Millennium Development Goals Related to

Environment

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL

The United Nations millennium summit was one of the largest conferences of the world leaders
that would play a decisive role in sustainable development. The Millennium Development Goals
were 8 goals that all 189 UN Member States have agreed to try to achieve by the year 2015.
The United Nations Millennium Declaration, signed in September 2000, committed world
leaders to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and
discrimination against women. The MDGs were derived from this Declaration, and had
specific targets and indicators. The MDGs have been superseded by the Sustainable
Development Goals, a set of 17 integrated and indivisible goals that build on the
achievements of the MDGs but are broader, deeper and far more ambitious in scope.
One key attainment of the present millennium development goals is the extent to which they have
mobilized community and political support for growth. Other advantages include, MDGs are
reasonably easy for governments, the MDGs are not a set of legally binding obligations, but rather
a moral and practical set of obligations. MDGs can be found through practical and specific
measures taken by governments, business and civil society worldwide. But some various reasons
for the lack of progress towards the MDGs are discussed in the literature. A holistic and
comprehensive approach to define a wide range of goals and targets including poverty and
environment, health and literacy, gender equity and international collaboration is approaching and
targeting the global issues, uniformly.
However, during the past years and based on MDGs nearly all countries have made efforts to
achieve the related goals. The annual international reports on MDGs show such a movement. Of
course, depending on socioeconomic and political situation of each country the rate of
achievement could be different.
GOAL 7: ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

It is critical that the natural resources base and ecosystems are managed sustainably to ensure
that people’s food requirements and other social, economic, and environmental needs are
sufficiently met. Climate change, conflicts over access to resources, and increased water
scarcity all pose a threat to not only environmental sustainability but also food security.

As such, millennium development goal 7 has 4 targets:

1. To integrate the principles of sustainable development into every nation’s policies

and programmes, and also reverse the depletion of environmental resources
2. To reduce biodiversity loss and achieve a substantial reduction in the rate of loss by
2010
3. To halve the proportion of the universal population without sustainable access to
clean and safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.
4. To achieve substantial improvement in the lives of a minimum of 100 million slum
dwellers by 2020.

SOME OF THE GLOBAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF MDG 7

 The virtual elimination of ozone-depleting substances since 1990. Consequently, the

ozone layer is expected to recover by around the middle of the century
 Substantial increase in marine and terrestrial protected areas in many areas since
1990. In Caribbean and Latin America, coverage of terrestrial protected areas
increased from 8.8 percent in 1990 to 23.4 percent in 2014.
 The number of people using improved drinking water sources has increased from 76
percent in 1990 to 91 percent in 2015.
 2.6 billion people have gained access to better drinking water since 1990. Of these,
1.9 billion have access to piped drinking water on premises, with 58 percent of the
global population enjoying this level of service in 2015.
 147 nations in the world have fulfilled the drinking water target; 95 nations have
achieved the sanitation target; and 77 nations have met both.
 2.1 billion people in the universe have gained access to improved sanitation. At the
same time, the proportion of people practising open defecation has reduced by nearly
50 percent since 1990.
 A reduction in the proportion of urban population in developing nations living in
slums from 39.4 to 29.7 percent in the period between 2000 and 2014.
UNDP’S ROLE IN THE MDGs

As the specialized agency of the United Nations focusing on Development, UNDP has a
mandate of supporting countries in their development path, and coordinating the UN
System at the country level.

In this capacity, the UN Secretary General requested that UNDP be the MDG
Scorekeeper, in addition to UNDP's ongoing programmatic work in accomplishing the
MDGs. The "Road map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium
Declaration" notes that UNDP will coordinate the reporting on progress towards the
Millennium Development Goals at the country level.

As the scorekeeper, UNDP supports the implementation of the United Nations

Development Group (UNDG) Core Strategy, including:

 Coordinating and providing financial support for the preparation of MDG country
monitoring report.
 Forging closer collaboration within UN Country Teams on policy advocacy, while
promoting a strong response to national MDG priorities through United Nations
Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAFs) and Country Programmes.

UNDP, in collaboration with the UNDG and the Inter Agency Expert Group (IAEG) on
Targets and Indicators, has been providing technical and financial support to help
countries report progress on their national MDG targets, and developing the MDG
National Report Guidelines, which are updated every few years to reflect emerging
development priorities and agendas.

TRANSITIONING FROM MSGs TO SDGs

This United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)- World Bank Report pullstogether
the main lessons learned from the MDGs Reviews for the UN system and for itsengagement
at the country level, which took place at the united Nations(UN) SystemChief Executives
Board for Coordination (CEB). The Reviews, which brought togetherUN and World Bank
Group staff, systematically identified the country situation, thebottlenecks to MDGs
attainment, and potential solutions to be implemented. Since manyMDGs have been absorbed
into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many of theobservations and solutions
provided could prove useful to the implementation of theSDGs.

