Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. After concluding Millennium Development Goals agenda in 2015, United Nations created a new agenda to achieve 17 goals by 2030. The 17 goals have 169 targets and 247 indicators.
IT for Society will focus on bringing you praiseworthy stories contributing to achieving SDGs from all around the world. Most stories will be based on technological solutions (tech for good).
SDGs area of focus
Goals should stimulate action on these areas as stated by UN:
People
We are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.
Planet
We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.
Prosperity
We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.
Peace
We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.
Partnership
We are determined to mobilize the means required to implement this Agenda through a revitalised Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focussed in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.
SDG Targets and Indicators
The global indicator framework for Sustainable Development Goals was developed by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs), agreed upon at the 48th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission held in March 2017 and adopted by General Assembly on 6th of July 2017. Here is an example of targets for one SDG:
SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| 6.1 | By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all |
| 6.2 | By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations |
| 6.3 | By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally |
| 6.4 | By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity |
| 6.5 | By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate |
| 6.6 | By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes |
| 6.a | By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies |
| 6.b | Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management |
You can find the full list of targets and indicators on unstats.un.org
Progress report 2020
By the end of 2020, 21 of the 169 Sustainable Development Goal targets have matured. This summary reviews progress made towards those targets at the global level, based on available data as of June 2020. On the report bellow we can see that these 3 targets are achieved or they are on track:
- 8.b Develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment - According to 2019 data from 102 countries, 98 per cent had a youth employment strategy or plan to develop one in the near future. Furthermore, almost one third of these countries have formulated and operationalized the global strategy for youth employment.
- 9.c Increase access to information and communications technology - Coverage by mobile networks is now nearly universal. In 2019, an estimated 96.5 per cent of the global population were covered by at least a 2G network, with 81.8 per cent covered by at least a Long-Term Evolution network.
- 14.5 Conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas As of December 2019, over 17 per cent (or 24 million square kilometres) of waters under national jurisdiction (0 to 200 nautical miles from shore) were covered by protected areas, more than double the area covered in 2010. The global mean percentage of each marine KBA covered by protected areas increased from 30.5 per cent in 2000 to 46.0 per cent in 2019, but the majority of these sites still have incomplete or no coverage by protected areas.