The National Crisis from a Sustainable Development Assessment:

Based on 2022 Independent Monitoring, Evaluation & Reviews of the SDGs

 

 

Overview

Sri Lanka is currently going through multiple crises, including the worst economic crisis, that has taken the nation further away from sustainable development. While consecutive governments have stated their commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), action and results do not provide evidence to Sri Lanka engaging in the transformation. Far before the COVID-19 pandemic and the national economic crisis, the lack of administrative commitment to an inclusive transformation had kept the parliament, cabinet and political decision makers in space of extreme low awareness, comprehension and appreciation of the SDGs. An already derailed process since 2018, the lack of a proper plan and strategy put in place by relevant authorities has kept the political hierarchy far away from adopting a transformative agenda even in the crisis. Seeking temporary solutions and building strategies contradicting sustainable development could aggravate the crisis leading further weakening of resilience and increase of vulnerability of the nation.  

 

In the absence of a proper engagement process for an inclusive transformation and methodological approach for an honest and scientific review, the Sri Lanka Stakeholder SDG Platform (SLS-SDG Platform) has since 2018 conducted an Independent Monitoring, Evaluation & Review Mechanism for the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. This has resulted in many outcomes including a Voluntary Peoples Review (VPR), Voluntary Subnational Review (VSR), Peoples Score Card (PSC) and a Domestic Resource Mobilisation Framework (DRMF). The independent reviews in 2022 were a large effort of over 200 reviewers and 260 organizations through consultation conducted across the country. The contributions have come from a larger number of representatives representing Government Institutions, Provincial Councils, Local Authorities, CSO, Business, Academic, Local Government, Associations, Unions and all other stakeholders. Experts, Activists, Entrepreneurs, Academics, Scientists, Professionals, Children, Youth, Women, Elders and all other Major Group representatives. 

 

The following 05 reviews are now compiled and are ready for utilization by the government and its stakeholders. 

1.     Sri Lanka Voluntary Peoples Review (VPR) on the SDGs to United Nations High Level Political Forum (UN HLPF) in 2022

2.  COMPENDIUM of Micro-Macro Assessments of the Sri Lanka Voluntary Peoples Review of the Sustainable Development Goals 2022

3.     COMPENDIUM of Subnational Level Assessments of the Sri Lanka Voluntary Peoples Review of the Sustainable Development Goals 2022

4.     Sri Lanka SDG16+ Spotlight Report to HLPF 2022 expands on the Sri Lanka Voluntary Peoples Review (VPR) on the SDGs to United Nations High Level Political Forum (UN HLPF)

5.     COMPENDIUM of the Institutional Architecture for SDG16 of the SRI LANKA SDG 16+ SPOTLIGHT REPORT to UN HLPF 2022

6.     Voluntary Subnational Review (VSR), Sri Lanka 2022

 

 

 

Status of Implementing the SDGs in Sri Lanka

We have conducted a Micro and Macro Assessment of the SDGs in Sri Lanka in 2022 using a -5 to +5 rating scale. 

 

The Micro Assessment is based on measuring the progress of the 169 Targets through the 244 UN Global Indicators and Localised Indicators if available and relevant. The micro assessment came out with a “0” rating meaning that Sri Lanka has not made any progress on the transformation towards Sustainable Development.

The Macro Assessment is based on 30 Key Aspects under 05 Main Areas relevant to the broader transformation. The five transformative areas identified for the Macro Assessment includes (i) Systems Change: Integration and Mainstreaming Review (ii) Political Commitment: Policy and Institutional Coherence Review (iii) Continuous Assessment: Monitoring, Evaluation, Follow-up & Review (iv) Leaving No One Behind: Localising, Subnational Level and Stakeholder Engagement Review, and (v) Means of Implementation: Financing, Technology and Accountability Review. Each SDG’s progress there for is assessed based on the performance on the SDG Targets and Key Transformative Aspects. The Macro Assessment came out with a “-1” negative rating which means that Sri Lanka is actually declining on the transformation towards Sustainable Development.

After seven years of agreeing on the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs following summary presents the poor status of implementation in Sri Lanka;

1.     Low political and administrative commitment to the SDGs. 

2.     No National Roadmap, Policy and Strategy towards implementing the SDGs; This is a main mandated responsibility of the Sustainable Development Council. 

