Making sustainable cities and inclusive partnerships: Dutch government efforts on the attainment of SDGs
- Date2016-10-24 00:00
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Making sustainable cities and inclusive partnerships:
Dutch government efforts on the attainment of SDGs
Introduction
The
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present itself as unified global goals, which incorporates
sustainability with curbing poverty and inequality in order to continue with
what has the MDGs, has started. With the increasing impact of climate
challenges particularly to vulnerable developing countries and the question of
economic growth that harms the environment, parties under the United Nations
have adopted SDGS in September last year.
The
SDGs is building on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which run from 2001
until last year. With success and a few setbacks, the SDGs is geared towards
continuing with what the MDGs has started and incorporate sustainability along
the way.
Among
the key changes was making the goals more coherent, streamlined and with clear
indicators and modes of financing. Hence, SDGs have 17 goals instead of the
original 15 goals of the MDGs.
The
SDGs have various strands of developmental issues that it wants to tackle
particularly: extreme economic inequality, eradicate
extreme poverty, achieve gender equality and realize women’s rights, and
achieve universal health coverage and education through strong public services.
In order to balance sustainability, it has goals dedicated goals on climate
change and energy, food and hunger, water, and risk, as well as integrating
targets on climate throughout the framework.
One of the key goals that are worth looking
into are SDG 11 which looks into the problem of urbanization. With the projection
that 60 percent of the world’s population will reside in urban areas in 2030,
it can bring pressure on the environment which will in turn affect health of
the people. (SDGs, 2015: 1). However, the Global Goals especially SDG 11 will
not be fully realized if countries will not create an environment where
partnerships are harnessed, developed and encouraged. Thus, SDG 17 which
ensures partnerships and collaboration are initiated within and between
countries.
SDG 17: Partnerships to support SDGs
SDGs designed to be interrelated such that each goal contributes
to each other in more ways than one. Thus, SDG 17 was added as a way for
partnerships to flourish between governments, private sector and civil society.
These collaborations and partnerships designed to be built on principles of
trust, shared visions that put sustainability first. Further, these
partnerships are geared to be flourishing in various levels: global, regional,
national and local.
For this goal, the UN has envisioned a system where
foreign direct investments are redirected in critical sectors that address
poverty, inequality and sustainability in developing countries such as
sustainable energy, infrastructure and transport, as well as information and
communication technologies. Hence, the public sector is tasked lead steer the
direction. Further, SDG 17 posits that a review and monitoring, evaluation and
accountability framework should be institutionalized for this goal. This also
precludes that oversight agencies at the national level are strengthened and
empowered to help achieve this goal.
In his
address at the United Nations 70th General Assembly last year which
saw the adoption of the SDGs, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands promised
to the UN bodies that the Netherlands remain “committed but also be critical
when necessary.” During the same occasion, the King has promised to help
developing countries particularly countries in Africa.
However,
this is not to say that efforts from the Netherlands on mainstreaming SDGs and
in having concrete and tangible initiatives only started after the SDGs has
been adopted. Long before its adoption, the Netherlands is in the forefront of
mainstreaming SDGs particularly on SDG 11.
Resilient and sustainable cities by
2030
Urbanization will also bring about issues on
adequate, safe, durable housing especially on developing countries which is
projected to hold 95% of urban expansion in a decade.
SDG 11 targets an overarching goal to “make
cities inclusive, safe resilient, sustainable by setting priorities until 2030:
“Provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and
sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding
public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable
situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and
capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement
planning and management in all countries
Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s
cultural and natural heritage
Significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number
of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses
relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including
water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in
vulnerable situations
Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of
cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and
other waste management
Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and
accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children,
older persons and persons with disabilities
Support positive economic, social and environmental links
between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and
regional development planning
By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and
human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans
towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate
change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk
management at all levels
Support least developed countries, including through
financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient
buildings utilizing local materials”
Collaboration key to achieving inclusive, sustainable
cities
The
Dutch government realizes that a collaboration and partnership not only between
developed countries but also between North-South countries must be initiated.
Further, the importance of convening like-minded government institutions is
crucial in creating collaborations and working on shared goals.
Among
these is the Global Parliament of Mayors which seeks to be an “action oriented
platform in our interdependent world.” (GPM, 2016: 1) The Global Parliament of
Mayors was recently convened and launched in The Hague last month.
The
Netherlands also highlights the fact that development happens at the local
level. Thus, it has partnerships with local government units in developing
countries.
To fully support the UN Sustainable
Development Goals and in succeeding years, the GPM has committed to monitor and
report on successful action undertaken by cities to reach goals especially on
migration and climate change ？ two issues that are important in creating safe,
sustainable and resilient cities. GPM builds on the plans and achievements of
the UN, OECD, Paris climate agreement, Habitat III and other intergovernmental
bodies, networks and like-minded organizations working these issues.
