Thematic review: Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies Perspectives of LDCs, LLDCs and MICs
Wednesday, 11 July 2018
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Conference Room 4, UNHQ
Official meeting
Statements
Statements
Presentations
This thematic review session will evaluate progress and challenges in achieving a transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies in the least developed countries (LDCs) and landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) that face specific challenges that must be prioritized and overcome if no one is to be left behind in reaching the SDGs. It will also address the specific challenges faced by middle-income countries (MICs).
Many countries in special situations are experiencing rapid urbanization, with rural-urban migration
expanding the peripheries of many cities. Cities are a critically important context for SDG
implementation – they are microcosms for the challenges for implementation in general, they magnify
the importance of integrated and rights-based approaches, and they highlight the dangers of ignoring
the interlinkages among SDG issues. Many countriesin specialsituations are experiencing a confluence
of unplanned urbanization, development within high-risk zones, underdevelopment and poor
infrastructure, combined with increased vulnerability to natural hazards and economic shocks.
Sustainable societies require healthy and resilient ecosystems to thrive, yet countries in special
situations often suffer disproportionately from deforestation and loss of biodiversity, declining water
availability and degraded water quality, land and soil degradation, desertification, and the adverse
impacts of climate change including extreme weather events, floods, droughts and cyclones. Successful
efforts to halt biodiversity loss, increase sustainable land use and ensure integrated ecosystem
management, particularly around the periphery of cities located in biodiversity “hotspots”, are critical
for achieving the SDGs, and can serve to drive sustainable and inclusive urban growth by providing
opportunities for improving rural livelihoods, which can also impact urban lives and put less pressure
on cities.
A specific focus could be placed on urbanization and on ecosystems during this session. While there
are approaches and solutions that can work across countries, a differentiated yet integrated approach
is often required, since specific issues stand out for each group. In this context, the session may also
address progress in areas such as infrastructure, energy, transport, water, technology, sustainable
consumption and production, urban-rural linkages, food security, inequality, unplanned urbanization
and informal settlements, urban forestry, the role of forestry in alleviating migration to urban spaces,
and the need for a territorial systems approach for both urban and rural spaces. It will highlight the
interlinkages among the SDGs under review and seek to elicit examples of solutions that these groups
of countries have developed to build sustainable and resilient cities that have become refuges for both
people and biodiversity.
Proposed guiding questions:
- What national actions and policies have proven successful in increasing sustainability and
resilience, while addressing the impacts of climate change, natural disasters, conflict, and displacement on countries in special situations? How have those been applied in the context
of rapid urbanization?
- What technologies, innovations, and data collection tools have been effective so far for
countries in special situations in monitoring and follow-up of the SDGs?
- Where has progress occurred in strengthening national and local governance, fostering
inclusion among local and indigenous communities, and mobilizing resources for
implementation?
- What are the prospect for LDCs, LLDCs and MICsto reach the SDGs and make societies resilient and
sustainable?
Chair:
- H.E. Mr. Marc Pecsteen, Vice-President of ECOSOC
Moderator:
- Ms. Karin Fernando, Senior Research Professional, Center for Poverty Analysis, Sri Lanka
Panellists:
- H.E. Mr. Kaba Urgessa, State Minister for Environmental Sustainability, Ministry of Agriculture and livestock Resources, Ethiopia
- Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, Under-Secretary-General and UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
- Mr. Felipe Castro Pachon, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Policy,
Colombia
- Ms. Maruxa Cardama, Senior Policy Specialist, Cities Alliance, Belgium
Lead discussants:
- Mr. Idriss Maïga Alzouma, President, African Disability Forum (Persons with Disabilities)
Followed by interactive discussion
H.E. Mr. Kaba Urgessa
Junior Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopia
Dr. Kaba Urgessa is State Minister for Natural Resources, Ministry for Agriculture and Livestock Resources, (MoALR) Ethiopia. Currently he is heading the natural resource section of the MoALR, being mandated for conservation of soil and water, efficient use of irrigation water, land administration and use, soil fertility and climate resilient green economy including climate smart agriculture.
