Commonwealth Local Governments Forum (CLGF)
Statement on the
“Means of Implementation and Global Partnership”
on behalf of the LAMG and the GTF
Informal interactive hearings on the Post-2015 development agenda
General Assembly Hall, United Nations, New York 26-27 May 2015 Delivered by Mr. Carl Wright, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Local Governments Forum (CLGF) I. IDENTIFYING THE IMPLEMENTERS
The post-2015 development agenda, including the SDGs, covers a broad range of themes and areas that entail complex and interlinked challenges and actions by different segments of the society, governments and other stakeholders.
As the government levels with an important responsibility for meeting any development targets and for the implementation on the ground, local and subnational governments worldwide are committed to find ways for combining poverty reduction, prosperity and sustainable development.
In the Rio+20 outcome document, Member States “acknowledge efforts and progress made at local and sub-national levels, and recognize the important role that such authorities and communities can play in implementing sustainable development.” Based on all that, the following principles are key for reshaping the global partnership for development and strengthening accountability mechanisms:
Post-2015 process success can only be guaranteed if we develop a sense of ownership and accountability at all levels: international, national, subnational and local.
It should further promote a high degree of policy coherence, coordination and cooperation at the global, national, subnational and local levels. It should define shared responsibilities and enable the capacities for the appropriate integration of actions in all scales 1. Multi-level governance and subsidiarity for more cohesive cities and territories
Subsidiarity must be promoted as a vehicle to strengthen democracy and territorial cohesion.
The entrenchment of local and subnational democracy needs to be supported and secured as a cornerstone of global governance in the post-2015 framework.
The global agenda should further promote a high degree of policy coherence coordination and cooperation at and among all levels of governments. With that in mind, the distribution of resources and responsibilities between central and -subnational governments needs to be clarified and balanced to allow subnational and local governments to appropriately perform their tasks, and yet to be accountable to the people who elected them.
2. Revising international governance mechanisms
The success of future development strategies depends on a fundamental revision of the global partnership, the institutional and financial framework that should underpin the goals and targets. The new framework should be supported by a stronger and more democratic international governance structure that includes new stakeholders and covers issues and regulations not being addressed at present.
A new, real global partnership for development that includes all stakeholders, with a bottom-up approach and constituency, is a prerequisite to the implementation of the future development agenda. The special role of local and subnational governments, already acknowledged in the Rio+20 outcome document, should be further strengthened in the Post-2015 Agenda, and specific arrangements should be made to include this constituency in relevant decision-making mechanisms.
3. An organized constituency
Building on the Rio+20 outcome document that recognizes local and subnational governments as key partners, our contributions to the High Level Panel discussions and ongoing engagement in different intergovernmental processes, local and subnational government leaders and their global organizations have gathered in the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments for Post-2015 Agenda towards Habitat III (GTF). They commit to build a joint strategy to contribute to the international policy making debates and ensure a strong synergy between global processes on SDGs, sustainable urban development, disaster risk reduction, climate change, biodiversity and the Post-2015 development agenda. II. MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION
The new agenda will need to rely on mechanisms to enable local and subnational public authorities to mobilize part of the wealth produced within their jurisdiction, also improving local and subnational capacities, and access to innovative mechanisms, best practices and cooperation opportunities, developed in a transparent and efficient manner to maximize the potential of actions in a city-region scale. As the UN Secretary General acknowledges “many of the investments to achieve the SDGs will take place at the sub-national level and be led by local authorities”.
1. Financing
As the Elements Paper released on 23 January 2015 by the co-facilitators of the preparatory process for the Financing for Development Conference highlights: "subnational entities, such as cities, often do not have sufficient resources or capacity for investments in infrastructures and other areas".
The new development agenda should be encouraging reforms, strengthening fiscal decentralization, creating legal frameworks for public-private partnerships, securing investors and helping to develop subnational markets and to enable access to domestic and global financial resources.
In this regard, we particularly welcome the positive language adopted in the Turin communique on localizing the post-2015 development agenda, on 15th October 2014. Calling for sustainable financing mechanisms to localize the global development agenda and build responsive and accountable local institutions, including the full and effective participation of local and regional governments in public expenditure allocation through fiscal decentralization, as well as new forms of financing for local development. And raising the importance of strengthening capacity building programmes and of the role of territorial development approaches in facilitating integrated planning for effective transformative agendas at the local and subnational level.
2. Technology transfer and capacity building
It is also important to improve access of all local and subnational governments to new technologies, particularly clean technologies to contribute to climate change mitigation and to build resilient infrastructures to reduce risk threats. Particularly with a view to support urban and territorial plans and strategies for development, it is fundamental to
take into account existing local and subnational institutions and competencies, and thus improve their capacities of action whereas exploring synergies and complementarities with national frameworks.