At the national level, VNG International, the
international cooperation agency of the association of municipalities in The
Netherlands has launched the “Global Goals Municipality Campaign” ？ an
initiative to raise public awareness for the SDGs which builds upon the
much-touted “Millennium Municipality” campaign simultaneously done during the
MDGs regime.
The Global Goals Municipality Campaign believes that local government
units are key drivers of this new development agenda since “development happens
at the local level”. It wants to put emphasis on Goal 11 making sustainable
cities in order to ensure that cities and municipalities outside The
Netherlands are contributing to this goals and other related goals under SDGs.
Global Goals Municipality Campaign is dedicated to raise awareness for
the SDGs and aims to inspire and mobilize Dutch municipalities in the
achievement of the goals. VNG International will offer assistance and will
facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practices.
The Global Goals Municipality Campaign also aims to be an enabler
towards having a vibrant environment in which different stakeholders ？ active
citizens, local businesses, volunteers will be inspired to work with one
another and initiate local partnerships for sustainable development continents.
Dutch ‘sustainable’ city
One perfect example of a Dutch sustainable city is the City of
Rotterdam, the second most populated urban area in the Netherlands. (ICLEI
2015: 1). It has a large port area which is one of the busiest in Europe and is
considered as a transportation gateway for the continent.
Further,Rotterdam is surrounded by water on all sides and around 90
percent of the city is below sea level Thus, it is prone to water-related
impacts of climate change. Accordingly, it has taken a series of innovative
measures to tackle the situation.
According to the ICLEI Local Government for Sustainability, “Rotterdam
represents a city committed to sustainability that is creatively dealing with
climate based challenges for the benefit of its citizens. The City of
Rotterdam, the Port Authority, the employers’ association Deltalinqs and
Environmental Protection Agency DCMR founded the Rotterdam Climate Initiative
in 2007, a movement in which government, companies, knowledge institutions and
citizens collaborate to achieve a fifty percent CO₂ reduction by 2025 and fully adapt to climate change by 2025
whilst stimulating the economy.”
In the face of increasingly frequent small-scale flooding, sea
level rise, higher rainfall and rising temperatures, Rotterdam developed a
comprehensive adaptation strategy to ensure the city is 100 percent resilient
to the impacts of climate change. Titled Rotterdam Climate Proof, the strategy
is based on four separate pillars.
The first pillar states that Rotterdam will develop into and
present itself as a leading centre for water knowledge and climate change
expertise, the second that the investments required will enhance the
attractiveness of the city and port for residents, companies, and knowledge institutes,
and the third that adaptation innovations and knowledge are to be developed and
marketed as an export product. The final pillar states that innovative water
management will make the city more attractive as well as provide additional
economic activity. (ICLEI, 2015: 2)
|
Fast
facts:
·
The city aims to achieve an ambitious 40% reduction in CO₂ levels by the year 2030
·
The city aims to reduce CO₂ emissions by 50 percent by 2025 and to be 100 percent climate
proof by 2025
·
Rotterdam was home to the first metro system in the Netherlands,
opening in 1968.
·
As part of the city’s sustainable mobility policy, cyclists have
right of way in traffic and bike paths are separated from the road.
·
Rotterdam is home of the Electric Vehicle Centre, which provides
information to commercial organisations and private individuals on electric
transport
·
Rotterdam Floating
Pavilion are three domes
floating in the harbour that act as an exhibition pavilion, showcasing
floating building construction, energy efficiency and climate management
technologies.
|
Challenges and
opportunities
However, despite efforts
from the Dutch government, a lot of efforts in terms of policy coherence are
still needed in order to ensure that SDGs will translate into policies at the
national down to the local level in The Netherlands. In fact, the PBL
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency in a study titled “Sustainable
Development Goals in the Nederland: building blocks for environmental policy
for 2030, has noted that “not all issues addressed by the environment-related SDG
targets are covered by Dutch policy targets.” For the majority of the 41
environment-related SDG targets, the Netherlands already has relevant policy
targets in place, most of which have been agreed at EU or UN level. However,
most of these policy targets are aimed at 2020, while most SDG targets are
defined for 2030. For example, policy issuances of the Dutch government lack targets on
sustainable development education, and for sustainable agriculture. Further,
sustainable production and consumption are only partly covered by Dutch
policies. (PBL 2015: 1)
The Dutch government has initiated efforts in ensuring safe, resilient,
inclusive, and sustainable cities within the Netherlands and in partnership
with other countries through development cooperation. These efforts tackle two
goals at the same time. Whether the country can live up to its targets in
parallel with the SDGs will chart the way how the country responds to the call
of the times ？ that is having inclusive and sustainable growth for everyone.
References:
1.
ICLEI Local Government for Sustainability:
2. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency:
3. Rotterdam Climate Initiative:
4. Speech of King
Willelm-Alexander of The Netherlands during the UN 70th GA Adoption
of the SDGs (September 2015):
5.
VNG International:
* Introduced here is an article written by one of KEI's environment correspondents. KEI invites students studying abroad and researchers working for foreign research institutes to send articles on various global environmental issues.
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