Sixteen countries from across the world and the sub-region of the Pacific Islandcountries took
part in the CEB reviews, addressing several different MDGs.

Thesestrongly advocated for cross-sectoral and cross-institutional thinking within the

UNsystem to accelerate progress on off-track MDGs targets. Bottleneck analysis,
proposedunder the MDGs Acceleration Framework (MAF), helped UN system organizations
fullyappreciate that investing in solutions within a particular sector may be necessary, but
notsufficient to gain enough momentum to meet a particular target.

Three main conclusionsclearly apply to the transition from the MDGs to the 2030 Agenda:

 Support cross-institutional collaboration between the UN system and the WorldBank;

 Advance better understanding of cross-sectoral work, and the interrelatedness ofgoals
and targets; and
 Promote global and high-level advocacy.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

On 25 September 2015, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the 2030Agenda
for Sustainable Development, along with a new set of development goals thatare collectively
called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Agenda is a culmination of many
years of negotiation and was endorsed by all 193 member nationsof the General Assembly,
both developed and developing and applies to all countries.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-
Moon noted that “the new agendais a promise by leadersto all people everywhere. It is an
agenda for people, to end poverty in all of its forms—an agenda for the planet, our common
home.”

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals,
are auniversal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people
enjoypeace and prosperity. These 17 Goals build on the successes of the
MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs), while including new areas such as climate
change,economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice,
amongother priorities. The goals are interconnected often the key to success on one will
involvetackling issues more commonly associated with another.
The SDGs work in the spirit ofpartnership and pragmatism to make the right choices now to
improve life in asustainable way for future generations. They provide clear guidelines and
targets for allcountries to adopt in accordance with their own priorities and the
environmentalchallenges of the world at large. The SDGs are an inclusive agenda. They
tackle the rootcauses of poverty and unite us together to make a positive change for both
people andplanet. The SDGs of 17 Goals with 169 Targets came into effect on 1 January
2016 and willguide the international development agenda over the next 15 years.

IMPORTANCE OF SDGs IN ACHIEVING MDGs

A set of 17 goals and 169 targets aimed at resolving the social, economic andenvironmental
problems troubling the world. Covering the next 15 years, the SDGsreplace the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). We need the SDGs, because of thefollowing reasons:

 Around 800 million people still live in extreme poverty and suffer from hunger with
fragile and conflict-torn states experiencing the highest poverty rates.
 Between 2008 and 2012, 144 million people were displaced from their homes by
natural disasters, a number predicted to rise as the planet warms, bringing more
extreme weather and rising seas.
 Water scarcity affects 40 percent of the global population and is projected to increase.
 Some 946 million people still practice open defecation.
 Gender inequality persists in spite of more representation for women in parliaments
and more girls going to school.

If we meet the SDGs, the world will improve:P

 End poverty and hunger everywhere.

 Combat inequalities within and between countries.
 Build peaceful, just and inclusive societies.
 Protect human rights and promote gender equality and the empowerment ofwomen
and girls.
 Ensure lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources.
 Create conditions for sustainable, inclusive and sustained economic growth,shared
prosperity and decent work for all.
ROLE OF SDGs IN ENSURING ENVIRONMENT SUSTAINABILITY (GOAL 7)

It can be seen that about half of the SDGs are directly environmental in focus or address the
sustainability of natural resources: poverty, health, food and agriculture, water and sanitation,
human settlements, energy, climate change, sustainable consumption and production, oceans,
and terrestrial ecosystems.
UNEP promotes environmental sustainability as a crucial enabling factor in ensuring the
health of our planet, and is committed to working with all parties to ensure the success of the
ambitious agenda of sustainable development.
The Implementation of the 2030 Agenda requires a more holistic, coherent and integrated
approach at the national, regional and global levels. Policies to implement the 2030 Agenda
need to address inter-linkages within the social sector, as well as between the social,
economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Similarly, existing
institutions or institutional mechanisms that are working in the field of social development
will have to adjust or expand the scope of work so as to accommodate the new mandates
arising from the SDGs.

Recognizing the need for strengthening the social dimension of sustainable development,
Member States, during the 53rd session of the Commission for Social Development
(February 2015), urged to enhance policy coherence:

1) within social sectors (i.e. poverty eradication strategies, policies to promote employment
and decent work and social inclusion, policies to enhance access to quality education,
basic healthcare, safe drinking water, sanitation, group specific policies – youth,
older persons etc.);
2) through integrating social policy/perspectives into broader and more complex policy-
making processes, and vice versa, incorporating economic and environmental perspectives
into social policy-making.

