LOCALIZING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

LOCALIZING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS As I recall, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations were initially crafted for member countries to strive towards a global blueprint for peace, prosperity, and sustainability by the year 2030. But here's a thought: what if we localized these goals? What if provinces, cities, and even barangays adopted these targets as their own? After all, development doesn’t only happen at the national level—it also happens in local communities. The SDGs cover 17 broad objectives, from ending poverty to protecting biodiversity. If we wait for national agencies alone to achieve them, we may find ourselves, once again, falling short. Remember the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? Those were the eight targets set by the UN to be achieved by 2015. Unfortunately, the Philippines, despite being one of the founding members of the UN, failed to meet most of them. That’s not just a missed opportunity—it’s a national embarrassment that we should not repeat. Now, with just five years left before the SDGs’ 2030 deadline, the question is: are we on track? More troublingly, do we even know where we stand? There seems to be little public information on how many goals we have achieved so far—or how far we still need to go. Frankly, I have no clear idea how our government is structured to ensure we meet these goals. Is there a central agency leading the charge? Is there coordination between national and local levels? Are regional and provincial leaders even part of the conversation? In theory, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDEV)—formerly NEDA—should be the prime mover here. It was created precisely to manage long-term economic planning and could well be the country’s main coordinator for SDG efforts. Under its purview, the Regional Development Councils (RDCs) and Provincial Development Councils (PDCs) should be vital players in tracking and advancing SDG progress. That’s where localization comes in. If we truly want to see progress, we should embed the SDGs into the development agendas of each province. DEPDEV should lead this coordination effort, but success will depend on empowering local governments to act. Every governor and provincial director of a National Government Agency (NGA) should be present in RDC meetings—and not just for attendance’s sake, but to seriously discuss their progress on SDGs at every session. For instance, take SDG 15: Life on Land, which focuses on protecting terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity. Wildlife protection efforts can be more effectively enforced at the provincial level, where local officials understand their ecosystems best. The same applies to SDG 1: No Poverty. After all, poverty is most visible—and solvable—at the local level. There’s also SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. This goal promotes job creation and entrepreneurship—something that’s best driven by local economic development offices. Or consider SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, which covers socialized housing and disaster preparedness—critical issues that LGUs tackle firsthand. Yes, five years may not be enough to achieve everything. But five years is still something. We must act with urgency. Localizing the SDGs doesn’t mean transferring all responsibility to the provinces. It means empowering them—giving them ownership of their own progress, while ensuring support and coordination from the top. Because if we fail again—after having 15 years to prepare—it will not just be a policy failure. It will be a failure of vision, of execution, and of commitment to the kind of future we all claim to want. Let’s not let that happen again. Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.com, 09088877282, senseneres.blogspot.com 06-08-2025