1. Follow up and review for the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development
Dr. Stefanos Fotiou
UNESCAP

2. Presentation outline
Overview of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Follow up and review: Mandate, functions, and challenges
ESCAP’s mandate on the 2030 Agenda
ESCAP support to member States in implementing the 2030 Agenda

3. Overview of the 2030 Agenda
Mandate
Functions
Challenges

4. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
17 goals, 169 targets
A plan of action for people, planet, prosperity and peace.
Adopted in September 2015 by 193 UN member States – a truly transformational agenda.
The member States declared that it is a plan of action for people, planet, and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen peace.
They intended the SDGs to be universal, indivisible, and transformative.
In terms of scope, the SDGs build on but goes beyond the MDGs - 17 goals and 169 targets compared to 8 goals and 21 targets of MDGs.
Formulation of the 2030 agenda was by far one of the broadest United Nations consultation process ever undertaken.
In Asia-Pacific, ESCAP facilitated consultations on what the SDGs should include and how best to achieve them. Regional priorities and perspectives fed into global discussions.

5. Follow up and review Mandate Functions The High-level Political Forum
Challenges

6. Mandates Emphasis on country-driven process
The 2030 Agenda provides for a three-tiered follow up and review architecture at the national, regional, and international levels
Emphasis on country-driven process
Central role of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in overseeing a network of follow-up and review at the global level
General Assembly Resolution on follow-up and review (70/299) provides further guidance
Agreement by ESCAP member States in 2016 that the annual Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) will serve as a platform for supporting follow-up and review at the regional level
Ongoing work at ESCAP to define content of the regional mandate
Member States are encouraged to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress (para 79)
Follow up and review at regional and sub-regional levels can provide useful opportunities for peer learning; should draw on national-level reviews and contribute to follow up and review at the global level, including at the HLPF (para 80)
The High-level Political Forum (HLPF) under the auspices of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council will have a central role in overseeing a network of follow-up and review at the global level (para 82)
Resolutions:
GA Resolution 70/299 on Follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global level
GA Resolution 67/290 on the Format and organizational aspects of the High-level political forum on sustainable development.

7. We are organizing an expert dialogue on effective follow up and review to. This expert consultation is being held in the context of the ESCAP SDG Week to share experiences and perspectives, and develop guidance on:
Good practice for follow up and review at the national level; and
Regional follow up and review that can effectively support national and global processes

8. Functions
While the understanding of follow up and review and what it constitutes is still evolving, there are areas of agreement of its expected functions:
Review progress of national implementation of the 2030 Agenda
A cycle and a multi-level process consisting of a series of activities of monitoring, review and prioritization of responses to address areas that may lack progress
Enable learning and mobilization of support and advice, updating of implementation strategies
Role of regional follow up and review in bringing the regional perspective to the global discussion, bringing out the regional ‘flavour’ of review, and providing structured analysis
Civil society perspective – regional review could reinforce weak spots in the review architecture, i.e. aspects that are not addressed in global or national reviews

9. Review at the HLPF
The HLPF will address established themes and clusters of goals at each session. It is intended to:
assess progress, achievements and challenges faced by developed and developing countries
provide political leadership, guidance and recommendations for sustainable development
follow up and review progress in the implementation of sustainable development commitments
enhance the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development in a holistic and cross-sectoral manner at all levels
have a focused, dynamic and action-oriented agenda, ensuring the appropriate consideration of new and emerging sustainable development challenges
HLPF meets annually in the context of ECOSOC and every four years in the context of the General Assembly.

