Territorialisation of Development : Inclusive and Integrated Approach to Achieving The Sdgs
PROGRAM RATIONALE
In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a roadmap for all signatory states to address seventeen major universal goals by 2030 (Agenda 2030). Africa is committed like all the other continents to decline the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the national level and governments have been encouraged to engage local actors to appropriate these objectives. By agreeing to get involved in sustainable and inclusive development, all UN member states in September 2015 recognized that "the dignity of persons is fundamental to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the 2030 Agenda for all. nations, all peoples and all segments of society”.
All countries, and first and foremost African countries, are committed to fulfilling this promise and have been working, since January 1, 2016, to fulfill it. However, four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, the results are mixed. Urgent attention and faster progress is needed, particularly in key areas, according to the 2019 SDG report. The report highlights the importance of providing targeted but also integrated solutions with a view to reducing the growing inequalities between countries and within countries (poverty, hunger, disease, employment, gender, water and sanitation, education) , mitigate the effects of climate change, have accurate and up-to-date data on vulnerable groups and strengthen partnerships. All States feel concerned and moreover, both the Sixth session of the African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development and the High Level Political Forum of the year 2020 dealt with themes linked to the decade of action and the ways forward. transformation of a prosperous and sustainable Africa.
The sustainable development agenda has been developed in concert with the representatives of local authorities gathered in the global working group of local and regional governments, representatives of economic actors making up the United Nations Global Compact, among other stakeholders. This agenda is adopted on behalf of the peoples of each of the signatory countries. It is expected that all stakeholders - governments, civil society, the private sector and other actors - will contribute to the realization of the new agenda. Thus a territorial or local approach seems to be the best way to achieve Agenda 2030 and meet the challenges related to the governance of urban, peri-urban and rural territories (resilience, financing, etc.).
The world is heading for the city. No part of the planet is urbanizing faster than sub-Saharan Africa. The continent's population of around 1.1 billion is expected to double by 2050. Over 80% of this growth will take place in cities, especially in slums. These cities have urgent needs for basic public services, health services, education, transport, electrification systems, housing and employment to support commercial, agricultural and industrial growth.
In this context, the need for the involvement of territorial actors in the sustainable development of urban and peri-urban areas inspired in particular by SDG 11 “Ensure that cities and human settlements are open to all, safe, resilient and sustainable Becomes obvious. Indeed, local authorities recognize the importance of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR) which should also be integrated into Voluntary National Reviews, on the basis of reliable and consistent local statistics. Reviews at the local level will improve accountability, transparency and public ownership of the implementation of Agendas 2030 and 2063.
Territorialization can be presented as a model of public action, an alternative to sectoral regulations and generic measures, especially macroeconomic measures, long characteristic of state intervention. The rise of territorialized systems thus reflects an evolution in the modes of intervention of the State (Duran and Thoenig, 1996). In the context of the 2030 Agenda, decentralization would be the best support to build a localization of the SDGs.
Indeed, for several decades, African countries have adopted decentralization policies in order to increase the proximity of the State and the responsibility of local communities.
Cities, as hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and more, occupy an important place in the 2030 Agenda. These human settlements will have to enable their occupants. , taken individually, to progress socially and
economically; which does not yet appear to be the case. Indeed, one in four city dwellers lives in a slum and 2 billion people do not have a waste collection service. Only half of city dwellers have easy access to public transport, according to the 2019 SDG report.
There is a significant gap in the evaluation of public policies in general and empirical data on how best to design and implement a territorial policy remains to this day very thin. But, it is obvious that a territorial response is expected at the height of the global challenges of the moment, especially as African governments are looking for adequate strategies for their economies which have been strained with the advent of the pandemic. of COVID-19. Indeed, the spread of the pandemic has shown a significant deficit in terms of the coverage of basic needs, such as community health, sanitation, water, etc., in urban and peri-urban areas. A territorial development approach to reach the poorest targets would allow African States to better comply with the principle of leaving no one behind in the context of the implementation of the SDGs.
The African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), as part of its mandate to strengthen the technical capacities of African executives and officials, intends to support the actors involved in the adoption and implementation of the SDG territorialization policy. while respecting the spirit of the principle of "leaving no one behind".
Indeed, for growth to be inclusive, these policies and planning measures must reach all geographic areas and the investment needs of secondary cities, expanding peri-urban areas and rural regions must be met. It is with this in mind that this training was thought out and designed to support them in the development and implementation of an inclusive territorialization policy integrating the achievement of the SDGs as part of the 2030 Agenda.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the course is to contribute to the creation of a critical mass of senior and mid-level, highly qualified executives and policy makers who will be suitably or better equipped to design and implement a SDG territorialization policy. This training will take into account the fact that the central state, with its decentralized branches and community actors (local elected officials, etc.), as an institution for implementing the objectives of the 2030 and 2063 agendas, retains a strong role. guarantor of equity throughout the territory. It will also focus on intervention models adapted to each territory in order to strengthen the effectiveness of public policies.