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Measuring progress - The environmental dimension of the SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Published on February 15, 2022

This report on the environmental dimension of the SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean aims to explore the relationship between the environment and the issues prioritized in each of the SDGs; present current data for the region on the environmental indicators of the SDGs to highlight progress and gaps in the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda; and demonstrate the opportunities of sound environmental management for ensuring sustainable development alternatives that do not translate into natural resource exhaustion, environmental degradation and unsustainable livelihoods.

 

The recognition of the role of environmental sustainability in a prosperous future for humanity implies collective action, coordination at all levels, and policies that take an integrated, multidimensional and multisectoral approach. Over last decades, the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has successfully put sustainable development initiatives into practice on different scales. Nevertheless, the region has not yet built on and expanded these efforts, options and tools, which can now be scaled up to achieve the SDGs (UNEP, 2016c). This publication is intended to assist policymakers, civil society stakeholders, governments, communities and the private sector that seek to balance the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development (social, environmental and economic) by providing insights into the challenges the region faces. To do this, it provides an overview of each of the 17 SDGs. In each section, the main interactions of specific SDGs with environmental issues are presented, reviewing available data and information on the SDG indicators related to the environment and/or proxy indicators in the region.

The balanced integration of sustainable economic growth, justice, social protection and care for the environment is reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). As this document shows, the environmental dimension is present in all the SDGs in relation to poverty, hunger, health, education, gender, water and sanitation, energy, economic growth, human settlements, sustainable consumption and production (SCP), climate change, oceans and terrestrial ecosystems. This greater integration is based not only on a precautionary principle of harm and risk reduction, but also on the role of natural resources to achieve human well-being, generate economic opportunities, and strengthen social and ecological resilience for present and future generations. The future of the region’s economies, as well as the ability of countries to combat poverty and reverse inequality, depends on the development pathways chosen today by governments, the private sector, civil society and development actors in general, as well as by the complex array of international, political, and climatic factors. As we will demonstrate in this document, it is crucial that the region advances in comprehensively including the environmental dimension in national and regional policies to strengthen resilience to shocks, ensure human health and maintain ecological stability. This report on the environmental dimension of the SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean aims to:

1. Explore the relationship between the environment and the issues prioritized in each of the SDGs; 

2. Present current data for the region on the environmental indicators of the SDGs to highlight progress and gaps in the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda;

 

3. Demonstrate the opportunities of sound environmental management for ensuring sustainable development alternatives that do not translate into natural resource exhaustion, environmental degradation and unsustainable livelihoods.

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