3.     No Monitoring, Evaluation, Follow-up and Review Mechanism for assessment of the progress of the SDGs.

4.     No financing plan or strategy leaving any money spent having no return on investment identified as well. 

5.     Lack of Policy Coherence between Environmental, Social and Economic policies and no integration between these three dimensions in policy planning and implementation. 

6.     A highly Fragmented Institutional Architecture prevents collective and coordinated work across the large public service delivery system. Over 425 public sector entities operate in their own siloes and budget allocations and has limited collaboration for a whole of government effort.

7.     Poor localizing of the SDGs, leaving behind the Provincial Councils and Local Authorities. 

8.     Extremely low awareness, knowledge and comprehension amongst political and government entities and all stakeholders including the academia, private sector and civil society. 

9.     Shrinking space for stakeholder engagement from policy planning, implementation, monitoring and review contradicts the agreed principle of “Leaving No One Behind” in the transformation. 

10.  Sri Lanka is not investing in the transformation. For example, even in the worst economic crisis of the nation, the government does not have a strategy for ecosystems services based economic modelling for prosperity and wellbeing. 

Way Forward

The United Nations (UN) has estimated that US$5 trillion to US$7 trillion per year is needed between 2015 and 2030 to achieve the SDGs globally, and $3.3 trillion to $4.5 trillion per year in developing countries. Estimates also show that achieving the SDGs could open up US$ 12 trillion of market opportunities and create 380 million new jobs, and that action on climate change would result in savings of about US$ 26 trillion by 2030. Five years into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), Sri Lanka is yet to estimate its financial commitment towards implementing the SDGs and has not assessed its potential gains from such an investment. Further, the country is yet to align its national economic policies, financial systems and investment strategies with the 2030 Agenda. In this context, Sri Lanka has not been able to mobilise additional external or internal resources required for transformative action towards achieving the SDGs. 

 

a ‘Domestic Resource Mobilization Framework for SDGs’ was formulated in 2020 in Sri Lanka as an independent contribution to the national effort, and as a transformative model for the rest of the world as well. The Framework addresses recalibrating four critical contexts towards implementing the SDGs; the policy context, the localising context, the financing context, and the transformation context. Domestic resource mobilisation will be defined by addressing systemic issues for resource governance, resource relationships and resource regeneration. Resource Governance is how resource flows are regulated and managed within the tiers of governance, national-provincial-local, as well as the self-governance of resources by non-state actors including international, private, civil society, community and individuals.  Resource Relationships are how the flow of resources through investment and financing transpire between different stakeholders and actors. Resource Regeneration is how resources are invested within the ecosystem for intra-generational equity and harvested for inter-generational equity. 

 

The Domestic Resource Mobilization Framework for SDGs in Sri Lanka’ is a linkages model of elements, facilitating the recalibration of the contexts that SDGs are implemented across the governance tiers and supported by tools. It intends to support the efforts of the Government and its stakeholders towards implementing the SDGs in Sri Lanka. The Framework provides a platform to design policy instruments and strategic interventions towards advancing sustainable development. Aiming to provide greater strategic foresight, the Framework does not attempt to present a prescriptive proposal on national planning and budgeting. The Framework is to inspire resource mobilisation for transformative action across national, subnational and community levels as a whole of society. The objective of the Framework is to engage public, private, civil society and all stakeholders at national, subnational and community levels in reimagining domestic resource mobilisation, reorganising the resource flows, and reinvesting in transformational pathways towards the recalibration of the context of implementing the SDGs. 

 

i.         Reimagining domestic resource mobilisation is about recalibrating the approach to strategic foresight and transformative action towards advancing sustainable development. 

ii.        Reorganising the resource flows is about recalibrating the approach to resource governance and redesigning of the policy frameworks and institutional structures towards facilitating a circular economy.

iii.       Reinvesting in transformational pathways is about recalibrating the approach to ecosystem services and innovative financing towards facilitating a new state of inclusive prosperity. 

 

For any clarifications on the Framework and the Book, please feel free to communicate with The Editor-in-Chief and Lead Author, Mr.Uchita de Zoysa (email: uchitadezoysa@gmail.com or mobile: +94 777372206). Thank you in advance for your kind support in this regard. An ecopy of the report can be found at https://www.academia.edu/89359776/Sri_Lanka_Voluntary_Peoples_Review_VPR_on_the_SDGs_to_United_Nations_High_Level_Political_Forum_UN_HLPF_in_2022