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Actions and commitments to sustainable
development goals
Prof Dr Akbaruddin Ahmad, Chairman, Policy Research Centre bd, Chairman (Admn) NAPSIPAG and Former
Vice Chancellor, Darul Ihsan University; Md Zahir Ahmed, Research Coordinator and Student Research Team
Lead, Policy Research Centre bd and NAPSIPAG Member
B
angladesh on an annual basis is battered by floods,
tidal surges and earthquakes that have become more
frequent in the recent past. The combination of
over 300 rivers, alluvial soil, annual siltation of land and
low lying areas has become a natural resource boon. The
adoption of modern technology and research has placed
Bangladesh as one the highest per hectare output food grain
producing country in the world, surpassing India, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Per capita income has risen to
USD 1,386 and has become a lower middle income country
although the population is as high as 160 million. Despite
natural calamities, the highly resilient people are motivated
to move ahead, facing all odds, rebuilding their homes and
continuing with farming activities.
Standards of living of the general masses have improved
considerably. Health care systems in Bangladesh have
expanded to the rural areas with hospitals and clinics for
mother and child. Education up to degree level is free for
girls and free up to high school level for boys. The GDP
growth has been over 6 per cent for a decade and is now
projected at 7.2 per cent for the fiscal year 2016–17. The
country influences the overall macroeconomic position of
the nation, namely: poverty alleviation, health improvement
food security and employment generation.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise
known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to
end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people
enjoy peace and prosperity. These 17 Goals build on the
successes of the Millennium Development Goals, while
including new areas such as climate change, economic
inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and
justice, among other priorities. The SDGs work in the spirit
of partnership and pragmatism to make the right choices to
improve life in a sustainable way for future generations. They
provide clear guidelines and targets for all countries to adopt
in accordance with their own priorities and the environmen-
tal challenges of the world at large.
The SDGs are an inclusive agenda. They tackle the root
causes of poverty and unite us to make a positive change
for both people and planet. The SDGs came into effect in
January 2016, and they will continue to guide UNDP policy.
Achieving the SDGs requires the partnership of govern-
ments, private sector, civil society and citizens alike to
make sure that we leave a better planet for future genera-
tions. The concept of SDGs formed the basis of the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development held
in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. According to The United Nations
World Commission on Environment and Development’s
Report in 1987: “Sustainable development is development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that
aims to meet human needs can be met not only in the
present, but also for generations to come” (sometimes taught
as ELF-Environment, Local people, Future). It contains
within it two key concepts: firstly, the concept of need, in
particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which
overriding priority should be given, and secondly, the idea
of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social
organization on the environment’s ability to meet present
and future needs.
Bangladesh has maintained an average annual growth rate
of about 6 per cent for more than a decade with the growth
rate exceeding 6 per cent in three consecutive years – FY10,
11 and 12. The fact that this growth has been achieved in the
face of natural disasters, a world food price crisis and global
recession indicates the resilience of the economy supported
by good economic management and favourable external
factors. Sustained growth has contributed to faster reduc-
tion in poverty from 48.9 per cent in 2000 to 31.5 per cent in
2010, implying an average annual rate of decline of 4.3 per
cent over the period.
Growth has also been associated with improvement in
social indicators such as education, health and nutrition,
and housing and sanitation. However, the recent progress
has been facing fundamental challenges including main-
taining macroeconomic stability, increasing energy supply
to meet growing demand, lifting investment rates from years
of stagnancy, improving competitiveness of the economy and
achieving sustainable development. The challenge to envi-
ronmental sustainability in Bangladesh originates from two
sources – internal and external. Long term acceleration in the
growth rate has rested on improved growth of agriculture,
stable growth of services and a faster growth of industry,
especially manufacturing.