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16 July 2018: During the first Local and Regional Governments’ Forum, participants called for engaging local and regional governments in international and national discussions on the SDGs, noting that they are at the “forefront” of SDG challenges, and are faced with global problems that cannot be managed without local solutions. The Forum convened on the sidelines of the 2018 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).
As an outcome of the Forum on 16 July 2018, in New York, US, local and regional government networks adopted a statement of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, in which they commit to develop further partnerships with civil society and other stakeholders to ensuring the achievement of the SDGs, support the proactive involvement of local and regional governments in the process of the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), and promote Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) at both city and regional levels that include the development of accountability mechanisms.
The Forum gathered approximately 200 local and regional governments and other stakeholders, in addition to UN Member States. Some local and regional government representatives said they should not only be invited as “guests” in international fora but be more actively engaged in discussions and “have a seat at the table.” They also called for: strengthened support from national governments; rethinking local finances; defining new partnerships; ensuring coherent implementation; and collecting local data to monitor progress.
Miroslav Lajcak, President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), highlighted key development areas where national and regional partnerships are needed, including on: inequality; planning to avoid slums, poverty and vulnerability to disasters; and creating the right environment for funding and investing “locally.” Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, remarked that urban sustainability is a “critical cross-cutting and far-reaching” issue since what happens in cities and human settlements has a direct impact on health, quality of life, and the environment. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), called on all cities to have an integrated holistic sustainable development plan that can be “understood by all levels,” operationalized, and evaluated. Sustainable cities and communities are the subject of SDG 11, which is one of the six Goals on which the HLPF held an in-depth review this year.
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, said the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, together with the UN system, has worked tirelessly to develop an ambitious ‘Local2030’ agenda that will help reframe how the world implements the 2030 Agenda at the local level. Referring to the ongoing UN development system reform, she stressed the need to transform the way the UN system works and supports local governments to help local authorities own and lead on SDG implementation via the Local2030 strategy. The strategy, she said, must include innovative investment funds, a Local2030 facility for local governments, and a more robust Local2030 expertise in the UN system.
Parks Tau, President, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), on behalf of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, presented the local and regional governments’ report to the 2018 HLPF, titled, ‘Towards the Localization of the SDGs.’ The report provides information on the active engagement of local and regional governments in the dissemination and implementation of the SDGs at the local level. He reported that 23 out of 43 countries consulted local and regional governments in their VNRs in 2017, and that many local and regional governments are still “unacquainted” with the SDGs. Ashok Sridharan, Mayor of Bonn and member of the Global Taskforce, noted that the ICLEI Montreal Commitment and Strategic Vision 2018-2024 serves as a framework for change and includes five strategic pathways for sustainable cities, based on low-emission, nature-based, equitable and people-centered development.
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