Strengthening the Environmental Dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific Tool Compendium

1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

This tool compendium was prepared by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) under the fi rst phase of the ADB technical assistance (TA) project Supporting Implementation of Environment-Related Sustainable Development Goals in Asia and the Pacifi c.¹ Given the multiplicity of the environmental dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for practical reasons, the TA project is focused on helping ADB developing member countries (DMCs) eff ectively integrate SDGs 12, 14 and 15,² and selected environment-related targets determined to be directly related to responsible consumption and production, and to sustainable marine and terrestrial ecosystems management, into national policies, plans, and programs (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1: Technical Assistance Project Targets and Their Interlinkages

SDG = Sustainable Development Goal, TA = technical assistance.

a 2.4, 2.5, 3.9, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 7.2, 7.3, 8.4, 8.9, 9.4, 11.4, 11.6, 11.7.

b 6a, 7b, 11a, 11b, 11c, 17.7

Source: Asian Development Bank.

If growth is to be environmentally sustainable, these selected environment-related goals and targets should be given equal consideration alongside the government’s economic, social, and climate change priorities. They need to be well integrated into national and sector policies, plans, and programs, and aligned with locally adapted priority targets and indicators. However, recent SDG status reports indicate that the implementation of SDGs with an environmental focus shows the least progress of all. The region with arguably the greatest need for strengthening national responses to SDGs 12, 14, and 15 is Asia and the Pacific. This need reflects the fact that the region’s exceptional growth has come at steep environmental costs, now undermining the prospects for sustained economic growth and social development within, and even beyond, the region.

The TA project is aimed at building the capacity of DMCs to strengthen policy making and implementation of the environmental dimensions of SDGs in Asia and the Pacific, for example, by identifying and leveraging new sources of finance and enhancing monitoring and reporting systems, to ensure that those dimensions are capably addressed in the region.

1.2 INTEGRATED APPROACH TO THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

In September 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with the 17 SDGs as its centerpiece, was adopted. One of the more notable features of the SDGs and their 169 targets, compared with the Millennium Development Goals, is their integrated approach, placing equal emphasis on the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Studies have shown that 86 of the 169 targets seek to directly or indirectly reduce environmental damage or emphasize the critical role of natural resources and ecosystem services in human well-being and prosperity.³ In practice, this means that the environmental dimensions are not to be regarded as mere add-ons; rather, they are to be thoroughly interwoven with the socioeconomic dimensions of development plans. The SDGs represent a milestone in the global effort to recognize the central role of the environment in socioeconomic development, and vice versa. But their achievement will rest on whether countries have enough capacity to take the integrated approach forward at the national level.

Evidence suggests that the capacity of developing countries in Asia and the Pacific needs to be significantly strengthened to integrate the environmental dimensions of the SDGs into national policies, plans, and programs. Fortunately, they will not have to pursue integration on their own. International and regional organizations, including ADB, UN Environment, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), are providing tools and other resources to support the integration of the environmental dimensions into development plans. In the first phase of the TA project, ADB surveyed, as part of a regional stocktaking,⁴ the opportunities and challenges for strengthening the implementation of the environmental dimensions in 15 of its DMCs.

The TA project’s regional stocktaking identified at the country level the necessity of strengthening capacity, mobilizing resources, and developing indicators in order to improve the implementation of the selected environment-related goals and targets. The way forward should involve greater and deeper integration of the environment into country priorities, so that investment in the environment can be driven domestically and sustained in the long run. Through better integration of the environmental dimensions of the SDGs, progress toward responsible consumption and production, and sustainable marine and terrestrial ecosystems management, can be achieved.

Governments, the private sector, and others are taking a second look at the huge body of experience in tackling environmental issues, which can be leveraged to help deliver the SDGs. But ministries and agencies must work together and take on the mandate to achieve the environmental dimensions of the SDGs, rather than requiring environment ministries or agencies to do so on their own. Policy makers need to comprehend better the impact of their policies on the environment, and the importance of delivering the SDGs as an integrated whole. Screening mechanisms and strategic environmental assessments are important tools for ensuring that conflicts and trade-offs are understood, and for improving draft policies. Governments’ and financial institutions’ understanding of green financing tools, methods, and approaches must improve. Finally, capacity must be developed and strengthened so that those responsible for data collation and management can work together and with more innovative data technologies and sources. This tool compendium helps identify which tools, methods, and approaches can be used to fill capacity gaps.

