20 Sep, 2013
FREE Download: ADB, ESCAP report can help travel & tourism meet MDGs by 2015 deadline
With less than 1,000 days to go before the 2015 deadline for meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals, two of the Asia-Pacific region’s leading development organisations have issued a report assessing the “state of the union” and the work that still lies ahead in the limited time left. The report is relevant to the Asia-Pacific travel & tourism industry which is potentially one of the most important socio-economic contributors to the success of these goals.
As always, Travel Impact Newswire is at the forefront of travel & tourism media efforts to raise awareness of the MDGs amongst the industry. Readers can download free the report by the Asian Development Bank and the UN Economic & Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific at the links below.
Future Development Goals Target Ending Poverty by 2030
20 September 2013 – Decent jobs, liveable cities, and protection against disasters should become part of a new global blueprint for development that could aim to end poverty by 2030, says a new report co-authored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
“The Millennium Development Goals have been a powerful tool for rallying global support around common objectives including poverty reduction,” said Kazu Sakai, Director General of ADB’s Strategy and Policy Department. “The report proposes the inclusion of new goals on zero income poverty and zero hunger and malnutrition by as early as 2030, as part of a broad post-2015 agenda.”
With less than 1,000 days remaining until the 2015 deadline to meet the MDGs, the report, Asia-Pacific Aspirations: Perspectives for a Post-2015 Development Agenda, provides an insight into where the region stands with the MDGs and what it must do to accelerate their implementation. More importantly, the report proposes 12 specific goals that the international community should work towards to end poverty and other deprivations by 2030. Adopting these goals would also help respond to aspirations from Asia and the Pacific.
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Apart from aiming to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition, the report says a potential set of future goals could include gender equality; decent jobs for everyone of working age; health and quality education for all; improved living conditions with a focus on the poor; liveable cities; environmental responsibility and management of natural resources; disaster risk reduction; accountable and responsive governments; and strong development partnerships.
The report follows months of consultations with a wide range of national and sub-regional stakeholders, and contributes to an ongoing United Nations-led process to draw up a post-2015 global development agenda. It was co-produced with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and the United Nations Development Programme.
The Asia-Pacific region remains woefully off-track in meeting the MDGs on such basic areas as hunger, health, and sanitation, the report notes. Despite an impressive reduction in income poverty in recent decades, the region remains home to two-thirds of the world’s poor, and more than 60% of its hungry people.
In addition to the ‘unfinished agenda’ from the MDGs, the region must address new emerging challenges like rising inequalities, unplanned urbanization, climate change, pollution, and water scarcity. Ultimately, for any new agenda to be sustainable, it will need to be underpinned by the principles of inclusive growth, social equity, and environmental responsibility, which will require improvements in health and education, generating quality jobs, and increasing social protection for the poor, the report says.
The report notes that while a post-2015 framework should detail shared global goals, it should also give individual regions or countries flexibility over how best to achieve them, with responsibilities for global public goods based on capacities. Reaching future targets will also require a broadening of financial resources, with state-backed official development assistance expected to decline, and much closer cooperation and partnerships amongst national, regional and international institutions. Equally important will be support to bridge serious data deficits to strengthen coherence between national and international efforts.
This report, the eight in a series produced under a tripartite partnership involving ADB, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), comes at a critical juncture when the international community needs one strong final push to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Citizens and leaders of the world are also discussing the shape of a framework for a transformative development agenda beyond 2015. This report identifies areas for accelerated action, emerging challenges, and illustrative regional development priorities for the future.
Post-2015 development agenda
Asia and the Pacific has made good progress toward the MDGs, though the region will still need to make greater efforts if it is to meet some important targets. The post-2015 goals should set a transformative agenda for Asia and the Pacific. Based on the above core principles, this report proposes the following goal areas:
- Zero income poverty,
- Zero hunger and malnutrition,
- Gender equality,
- Decent jobs for everyone of working age,
- Health for all,
- Improved living conditions for all,
- Quality education for all,
- Liveable cities,
- Environmental responsibility and management of natural resources,
- Disaster risk reduction,
- Accountable and responsive governments, and
- Strong development partnerships and reformed global governance.
About this report
In May 2013, the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 development agenda submitted its report to the Secretary-General, marking a watershed in the quest for a sustainable and inclusive development agenda for all. The report reaffirmed that MDGs have been a powerful development framework that has rallied political support and critical resources to address the most abject forms of poverty in the developing countries of the world.
This report presents perspectives from Asia and the Pacific on the Post-2015 development agenda as part of the UN system-wide discussion initiated by the Secretary-General. Given its diversity, massive challenges, and rich endowments, Asia and the Pacific has much to contribute to deliberations on environmentally sustainable economic and social development. The perspectives and aspirations of this region for the Post-2015 development agenda should be of much interest to the global community.
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