Click here to visit the IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub knowledgebase.  SDG UPDATE A compilation of items recently posted to the SDG Knowledge Hub Wednesday, 15 March 2023 GUEST ARTICLES Vanuatu Twin Cyclones Underscore Pacific’s Vulnerability to Climate Risks By Sanjay Srivastava and Sudip Ranjan Basu Two destructive Category 4 tropical cyclones, Judy and Kevin, and an earthquake of 6.5 magnitude impacted over 80% of Vanuatu’s population from 1-3 March 2023. To address this emergency situation, the UN, along with Pacific member States, have deployed personnel on the ground to coordinate humanitarian assistance and prepare post-disaster damage assessment. Harnessing the Digital Age to Empower Women and Girls By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana New technologies and innovations are reshaping our world and its future, often at a dizzying pace. Yet women and girls continue to be left behind in this burgeoning digital universe. How, then, can we harness these developments to create a better future for all of us? This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, ‘DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,’ seeks to answer exactly that question. Working Towards Inclusive and Resilient Agrifood Systems in the Pacific By Laurent Thomas, Deputy Director-General, FAO In recent years, I have often had the chance to see for myself the incredible resilience and determination of Pacific Islanders. Small island developing States (SIDS) in the region grapple with unique challenges such as the impacts of climate change and frequent natural disasters, limited land and water resources for domestic food production, non-communicable diseases and malnutrition, and market volatility. These have now been exacerbated by post-COVID-19 recovery burdens as well as soaring prices of food, feed, fuel, fertilizer, and difficult access to finance, known collectively as the ‘5F’ crisis. POLICY BRIEFS Placing Future Generations at the Heart of Sustainable Development By Özge Aydoğan, Eleonora Bonaccorsi, and Trine Schmidt  In an effort to deliver the 2030 Agenda through a reformed multilateral system, the UN Secretary-General will publish eleven policy briefs between March and July 2023. The policy briefs are intended to propose concrete actions under Our Common Agenda and to inform the discussions of Members States in advance of the 2023 SDG Summit and the Summit of the Future in 2024. The first brief, published on 9 March under the title, ‘To Think and Act for Future Generations,’ provides a number of suggestions and practical steps in ensuring that intergenerational solidarity becomes the guiding star of sustainable development and renewal of the multilateral system. Responding to Global Shocks: UNSG’s Emergency Platform By Elena Kosolapova, Senior Policy Advisor, IISD Tracking Progress, and SDG Hub Content Editor We live in an interconnected world. UN Secretary-General António Guterres recognized this interconnectedness in his remarks at the launch of two policy briefs that will inform UN Member States’ consultations as they prepare for the 2023 SDG Summit and the Summit of the Future in 2024, on how the multilateral system can be strengthened to respond to the challenges of tomorrow. He underscored that “shocks that occur in one country or sector can quickly have cascading consequences elsewhere, often in unforeseen ways.” NEWS UN LDC5 Conference Generates Commitments for World’s Poorest Countries Member States announced commitments to deliver on the Doha Programme of Action to put the world’s 46 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) back on track to achieving the SDGs. Commitments ranging from improving biodiversity and tackling malnutrition to resilience building aim to drive transformational change for the 1.2 billion people living in the world’s poorest countries. Countries Reach Agreement to Conserve and Sustainably Use High Seas “The ship has reached the shore,” said Rena Lee, President of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) tasked with negotiating a new treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). After a decade and a half of work, including four years of formal talks, governments agreed to conserve and sustainably use the high seas. Talks on Chemicals and Waste Management Instrument to Resume Ahead of ICCM5 While delegates to the resumed fourth meeting of the Intersessional Process for Considering the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) and the Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste Beyond 2020 (IP4) made substantial progress on a post-2020 instrument on the sound management of chemicals and waste, consensus remained elusive. Negotiations will continue immediately prior to the fifth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) in Bonn, Germany, in September 2023. Regional Forum Calls for Innovative Finance for SDGs in Africa The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) held its 2023 regional forum on sustainable development (RFSD). Delegates adopted the ‘Niamey Declaration on accelerating the inclusive and green recovery from multiple crises and the integrated and full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, of the African Union.’ UNECE Region Further Away from Fulfilling 2030 Agenda: SDG Status Report The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has published its annual assessment of progress towards the SDGs in the region. With 21 targets assessed as being on track, the region will only achieve 18% of measurable targets by 2030, the report warns. In 2022, the UNECE region was on track to achieve 26 targets. G7 Workshop Emphasizes Cooperation to Reduce Lead Exposure in LMICs The 2022 Group of 7 (G7) environment ministers reaffirmed their commitment to reduce lead in the environment and the disproportionate lead exposure in vulnerable communities during a workshop that was mandated by the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers in recognition of lead pollution as a burden on human health and the environment globally. CURRENT & UPCOMING EVENTS SEE MORE » 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women 6-17 March 2023 | New York City, US 3rd Global Soil Biodiversity Conference 13-15 March 2023 | Dublin, Ireland 58th session of the IPCC (IPCC 58) 13-17 March 2023 | Interlaken, Bern, Switzerland WSIS Forum 2023 13-17 March 2023 | Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland UN Development Cooperation Forum 2023 14-15 March 2023 | New York City, US Arab Regional Forum for Sustainable Development 2023 14-16 March 2023 | Beirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon Partnership for Healthy Cities Summit 2023 15 March 2023 | London, England, UK 28th Session of the International Seabed Authority Assembly and Council (Part I) 16-31 March 2023 | Kingston, Jamaica International Day of Forests 2023 21 March 2023 | worldwide World Water Day 2023 22 March 2023 | worldwide 117th meeting of the CDM Executive Board 22-24 March 2023 | Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany UN 2023 Water Conference 22-24 March 2023 | New York City, US World Meteorological Day 2023 23 March 2023 | worldwide World Tuberculosis Day 2023 24 March 2023 | worldwide Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development 2023 27-30 March 2023 | Bangkok (Krung Thep), Thailand VIII Latin American Forestry Congress and V Argentine Forestry Congress 27-30 March 2023 | Mendoza, Argentina Funding for the IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub has been provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) The IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub is a knowledgebase tracking implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 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