As stated by the Chisinau Outcome Statement on Strengthening Capacities and Building Effective Institutions, released on-26 February 2015, “ Strategies, policies and solutions for strengthening capacities and institutions must be locally-driven and issue-oriented, reflecting the realities of the specific national and sub-national contexts; viii. Local authorities and their associations must be empowered through capacity strengthening and enhanced institutional effectiveness to own and achieve development goals, stimulating community involvement and participation in local development strategies, as well as implementing modern management and planning technologies;” and monitor development progress.
Frameworks for assessing how and when local and subnational engagements can be scaled up into national urban and other development programs need to be improved and/or established. Tackling the institutional and financial capacity of subnational spheres will significantly increase the efficiency of whatever agenda we define.
3. Localization of the post-2015 development agenda
Most of the goals and targets proposed in the SDGs need to be achieved at local and subnational levels. Cities and territories are where people live, where poverty is tackled and where prosperity is generated. Urbanization should be considered as a cross-cutting issue, and it should build upon a territorial perspective that enables a holistic vision of the interconnected effects of local actions, for example addressing rural-urban and local-regional nexus, metropolitan and natural areas.
The SDGs and targets will be more efficient and successful if “localized”. Integrating a territorial dimension within Localizing’ the Post-2015 agenda often refers to the implementation of the goals at local level by non-state actors, particularly local and subnational governments. These governments have responsibilities (either directly or shared with central government or in partnership with other stakeholders) for service provision in many areas related to the SDGs.
4. Territorial disaggregation in the data revolution
The active collaboration with local and subnational governments in the Post-2015 agenda also takes into consideration the monitoring of progress in cities, regions and communities. This can help to assess inequalities within countries, inform better decision-making and resource allocation at all levels as well as enable local communities and civil society organisations to hold their governments accountable, ensuring no one will be left behind.
LAMG Position papers developed in March 2014 and March 2015 provide an important overview in particular on the evolution of the concept of an Urban SDG and selected bottom-up and voluntary examples of disaggregation of data collection and reporting by community and territory.
CONCLUSION
The Local Authorities Major Group is representing hundreds of Mayors and Governors across the world. As governmental stakeholders we have key competencies and a crucial role to ensure this aspirational agenda will come into reality. Either on the global or national levels, we are keen on collaborating with Member States and international actors to increase ambition and accelerate the transformation of existing development models.
“Means of Implementation and Global Partnership”
on behalf of the LAMG and the GTF
Informal interactive hearings on the Post-2015 development agenda
General Assembly Hall, United Nations, New York 26-27 May 2015 Delivered by Mr. Carl Wright, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Local Governments Forum (CLGF) I. IDENTIFYING THE IMPLEMENTERS
The post-2015 development agenda, including the SDGs, covers a broad range of themes and areas that entail complex and interlinked challenges and actions by different segments of the society, governments and other stakeholders.
As the government levels with an important responsibility for meeting any development targets and for the implementation on the ground, local and subnational governments worldwide are committed to find ways for combining poverty reduction, prosperity and sustainable development.
In the Rio+20 outcome document, Member States “acknowledge efforts and progress made at local and sub-national levels, and recognize the important role that such authorities and communities can play in implementing sustainable development.” Based on all that, the following principles are key for reshaping the global partnership for development and strengthening accountability mechanisms:
Post-2015 process success can only be guaranteed if we develop a sense of ownership and accountability at all levels: international, national, subnational and local.
It should further promote a high degree of policy coherence, coordination and cooperation at the global, national, subnational and local levels. It should define shared responsibilities and enable the capacities for the appropriate integration of actions in all scales 1. Multi-level governance and subsidiarity for more cohesive cities and territories
Subsidiarity must be promoted as a vehicle to strengthen democracy and territorial cohesion.
The entrenchment of local and subnational democracy needs to be supported and secured as a cornerstone of global governance in the post-2015 framework.
The global agenda should further promote a high degree of policy coherence coordination and cooperation at and among all levels of governments. With that in mind, the distribution of resources and responsibilities between central and -subnational governments needs to be clarified and balanced to allow subnational and local governments to appropriately perform their tasks, and yet to be accountable to the people who elected them.
2. Revising international governance mechanisms
The success of future development strategies depends on a fundamental revision of the global partnership, the institutional and financial framework that should underpin the goals and targets. The new framework should be supported by a stronger and more democratic international governance structure that includes new stakeholders and covers issues and regulations not being addressed at present.
A new, real global partnership for development that includes all stakeholders, with a bottom-up approach and constituency, is a prerequisite to the implementation of the future development agenda. The special role of local and subnational governments, already acknowledged in the Rio+20 outcome document, should be further strengthened in the Post-2015 Agenda, and specific arrangements should be made to include this constituency in relevant decision-making mechanisms.
