The Norwegian government has recently issued a white paper on sustainable food systems. Offering a holistic perspective, it highlights Norway’s desire to strengthen its engagement on increased sustainable food production, improved nutrition, creation of jobs as well as effective food governance.
I recently had the pleasure of riding the Madaraka Express – a Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project that connects Nairobi to the port city of Mombasa. It gave me a first-hand experience of how a Chinese “mega project” works, and how it is being financed, maintained and expanded to other parts of Kenya.
I recently attended a fascinating national conclave on institutionalising the SDGs in New Delhi and was pleasantly surprised to find that several state governments in India are showing considerable interest in incorporating the SDGs in planning development projects and programs. But one of the most important debates at this event highlighted the challenges associated with a much-talked-about idea in the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development – “leave no one behind”.
The transformative agenda may be weakened, and distorted. We recommend that the most problematic indicators be re-examined.
During the past couple of weeks, I have been giving a series of talks on sustainable development at various Chinese universities in Beijing as well as interacting with UN agencies, think tanks and civil society organizations. A common theme that has emerged in these interactions is that China has strongly endorsed the 2030 Agenda, and that the sustainable development discourse is growing in popularity within the country. The interesting question is why.
A blog by the Oslo SDG Initiative.
