The Local SDGs Program
Description
A key step in the process of adaptive planning for the Forrest community involved a thorough understanding of local sustainability issues. Ongoing meetings with project stakeholders such as The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) have been essential to the adoption of a contextual analysis and local community engagements. A contextual analysis was undertaken in order to demonstrate knowledge of local issues and existing sustainable pathways when consulting local communities as part of our Forrest and Goulburn-Murray case studies. The methods involve a review of grey literature, scientific journals and previous community engagements. A list of relevant documents has been compiled in Endnote which includes climate adaptation reports and published studies on sustainability planning. These documents are also being coded for the most applicable SDGs using such tools as Nvivo.We use the SDGs as a global sustainability framework which indicates goals and target indicators in relation to various aspects of sustainability such as water and sanitation, food and agriculture, energy, job and economy, etc. We then review existing scientific articles, reports and websites to collect statements (as unit of analysis) and label the statements based on one of 17 SDGs. Next the top five SDGs of interest are identified by the number of coded statements across all documents. This is performed using Nvivo to import pdfs and systematically highlight statements. In excel we document the driving forces of the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) as our framework to identify the challenges and opportunities of future driving forces in relation to SDGs.In addition to the review literature on local sustainability, we conducted an analytical review of a broad array of methodological constructs in robust decision making of coupled human-natural systems under uncertainties driven by environmental and social change. We initiated an international collaboration with the leading scholars of this field from Cornell University (USA), TU Delft (Netherlands), ANU, and UNSW, to undertake this review and collect views from a range of backgrounds in support of our project. We published the results of this methodological review as an article entitled “Structuring and evaluating decision support processes to enhance the robustness of complex human–natural systems” in Environmental Modelling & Software. We also submitted another manuscript entitled “Exploratory modelling: Taxonomy, benefits, and challenges of an emerging modelling approach under uncertainty” based on this methodological review to Earth’s Future.
To derive detailed local sustainability pathways for the Forrest/Otway Ranges study area, pathways include actions to increase capacity to adapt to climate change, manage bushfire risk, and develop mountain-bike tourism. This includes assessing the range and viability of options (e.g. fire readiness, tourism promotion, agricultural transition) and determining where and when they are required to ensure a just transition to a more sustainable future for the study area.To derive detailed local sustainability pathways for the Goulburn-Murray study area, pathways may include actions to increase resilience to water variability, and their ability to innovate with new technologies. This includes assessing the range and viability of options (e.g. irrigation reconfiguration, ecosystem services markets, renewable energy) and determining where and when they may be required to ensure a just transition to a more sustainable future.In developing local sustainability pathways for the Goulburn-Murray community, it is apparent that it has completely different characteristics in contrast to the Forrest community. Goulburn Murray, as the ‘inland water playground’ and the ‘food bowl of Australia’, has been long subjected to planning and strategic discussion through intensive engagement with decision-makers and practitioners. This long planning history has led to a high system thinking ability, already shaped a shared perspective about the future of the region among stakeholders, and has created a rich source of data and models. It, however, caused reluctance among stakeholders for new engagement activities. Therefore, the research team decided to slightly modify their initial plan of interaction with the community and rely more on the use of existing data and documents and to use the stakeholder capacity more carefully, only for consultancy and for informing the contextual analysis process. It was decided that key actions for Goulburn Murray include development of a governance process, policy directions, opportunities and impacts. It was also established that it was important to identify industry drivers such as dairy, irrigation and facilitating investment.To develop and communicate a general framework for designing pathways to sustainability we must synthesise a general framework from common threads in concepts/approaches from across the case studies that is applicable to local communities across Australia and worldwide. The outputs and outcomes from the individual case studies and the synthesis will be communicated widely, including via our website, social media, workshops, seminars, local and international conferences, journal articles and media outlets such as The Guardian and The Conversation.
