August 2018: The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) released a response to UN Women’s 2018 report on gender equality within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which called for greater collaboration to track progress towards the SDGs. The brief reflects on the CGIAR community’s potential to increase its efforts to monitor the SDGs. CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future, and CIFOR is a CGIAR research center.
In the brief titled, ‘UN Women’s Evaluation of Gender in the SDGs: What’s the Role for the CGIAR?’, the authors reflect on a report by UN Women on a framework to monitor the SDGs from a gender perspective. UN Women’s flagship report titled, ‘Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ and published in February 2018, highlights the importance of SDG monitoring to translate global commitment to results, strengthen accountability, including for both actions and omissions, and foster democratic decision-making and public debate. The CIFOR brief notes the report’s findings on: limitations of the Global Indicator Framework, especially as they relate to gender; the importance of disaggregation and intersectionality; and structural barriers to SDG 5 (gender quality).
The report calls for greater collaboration among governments, researchers and other organizations to realize the SDGs, including collaboration to track progress towards the Goals and to identify achievements and gaps. Within this context, CIFOR states the potential of its gender research community to contribute to gender-related aspects of the SDGs, including SDG monitoring.
CIFOR observes that UN Women’s flagship report does not “significantly showcase” CGIAR’s gender research and publications. The authors also reflect on opportunities for CGIAR to increase its role and impact on gender-related aspects of the SDGs. In the future, CIFOR states, CGIAR can “play a bigger role in the 2030 Agenda” by leveraging its globally comparative, innovative and high-impact research to contribute to global and national efforts to monitor the SDGs.
As an illustration, CGIAR research programs focus on SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 15 (life on land). Consequently, CIFOR recognizes the potential for the network to consider cross-cutting issues across its research programs and monitor multiple SDGs, including through its cross-CGIAR research methodologies like the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI).
The authors argue that the network will have to consolidate and harmonize its research and findings “to have a bigger voice and effect.” [CIFOR Info Brief: UN Women’s Evaluation of Gender in the SDGs: What’s the Role for the CGIAR?] [UN Women’s 2018 report]