sustainable development

This working paper represents one of the main outputs of the project and includes the list of 100 key research questions identified, alongside a methodological section and a discussion of the results. Its aim is to contribute to the discussion on the post-2015 global development agenda and the new research priorities that it will entail.

This 2014 edition of the annual report on voluntary commitments and partnerships for sustainable development takes a look at how various “Action Networks” monitor progress of their stakeholder’s commitments, and how progress is enforced when deliverables are off track. The report will also look at options for an enhanced effective accountability and monitoring framework of voluntary initiatives in the post 2015 development era.

Part II of the 2015 edition of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific (theme study for the 71st Commission Session) examines the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development as a concept and as a practical implementation principle.

The end of 2015 is the target date for the Millennium Development Goals. Governments across Asia and the Pacific have been striving to meet the Goals, particularly on reducing income poverty. Some subregions and countries have made faster progress than others, but it is clear that the MDGs have prompted high levels of commitment and achievement. As MDGs come to a close and a post-2015 agenda takes shape, to be formulated as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this report focuses on three key issues for implementation of this new agenda: technology, finance and statistics.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss options for the architecture for review and follow-up of the SDGs in the context of the HLPF, without considering all the detail of who does what or how to incorporate all the organizations that will be involved. We discuss the institutional design principles for review mechanisms, in the first section, and then in the second section we describe how we see the design choices in a way that may be helpful for negotiators preparing for the May 2015 Session on Monitoring & Review of the Post-2015 Intergovernmental Negotiations.