28 January 2016: The UN Secretariat released an outline of the 2016 edition of the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR). It notes that ‘Ensuring that No One is Left Behind’ will be a theme running throughout the report, consistent with theme of the 2016 session of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The Secretariat also called for scientific input to the report, which can be submitted until 18 February 2016.
According to the outline, the 2016 GSDR will provide “an assessment of assessments.” It will also, similarly to the 2014 and 2015 editions, keep the focus on ‘science-policy interface’ and ‘Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as integrated system.’ The GSDR is also expected to include chapters on: ensuring that no one is left behind and the 2030 Agenda; the infrastructure, inequality, resilience nexus; technologies for inclusiveness; inclusive institutions for sustainable development; and emerging science issues and solutions for the attention of decision-makers.
On the call for scientific input, the Secretariat requests briefs that: highlight a specific issue, finding, or research with a bearing on sustainable development in its three dimensions (economic, social and environment) or the inter-linkages between them; be factual and based on peer-reviewed literature; focus on the review of up-to-date findings relating to a particular issue; or present solutions to a problem or challenge. So far, briefs have been submitted that address, inter alia: environmental governance; social security; green infrastructure; open data; thematic reviews; integrating human health and well-being, urbanization and ecosystem services; and poverty and aging.
The GSDR was first called for by the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development states that the GSDR will inform the HLPF, in order to “strengthen the science-policy interface” and “provide a strong evidence-based instrument to support policy-makers in promoting poverty eradication and sustainable development” (paragraph 83).
On the relationship between the GSDR and the ‘SDG Progress Report,’ also called for in the 2030 Agenda, UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) President Oh Joon announced on 20 January 2016 that the Permanent Representative of Switzerland, Jürg Lauber, will conduct consultations with Member States. The consultations’ outcome should be reflected in the 2016 HLPF Ministerial Declaration. In the meantime, the 2016 edition should be the “last pilot version” of the GSDR, said Oh. [Outline] [Call for Contributions] [Crowdsourced Briefs] [GSDR Website] [IISD RS Story on ECOSOC President Briefing]