10. Challenges
Need for developing greater understanding and clarity on what follow up and review constitutes
How to put it in practice in accordance with the principles set by the 2030 Agenda (A/RES/70/1)
Overall guidance still evolving – difficult to anticipate how regional review could support effective national and global reviews
Voluntary National Reports presented so far shows variable quality of stakeholder engagement
Lack of provisions for response
Voluntary – implications for coverage and periodicity
Indicator and data-related issues
Lack of provisions for response
Concern that the process lacks ‘teeth’
Documentation and monitoring of follow up actions – HLPF document is negotiated; limited interaction due to limited time

11. ESCAP’s mandate on the 2030 Agenda

12. Key Regional Response to the 2030 Agenda
Paragraph 7:
Promote balanced integration of three dimensions of sustainable development
Support process to define a regional roadmap
Strengthen support to implementation
Provide capacity building opportunities 
The results of ESCAP’s efforts in the context of the 2030 Agenda show the value of regional platforms and processes in facilitating, strengthening, and implementing global consensus.
ESCAP efforts in the past three years have bridged the local and the global and enabled the region to contribute substantive regional perspectives to global debates, in particular towards shaping the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These regional efforts must continue in the context of implementing this ambitious agenda.
Collectively, ESCAP member States have responded swiftly to this global agenda.
The response of the region is embodied in resolution 72/6 that governments adopted at the seventy-second session of the ESCAP commission: “Committing to the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific.”
The resolution lays down the priority areas of cooperation by member States and called upon the secretariat to support their efforts in this regard, including the process of defining a regional roadmap for implementation. The slide shows the areas that our member States requested the secretariat’s support for.

13. ESCAP support to member States

14. Aligning ESCAP strategies to support member States in achieving the SDGs
Convening power: The Asia- Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development and related regional dialogues on trade, STI, finance for development
Partnerships & stakeholder engagement: Asia-Pacific SDGs Partnership (with ADB and UNDP); AP-Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism
First, ESCAP is using its convening power to strengthen a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue and facilitating partnership building. A dedicated platform for sustainable development —the APFSD has been institutionalized by member States to provide opportunities for our region to share best practices and compare lessons learned. Meeting every year, ESCAP member States also agreed that the APFSD may also serve as the platform for follow up and review of the 2030 Agenda. As the secretariat, we are in the process of scoping how this regional follow up and review could be effectively structured to support implementation efforts by member States and other stakeholders.
Second, ESCAP is also aligning its analytical work to help support the implementation of SDGs. We are working towards understanding and developing tools to achieve the integration of three dimensions of sustainable development (e.g. theme study on integration of three dimensions, modeling tool on planning for SDG implementation with SDG 6 on water and sanitation as the entry point).
Third, we have renewed our knowledge partnership with ADB and UNDP around tracking and monitoring of progress on SDG implementation. A key focus of this partnership would be to develop an SDG annual thematic report that we consider a critical component of follow up and review for the 2030 Agenda in Asia-Pacific.
Although the reporting effort would continue to be anchored by these three institutions as it was during the MDG period, we envision an innovative reporting infrastructure that would be able to embrace a much more diverse stakeholder groups and capture a much wider range of perspectives on SDG implementation.
On capacity development, our priority is to strengthen national capacities to shift strategies in implementation from MDGs to SDGs. As a secretariat, we are also building our internal capacity to enhance the synergies of the three dimensions of sustainable development and engage multiple stakeholders in our work.
Capacity development: Becoming fit for purpose - internal capacity building; stronger UN system coordination
Analytical work: Focusing on integration of three dimensions of sustainable development; means of implementation

15. With 14 events slated over the week, it will:
A week dedicated to enhancing and deepening the understanding of the key challenges for effective implementation of the SDGs
With 14 events slated over the week, it will:
facilitate dialogue among experts, public servants, researchers and other stakeholders on challenges involved in effective implementation of the sustainable development agenda
strengthen peer learning and capacity development to make progress on the 2030 Agenda
identify gaps and opportunities for strengthening support, including through partnerships, peer learning and capacity development
Enhance awareness and understanding of the key challenges and opportunities for SDG
implementation in the region through sharing of experiences and knowledge.
Discuss various elements of tools and support available, including from ESCAP, for
implementing the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, with a view to strengthening
them.
Identify gaps and opportunities for strengthening support, including through partnerships,
peer learning and capacity development.

16. Director, Environment and Development
2017/10/19
Dr. Stefanos Fotiou
Director, Environment and Development