The Local SDGs Program is a Deakin University initiative in collaboration with the Monash Sustainable Development Institute and funded through the Ian Potter Foundation. Deakin School of Life and Environmental Sciences researchers Professor Brett Bryan, Professor of Global Change, Environment and Society, and Dr Enayat A. Moallemi, Research Fellow in Human-Natural Systems Modelling, are leading the Local SDGs Program.Currently the project team, including three PhD researchers, is working with two local community case study areas in Victoria: Our Forrest/Otways (South-West Victoria) case study involves a region which has acknowledged its susceptibility to the environmental and socio-economic effects of climate change. This is a community in transition and is striving to attain a sustainable and resilient future in the midst of increasing fire threats and water shortages. It is imperative to protect the Forrest/Otways unique rainforest ecosystems, agriculture and tourism. The Goulburn Murray region (North-Central Victoria) in contrast, is a great distance from the coast and reliant on the Murray Darling Basin. The team and local community are developing sustainability pathways to increase resilience to water variability and to adopt new technologies. This case study focuses on the environmental and economic pressures facing the Irrigation, Dairy and Food Production industries.Ongoing meetings and workshops with communities, researchers, stakeholders and local experts including The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP)have been essential to the theory and application of adaptive planning for local sustainability pathways. These measures have therefore facilitated an informed, inclusive and transparent process from planning and engagement activities to framework development and eventual implementation.
SDGS & Targets
Goal 9
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
9.1
9.1.1
Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road
9.1.2
Passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport
9.2
Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
9.2.1
Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP and per capita
9.2.2
Manufacturing employment as a proportion of total employment
9.3
9.3.1
Proportion of small-scale industries in total industry value added
9.3.2
Proportion of small-scale industries with a loan or line of credit
9.4
By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
9.4.1
CO2 emission per unit of value added
9.5
9.5.1
Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP
9.5.2
Researchers (in full-time equivalent) per million inhabitants
9.a
9.a.1
Total official international support (official development assistance plus other official flows) to infrastructure
9.b
9.b.1
Proportion of medium and high-tech industry value added in total value added
9.c
Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020
9.c.1
Proportion of population covered by a mobile network, by technology
Goal 8
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
8.1
8.1.1
Annual growth rate of real GDP per capita
8.2
Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
8.2.1
Annual growth rate of real GDP per employed person
8.3
Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
8.3.1
Proportion of informal employment in total employment, by sector and sex
8.4
Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead
8.4.1
Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP
8.4.2
Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP
8.5
8.5.1
Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation, age and persons with disabilities
8.5.2
Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
8.6
8.6.1
Proportion of youth (aged 15-24 years) not in education, employment or training
8.7
Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms
8.7.1
Proportion and number of children aged 5‑17 years engaged in child labour, by sex and age
8.8
Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment
8.8.1
Fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers, by sex and migrant status
8.8.2
Level of national compliance with labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining) based on International Labour Organization (ILO) textual sources and national legislation, by sex and migrant status
8.9
By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
8.9.1
Tourism direct GDP as a proportion of total GDP and in growth rate
8.10
Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all
8.10.1
(a) Number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults and (b) number of automated teller machines (ATMs) per 100,000 adults
8.10.2
Proportion of adults (15 years and older) with an account at a bank or other financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider
8.a
8.a.1
Aid for Trade commitments and disbursements
8.b
By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization
8.b.1
Existence of a developed and operationalized national strategy for youth employment, as a distinct strategy or as part of a national employment strategy
Goal 6
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
6.1
By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
6.1.1
Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services
6.2
By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
6.2.1
Proportion of population using (a) safely managed sanitation services and (b) a hand-washing facility with soap and water
6.3
By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
6.3.1
Proportion of domestic and industrial wastewater flows safely treated
6.3.2
Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality
6.4
6.4.1
Change in water-use efficiency over time
6.4.2
Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources
6.5
By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
6.5.1
Degree of integrated water resources management
6.5.2
Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation
6.6
6.6.1
Change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time
6.a
6.a.1
Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan
6.b
Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
6.b.1
Proportion of local administrative units with established and operational policies and procedures for participation of local communities in water and sanitation management
Goal 13
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
13.1
Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
13.1.1
Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
13.1.2
Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030
13.1.3
Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies
13.2
Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
13.2.1
Number of countries with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
13.2.2
Total greenhouse gas emissions per year
13.3
Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
13.3.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
13.a
Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
13.a.1
Amounts provided and mobilized in United States dollars per year in relation to the continued existing collective mobilization goal of the $100 billion commitment through to 2025
13.b
Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
13.b.1
Number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
SDG 14 targets covered
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Nick Taylor, Mr