3. An organized constituency
Building on the Rio+20 outcome document that recognizes local and subnational governments as key partners, our contributions to the High Level Panel discussions and ongoing engagement in different intergovernmental processes, local and subnational government leaders and their global organizations have gathered in the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments for Post-2015 Agenda towards Habitat III (GTF). They commit to build a joint strategy to contribute to the international policy making debates and ensure a strong synergy between global processes on SDGs, sustainable urban development, disaster risk reduction, climate change, biodiversity and the Post-2015 development agenda. II. MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION
The new agenda will need to rely on mechanisms to enable local and subnational public authorities to mobilize part of the wealth produced within their jurisdiction, also improving local and subnational capacities, and access to innovative mechanisms, best practices and cooperation opportunities, developed in a transparent and efficient manner to maximize the potential of actions in a city-region scale. As the UN Secretary General acknowledges “many of the investments to achieve the SDGs will take place at the sub-national level and be led by local authorities”.
1. Financing
As the Elements Paper released on 23 January 2015 by the co-facilitators of the preparatory process for the Financing for Development Conference highlights: "subnational entities, such as cities, often do not have sufficient resources or capacity for investments in infrastructures and other areas".
The new development agenda should be encouraging reforms, strengthening fiscal decentralization, creating legal frameworks for public-private partnerships, securing investors and helping to develop subnational markets and to enable access to domestic and global financial resources.
In this regard, we particularly welcome the positive language adopted in the Turin communique on localizing the post-2015 development agenda, on 15th October 2014. Calling for sustainable financing mechanisms to localize the global development agenda and build responsive and accountable local institutions, including the full and effective participation of local and regional governments in public expenditure allocation through fiscal decentralization, as well as new forms of financing for local development. And raising the importance of strengthening capacity building programmes and of the role of territorial development approaches in facilitating integrated planning for effective transformative agendas at the local and subnational level.
2. Technology transfer and capacity building
It is also important to improve access of all local and subnational governments to new technologies, particularly clean technologies to contribute to climate change mitigation and to build resilient infrastructures to reduce risk threats. Particularly with a view to support urban and territorial plans and strategies for development, it is fundamental to
take into account existing local and subnational institutions and competencies, and thus improve their capacities of action whereas exploring synergies and complementarities with national frameworks.
As stated by the Chisinau Outcome Statement on Strengthening Capacities and Building Effective Institutions, released on-26 February 2015, “ Strategies, policies and solutions for strengthening capacities and institutions must be locally-driven and issue-oriented, reflecting the realities of the specific national and sub-national contexts; viii. Local authorities and their associations must be empowered through capacity strengthening and enhanced institutional effectiveness to own and achieve development goals, stimulating community involvement and participation in local development strategies, as well as implementing modern management and planning technologies;” and monitor development progress.
Frameworks for assessing how and when local and subnational engagements can be scaled up into national urban and other development programs need to be improved and/or established. Tackling the institutional and financial capacity of subnational spheres will significantly increase the efficiency of whatever agenda we define.
3. Localization of the post-2015 development agenda
Most of the goals and targets proposed in the SDGs need to be achieved at local and subnational levels. Cities and territories are where people live, where poverty is tackled and where prosperity is generated. Urbanization should be considered as a cross-cutting issue, and it should build upon a territorial perspective that enables a holistic vision of the interconnected effects of local actions, for example addressing rural-urban and local-regional nexus, metropolitan and natural areas.
The SDGs and targets will be more efficient and successful if “localized”. Integrating a territorial dimension within Localizing’ the Post-2015 agenda often refers to the implementation of the goals at local level by non-state actors, particularly local and subnational governments. These governments have responsibilities (either directly or shared with central government or in partnership with other stakeholders) for service provision in many areas related to the SDGs.
4. Territorial disaggregation in the data revolution
The active collaboration with local and subnational governments in the Post-2015 agenda also takes into consideration the monitoring of progress in cities, regions and communities. This can help to assess inequalities within countries, inform better decision-making and resource allocation at all levels as well as enable local communities and civil society organisations to hold their governments accountable, ensuring no one will be left behind.
LAMG Position papers developed in March 2014 and March 2015 provide an important overview in particular on the evolution of the concept of an Urban SDG and selected bottom-up and voluntary examples of disaggregation of data collection and reporting by community and territory.
CONCLUSION
The Local Authorities Major Group is representing hundreds of Mayors and Governors across the world. As governmental stakeholders we have key competencies and a crucial role to ensure this aspirational agenda will come into reality. Either on the global or national levels, we are keen on collaborating with Member States and international actors to increase ambition and accelerate the transformation of existing development models.