referred to multiple times as important for implementing the SDGs. Participants agreed that there is a need to reflect local policies into the international agenda. Identified priorities (also referred to as Pacific specific concerns) included: oceans, livelihoods, climate change, subsistence farming, tourism, youth and urbanisation.
Obviously, different parts of the world have different priorities, and in the Pacific oceans, climate change and so on are really, really important.”
For us, this discussion illustrates that context and understanding context is critical for any and all localisation efforts.
The 2030 agenda (para 21), sets out:
All of us will work to implement the Agenda within our own countries and at the regional and global levels, taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities We will respect national policy space for sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, in particular for developing states, while remaining consistent with relevant international rules and commitments. We acknowledge also the importance of the regional and sub-regional dimensions, regional economic integration and interconnectivity in sustainable development. Regional and sub-regional frameworks can facilitate the effective translation of sustainable development policies into concrete action at national level.
But what does localisation mean?
Just how central is localisation to the achievement of the SDGs is an issue that we have been mulling over as we continue with our engagement activities across the Pacific.
First things first, what exactly do we mean by the term localisation, or more specifically, what does localisation mean when it is used in conjunction with the SDGs?
The Stockholm Environment Institute’s (SEI) definition of localisation provides a helpful starting point. SEI defines localisation as “the process of defining, implementing, and monitoring strategies at the local level to achieve global, national and subnational sustainable development goals and targets.”
If we unpack SEI’s definition and apply that to what we know about how to implement the SDGs, we can identify a menu of actions that are relevant when localising the SDGs. These actions include:
- Mapping impact against the SDGs
- Prioritising SDG goals and targets
- Defining and setting context specific goals and targets;
- Determining how implementation will occur; and
- Measuring and monitoring.
These actions seem sensible. But, we have a feeling that the practice of localisation might be very different, or at least place a different emphasis on certain aspects of the localisation list. We are, therefore, super keen to understand exactly what – and how – localisation of the SDGs plays out in reality and what key tools are required.
Bringing "engagement" in
In 2013, when the SDGs were still under development, The High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, noted that “the most pressing issue is not urban versus rural, but how to foster a local, geographic approach to the post-2015 agenda.”
The High Level Panel on the Post 2015 Development Agenda is a 27-member group of eminent persons established in 2012 with the objective to provide recommendations to the UN SG on advancing the development framework beyond 2015.
Similar to SEI, the Panel focuses on measuring and monitoring (disaggregating data) and ensuring the local authorities have a role to play in implementation (setting priorities and executing plans).
Placing a priority on engagement is in keeping with the OECD’ s 2019 report, A Territorial Approach to the SDGs, which, in our view, uses engagement as the lever for achieving the SDGs. The report notes the following:
Beyond SDG 11, which focuses on cities and communities, an estimated 65% of the 169 targets behind the 17 SDGs will not be reached without engagement of local and regional governments.”
The word “engagement” has multiple meanings. In this particular case, the most relevant and significant meaning is that which relates to interest and involvement.
Engagement: causing someone to become interested in something and keep them thinking about it and to get someone involved in something.
The consequences of including engagement to localisation
Incorporating engagement into efforts to activate localisation brings the concept of contextualisation to the fore: we will really only get someone interested and involved in the SDGs if we understand what sustainability - and sustainable development - means to them and, in particular, how they, and their community, apply the term.
This “localisation plus engagement based on context” framework aligns to the UN’s 2016 Toolbox for Localising the SDGs. The first two steps of the four step guide call for awareness raising and advocacy, both of which we see as critical engagement strategies.
The four parts of the roadmap for localising the SDGs are:
- Awareness raising: getting to know the SDGs at subnational level
- Advocacy: including a sub-national perspective in national SDG strategies
- Implementation: the SDGs go local
- Monitoring: evaluating and learning from our experiences
What does this mean in terms of sub-national SDG implementation in the Pacific?
While we have many avenues still open for exploration here around how to embed localisation, including how localisation can happen without national adoption and the need for disaggregated data, right now we are thinking about two matters, which we see as priority areas requiring more attention: inclusive and participatory community consultations and the importance of education.
- Inclusive and participatory discussions with community over the very definition of sustainability
Inclusive and participatory discussions with the community on what sustainable development means to them should be the first step of a localisation process. This involves the community helping to map out where the drivers of change lie and who the change agents are. The concept of sustainable development that is developed then needs to then be incorporated into how priorities are determined and the implementation process that is subsequently adopted.
- The need to enhance or develop sustainable education.
The specific way we are using the word “engagement” – to cause someone to become interested in something – brings into focus the three specific sustainable development awareness raising and education SDG Targets, being SDG 4.7, SDG 12.8 and SDG 13.3. As such, we think that working towards achieving these three targets must be part of any localisation effort.
SDG Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
SDG Target 12.8: By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.
SDG Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
Conclusion
Meaningfully engaging with localisation may have implications for the role and spaces that international donors play in, as well as the actions that are prioritised at the sub-national level when the community is focused on implementing the SDGs. Given that it may be that it is only after we have engaged can we define goals, implement plans and measure and monitor, perhaps more focus needs to be placed on donors assisting with providing the space for engagement activities to happen by strengthening the capacity of local authorities to:
- run stakeholder consultations to identify the definition of sustainability
- run community consultations identifying community objectives
- increase capacity to influence national policy debates and policy development
- increase capacity to coordinate across multiple levels of government and with multiple stakeholders.
Finally, we want to finish with a quote from a more recent SEI paper, released just prior to this year’s HLPF. In answering their self-posed question, “What do we need to save the SDGs ahead of 2030?”, SEI stated localisation, referencing understanding and application. We agree. Without efforts made to truly understand what sustainable development means in context, any localisation efforts will perhaps, and ironically, be unsustainable.
Localization. This is the key focal point as we move forward. Local governments have proven to be essential for COVID-19 responses. They need support to continue to play this important role in recovery…Our research shows the need for and importance of generating local actions, to prepare all urban stakeholders to better understand and apply the SDGs at city level, and to generate synergies with other agendas, such as the Paris Agreement on climate change.”