1.3 OBJECTIVE AND PURPOSE OF THE TOOL COMPENDIUM

One of the important findings of the regional stocktaking under the TA project was that many successful approaches to integrating the environment into policy and planning already exist. At the same time, the SDGs have led to a proliferation of new tools and methods that can facilitate integration. There is, however, limited information about which tools are best suited to integration at different stages of the policy making process. So that governments and other stakeholders may make use of existing decision-making tools to help promote more integrated and coordinated approaches to the environment, the regional stocktaking identified the need for practical guidance on how such tools can be applied to help address identified barriers and facilitate integration. The main purpose of this tool compendium is to offer practical guidance. Knowing which tools are available to assist and support their efforts, and how these tools have been used by others, is a critical initial step in promoting more integrated and coordinated approaches to the environment.

This tool compendium presents an inventory of tools, methods, and approaches that policy makers can use to better (i) understand the critical interlinkages within and between environment-related goals and targets; (ii) promote policy coherence and integration of the environmental dimensions of the SDGs; and (iii) develop and select appropriate indicators, policies, and institutional arrangements to support the effective implementation of the environmental dimensions of the SDGs. Though a wide range of tools, methods, and approaches is covered here, their applicability depends on the specific issues and the implementing context. This specificity must be recognized: there can be no one preferred approach at the regional, national, or local level, and some tools demand the development of specialized skills and knowledge.

For the purposes of this compendium, the term tool is interpreted broadly to cover a wide range of tools, methods, and approaches. The focus is on tools applicable to the public sector, since the government is primarily responsible for integrating the environmental dimensions of the SDGs into national policies, plans, and programs. But considering the importance of the private sector in SDG implementation, tools applicable to the private sector that the government may also need to know about have also been identified.

1.4 IDENTIFICATION OF TOOLS

Tools were identified for inclusion in this compendium through (i) desk-based research under the ADB TA project and by UN Environment staff and consultants, (ii) interviews with over 120 interviewees in 14 DMCs as part of the regional stocktaking (footnote 4), and (iii) feedback from participants at a regional knowledge-sharing workshop held by ADB in conjunction with UNESCAP and UN Environment in Bangkok, Thailand, in February 2018.⁵ Before the workshop, an initial tool inventory was shared with participants on the TA project’s website and via e-mail. This initial inventory of about 70 tools was presented during the workshop. Participants were asked to identify additional tools for inclusion in the compendium. Those other tools were included in the revised tool inventory shared with the participants for verification via the TA project’s website and e-mail in June 2018. The final tool inventory presented in this tool compendium considers all feedback received and some additional tools made available during the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2018.

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STRUCTURE OF THE TOOL COMPENDIUM

2.1 INTRODUCTION

The tools have been organized into four sections (chapters) according to their relevance to an integrated approach, the environmental dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in general, and in particular to SDGs 12, 14, and 15—the focus of the technical assistance (TA) project. Many of the tools in the first section are applicable to all 17 SDGs, as well as to effective stakeholder engagement and consensus building beyond the scope of the SDGs.

The tools are organized under the most applicable section on the basis of the main function of the tool in relation to the public sector. But this does not mean that a tool in one section is not relevant to other applications. For example, the SDG Compass tool provides guidance to the private sector in contributing to the SDGs and could therefore fall under tools for an integrated approach. However, it is listed under SDG 12 as it is most closely related to public sector efforts to address SDG 12 (specifically target 12.6), encouraging private sector companies to adopt sustainable practices and sustainability reporting.

Under each section (Table 2.1) the tools are presented in tabular format, with the tool name, a brief description, the developer, use requirements (such as open source, licensing or technical requirements), and brief details of documented application experience or case studies. Hyperlinks are provided to the tool itself or to sources of further information, where these are available.

Table 2.1: Breakdown of Tools, by Application

SDG = Sustainable Development Goal.

a A study by the United Nations Environment Programme has shown that 86 out of 169 targets directly or indirectly seek to reduce environmental damage or emphasize the