Sustainable Development Goals in BD

1. A Summary on
“Actors and Actions in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: A Review for
Bangladesh”
Course Title: Sustainable Development
Course Code: DS 3107
SUBMITTED TO:
Kazi Humayun Kabir
Assistant Professor
Development Studies Discipline
Khulna University
SUBMITTED BY:
Md. Ayatullah Khan
Student ID: 152119
3rd
Year; 1st
Term
Development Studies Discipline
Khulna University
Date of Submission: August 23, 2017

2. “Actors and Actions in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: A Review for
Bangladesh”
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted at the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. The objective of SDGs was to produce a
set of universal goals that meet the urgent environmental, political and economic challenges
facing our world. (Mawhinney, 2016). According to the World Commission on Environment
and Development (WCED), Sustainable Development is: “Development that meets the need of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a proposed set of targets relating to future
international development. They are replaced by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
at the end of 2015. Sustainable Development Goals have officially adopted on 25th
September,
2015 at the seventieth session of UN General Assembly with 17 goals and it will be lasted in
2030. (Antonio et.al, 2014).
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, comprising 17 Goals is especially relevant for
Bangladesh. Encouraging through the notable achievements of the MDGs, Bangladesh is very
active in the run up to the formulation of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda.
(Debapriya, 2016). Bangladesh has adopted SDGs to promote inclusive social and economic
development, environmental sustainability, ensure equity and human right. Bangladesh has
forwarded two major inputs to the United Nation. First one “Post-2015 Sustainable
Development Agenda: Bangladesh proposal to UN” is submitted by the Government of
Bangladesh. Another one “Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda: Perspectives and
Recommendations from Bangladesh Civil Society” is provided by the People’s Forum on
MDGs, (PFM), Bangladesh. Both of the documents include goals and associated targets and
indicators which are very relevant to the Bangladesh. (EDITORIAL, 2015).
The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) have already taken a large number of actions in
achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Government of Bangladesh established an inter-
Ministerial committee on ‘SDG Monitoring and Implementation’ as part of the highest level
commitment for achieving SDGs in November 2015. The Committee has already started
working on priority setting and contextualizing global goals with the national ambitions
requesting all ministries to identify relevant goals and targets and reflect these in their
respective sectorial plans. For this they introduced Annual Performance Appraisal (APA).

3. General Economic Division will prepare a National Action Plan for implementing the SDGs
based on the inputs prepared by ministries/divisions in a phased manner, following the three
cycles of five year development planning in Bangladesh. (Debapriya, 2016).
For achieving SDGs, the Planning Commission of Bangladesh has the coordinating
responsibility and has aligned its 7th Five Year Plan (2016-2020) and the Perspective Plan
(2012-21) with the SDGs. The Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s Office has also set up a unit to
monitor the implementation of the SDGs and to mobilize stakeholders and has appointed a
Chief Coordinator of SDG Affairs. The 7FYP has made a reflection on the core goal of SDGs
especially in ending poverty in all its form. Bangladesh has achieved remarkable success in
reducing the poverty in last few decades. Government has developed a mapping document
including all ministries, division and agencies by SDGs and target for fast track
implementation. (EDITORIAL, 2015).
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are taken a large numbers of actions for achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specially in the rural areas of Bangladesh. Various
non-governmental organizations like BRAC, Grameen Bank, ASA, PROSHIKA etc. are
actively doing their job for achieving SDGs in Bangladesh. As Bangladesh is one of the world’s
least developed countries and having increased population density, unemployment, illiteracy,
child mortality and many more, the country is facing massive challenges of feeding the rapidly
increasing population or even to support their livelihood in a sustainable manner. The
Government of Bangladesh is failed to fulfill the present need with its limited resources. As a
result, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been playing supportive roles with
the government. In some cases, they are considered as more effective to get attached with the
grass-root-level developmental initiatives. The roles and initiatives played by the NGOs in
Bangladesh have been considered as having positive impacts on poverty alleviation among the
rural poor population and achieving Sustainable Development Goals also. (Hassan & Forhad,
2013).
The Citizen’s Platform for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Bangladesh is a civil
society initiative that taken at the national front for the implementation of globally adopted
2030 Agenda for achieving Sustainable Development. The Platform was formally launched in
June 2016. The main concept of the Platform was inspired by the participatory and multi-
stakeholder approach that promoted as an important element for success in the attainment of

4. all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Platform is currently included 40 Partner
Organizations which are working on SDG issues across the country. (Yasmin, 2016).
Stakeholder participation at national, subnational and local levels play important role for the
effective achievement of the SDGs in Bangladesh. All relevant stakeholders including
beneficiaries, civil society, the private sector and external development partners in the country
are involved in the actions process for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
However, the capacities of local agencies and stakeholders are often weak in Bangladesh, it
will need strengthening. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, adequate attention
and resources will be needed, as well as an enabling legal, political and cultural environment.
(Bhattacharya et. al, 2016).
As the MDGs deadline approaches, around 1 billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day
and more than 800 million inhabitants do not have enough food to eat. Women are still fighting
hard for their right, and millions of women still die during childbirth. It will be possible to
tackle the above situation if the SDGs are met. So, every country should work towards
achieving the SDGs. As a result, the GoB, NGOs and civil society forum of Bangladesh are
taking different types of actions in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

5. References:
Antonio, E., Ofei-Manu, P., & Olsen, S. H. (2014). Achieving Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) Through Transformative Governance Practices and Vertical Collaboration at the
National and Subnational Levels in Asia Pacific. Winnipeg: IISD.
Mawhinney, M. (2008). Sustainable development: Understanding the green debates. John
Wiley & Sons.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Bangladesh. (November 30, 2016). Retrieved
from https://www.tornadobd.com/sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-bangladesh/
Debapriya, B. (2016). 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Implementation Challenges
for Bangladesh. CPD-IRBD.
Yasmin86, K. (2016). The Necessity of Promoting Science Education for Policy Makers to
Ensure Sustainable Development in Bangladesh. International Confernece on Teaching and
Learning (ICTL), 507.
UNDP (2013): The post-2015 development agenda for Bangladesh, Dhaka.
Bhattacharya, Debpriya and U.S. Rezbana (2016). South Asian Approach to Sustainable
Development Goals. Kathmandu: SAWTEE.
Hassan, A., & Forhad, A. (2013). THE ROLE OF NGOs IN THE SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT IN BANGLADESH. Present Environment & Sustainable Development,
7(2).
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: THE BANGLADESH PERSPECTIVE. (March 08,
2015). Retrieved from http://www.thedailystar.net/sustainable-development-the-bangladesh-
perspective-15917