Prior to his current position, Dr. Kaba Urgessa served for six years as Minister of State for Higher Education in the Ministry of Education, Ethiopia. Previously, he held various positions at Jimma University in Ethiopia. He started his professional career as a technical assistant at the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, followed by positions in the educational context as well as a dean and president’s department head of Jimma University.
Dr. Kaba Urgessa holds a BSc, a MSc and a PhD in forestry at three different universities in India.
Mr. Idriss Maïga Alzouma
President of African Disability Forum (Persons with Disabilities)
Mr. Idriss Maïga Alzouma became President of the African Disability Forum on March 2017, of which he was the Vice-President since the November 2015 General Assembly. He is the representative of Africa at the board of International Disability Alliance.
A victim of polio at the age of 2 years, he graduated from the 3rd cycle (Baccalauréat + 6 years of studies) of the National School of Administration and Magistrature, taxation option. Chief Inspector of Taxes at the General Direction of Taxes, he is head of tax center of Tillabéri, a region located 120 km from Niamey.
Timidly committed to the voluntary movement of people with disabilities since the 2000s, his struggle to promote the rights of people with disabilities has become a priority since 2006/2007 when, as a young jobseeker, he fought with a firm determination to have the State of Niger recruiting graduates with disabilities since Niger ratified the CRPD. Hence, the gradual taking into account of the needs of people with disabilities because the handicapped youth in which they were watched was respecting the dignity of the State of Niger.
After fighting for the rights of disabled people in Niger, with more listening and attention by the authorities, Mr. Idriss Maïga Alzouma made himself available to the West African movement through the relaunch of the activities of the West African Federation of Disabled (WAFOD) which remained for nearly 10 years in lethargy. So, he became the President of WAFOD in December 2011 and he is in his 2nd and last term.
Ms. Karin Fernando
Senior Professional, Centre for Poverty Analysis, Sri Lanka (CEPA)
Ms. Karin Fernando is Senior Professional at the Centre for Poverty Analysis, Sri Lanka (CEPA), where she leads the thematic work on Sustainable Development. Her interests are in natural resource management, sustainable development and poverty. Her work on sustainable development focused on the links between the environment (its resources, management and use) and how it affects the lives of poor people and vice-versa.
Ms. Maruxa Cardama
Secretary General, Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT)
Passionate about social, political, economic and environmental justice for human development, Maruxa specialises in integrated urban and territorial development. Over her 17-year career, Maruxa has worked with multilateral institutions, national, regional and local governments, NGOs and philanthropy in 33 countries across continents to develop public policies, capacity and implementation projects, and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
Maruxa currently serves as Secretary General of the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport SLoCaT and has been selected by the UN Department of Global Communications as Chair of the sixty-eighth UN Civil Society Conference that will take place in August 2019 in Salt Lake City, United States. Previously Maruxa founded Communitas, the multi-stakeholder coalition which pioneered knowledge-based advocacy for the Sustainable Development Goal on Cities & Human Settlements. Maruxa also served as the Secretary General of the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD), and during her tenure co-facilitated the engagement of local and regional governments in the UN Rio +20 Conference. She has also held posts as Senior Policy Specialist in Cities Alliance-UNOPS, as well as in local and regional government in the UK and Spain. In 2004-2010, she was Deputy Director of the Representation of the South West of England to the EU, where she led on the sustainability portfolio for a partnership of regional authorities, academia and the private sector.
Prolific public speaker and analyst, Maruxa is member of the Future Earth community. In recent years, she has served in the UCL- Nature Sustainability Expert Panel on the Urban Science-Policy Interface and as Adviser on Global Agendas to the Conference of European Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe CPMR. Her formal training was as a lawyer, as well as in EU law and in development economics.