INDIA’S PERFORMANCE ON MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL RELATED TO

ENVIRONMENT

1. Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and

programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources
The proportion of land covered by the forest area has shown a very marginal increase from
21.5% in 1990 to 22.8% in 2005. In terms of the per capita consumption of ozone depleting
substances (ODS), India seems to have taken effective measures since the per capita
consumption is less than 3 g as against the international recommended standard of 300 g in
accordance with the provisions of the Montreal protocol. The carbon dioxide emission per
capita is also much less compared to other countries, this being around 1 ton as against the
world average of about 4 tons. In India , as much as 74% of the total population uses solid
fuels for cooking, the majority are either wood, crop residue, or cow dung cake, accounting
for 70.7%, 13.5%, and 13.1% of total solid fuels used, while coal, lignite, and charcoal
combined together account for less than 3%. According to findings from National Sample
Survey 2004, the percentage of households using solid fuel was 85.8% for rural areas and
25.6% for urban areas.

2. To reduce biodiversity loss and achieve a substantial reduction in the rate of loss

India has been investing a huge amount on biodiversity directly or indirectly through several
development schemes of the Central and State Governments, to the tune of Rs 70,000 crores
per annum as against the estimated annual requirement of nearly Rs 1,09,000 crores.India has
nearly two third of the population of wild tigers in the world. The population of lion has
risen from 177 in 1968 to over 520 in 2015, and elephants from 12,000 in 1970s to 30,000 in
2015. One-horned Indian Rhino which was on the brink of extinction during the early
20th century, now number 2400. Further, while globally over 0.3 % of total recorded species
are critically endangered, in India only 0.08% of the species recorded are in this category.
India is committed to protecting its rich heritage of biodiversity which are so vital to our
economic and social development.

3. Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking
water and basic sanitation

According to census 1991, the proportion of people with access to safe drinking water was
62% which in turn increased to 85% as per Census 2001 and 89% in 2006. However the
proportion of population using basic sanitation continues to be low, increasing from 14% in
1990 to 28% in 2006. However rapid growth in the urban population poses a major challenge
with regard to safe water supply, sanitation, and drainage.
 4. To achieve by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum
dwellers

The past few years have witnessed a rapid urbanization and mass-scale migration of people
from rural to urban areas, resulting in a steep rise of urban slum communities. The total slum
population in the country is 40.3 million, comprising 22.6% of the total urban population.
Some 54% of urban slums do not have sanitary toilets while the community toilets provided
by the government are in a dismal state due to a lack of maintenance.

RECENT INITIATIVES TO ACHIEVE MDGs RELATING TO ENVIRONMENT

SUSTAINABILITY

1. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

The Government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign intends to achieve a ‘Clean India’ by
2019.

• To end open defecation, immediate measures include intensifying the Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan campaign; scaling up awareness-raising programmes on sanitation involving
communities and local governments; mass-communicating messages on sanitation from
highest quarters; and focusing efforts on states, districts and social groups falling most
behind.

• In the medium term, shortages in human resources in critical areas such as (i) for
community approaches to total sanitation; (ii) skilled personnel for toilet construction; and
(iii) monitoring and evaluation of programmes, must be tackled.

• While continuing efforts to increase access to clean drinking water, attention on quality of
water and its round-the-clock availability in both rural and urban areas is also necessary.
Scaling up many national and international best practice examples will also help in
addressing both water and sanitation related challenges.

2. Shyama Prasad MukherjiRurban Mission

The Government has placed high priority to filling infrastructure gaps including in rural areas
such as through the Shyama Prasad MukherjiRurban Mission. Areas for priority action in
infrastructure include:

• Prioritize efforts to enable access by all to modern energy, roads, and essential urban and
rural infrastructure, including urban amenities in rural areas. Integrate infrastructure
interventions with the provision of basic services such as education and health. Integrate
sanitation, waste management and energy generation using new technologies as under
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

• Review past lessons to provide clean cooking fuels to devise scalable programmes for rural
populations.

3. NamamiGange

The government National Action Plan on Climate Change which focuses on both climate
change mitigation and adaptation measures is the Government’s major initiative on climate
change has initiated measures and campaigns in other environment areas such as
NamamiGange for Ganga conservation, revamping the National Disaster Management
Authority, more ambitious solar mission, and the 100 Smart Cities initiative.

CONCLUSION

Despite the existence and launch of various programs and policies to address the major areas
of concern under the MDGs, the progress toward achieving these goals appears to be rather
slow in most of the areas including environment sustainability. With only about few more
years to go toward the set time for achieving these goals through SDGs, the only way to do so
would be to further intensify our efforts in reaching out to the grounds responsible for the
degradation or deterioration of the environment and ensuring uniform distribution of
resources and their optimum utilization.

Further the Sustainable Development Goals make the co-creation of new knowledge among
countries, state institutions and non-state actors a must, and indeed for most countries,
achieving the goals may well depend on it. The proposed universality of the SDGs
underscores the reality that most countries acknowledge and thereby the countries need to
ponder upon different ways of strengthening SDGs by forming efficient policies and
spreading awareness amongst the people who could actually then be a helping hand in
ensuring the environment sustainability.