Asia-Pacific 32 years behind schedule in achieving SDGs: ESCAP report

The UN agency’s report fears that the goals will not be met before 2062, falling at least 32 years behind schedule, according to the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development 2024.

Economic growth declined, trade became more challenging, tax revenue decreased, and debt servicing became an issue, impeding their already insufficient progress towards achieving the SDGs, the forum heard on Tuesday.

Overall, the progress has been modest, with recorded gains ranging from 4.4% in 2017 to only 17% in 2023.

The forum was held at the United Nations ESCAP on Tuesday, providing a comprehensive view of the progress made towards achieving the 17 SDGs in Asia and the Pacific.

Progress on these goals remains inconsistent and insufficient overall, hampered by economic issues and exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. While progress has been made towards Goal 1 (No Poverty) and Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), progress towards Goals 4 (Quality Education), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 14 (Life Below Water), 15 (Life on Land), 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), and 13 (climate action) has been slow. Therefore, reversing this trend is becoming increasingly critical, the report said.

Navigating challenges

Before COVID-19, least-developed countries and landlocked developing countries had been advancing at a rate similar to that of the broader region, while small island developing states had been progressing at a slower pace.

Landlocked developing countries have made the most significant relative progress since 2015, achieving 13% of the necessary progress, while least developed countries and small island developing states have achieved only 11.5% and 6% overall progress, respectively.

However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic undid much of the progress made between 2015 and 2019, the report said.

Among these countries, small island developing states have encountered the most formidable challenges in regaining momentum, resulting in much slower progress across nearly all of the goals compared to other countries in similar situations.

Continued support from international development partners is crucial for these nations to overcome their vulnerabilities. Identifying the most effective approaches to assist these countries in achieving their goals is vital, especially necessary to make progress on climate action, decent work, and economic growth, as all three groups of countries facing special circumstances are regressing in these aspects, the report said.

Data deficiency

In Asia Pacific, the lack of sufficient data also poses a challenge because it makes an accurate assessment of progress difficult.

Of the 231 indicators, there is sufficient data to assess regional progress for only 133 of them.

Notably, Goal 5 (gender equality) and Goal 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions) continue to have the least available data.

Improving national and international coordination is critical for closing the data gap and enhancing data exchange and use. There is an urgent need for collaborative and coordinated initiatives, enhanced data systems, and targeted policies to accelerate progress towards the SDGs throughout the region, the forum heard.

Progress in Thailand

“Thailand has accepted the Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model for SDGs; nevertheless, there is still a lack of synergy in collaboration between the public and private sectors,” Pinsuda Jayanama, Thai delegate and director-general at the Department of International Organisation, said.

She added that Thailand had adopted the sufficiency economy philosophy conceived by His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, which is a framework for improving human well-being as a development goal.

Pinsuda suggested that the development approach based on the sufficiency philosophy is in conformity with the core principles of the UN's 2030 Agenda and could serve as an approach to support the realisation of the SDGs.