The roles of civil society in driving a sustainable future

Sustainable development is one that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”.

In recent years, the global community have been talking about building “sustainable future”. It is a great idea. Everyone wants a better tomorrow but many don’t want to commit to it.

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) came into effect in 2015 to build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These development goals are universal set of social, economic and environmental targets accepted by UN member states to enable sustainable development across the world. “The universal goals are expected to create a benchmark that ensures the balancing of economic development and global environmental goals with poverty reduction objectives.”

Although, the development goals are not legally binding, political commitment are required of UN member states to achieve them.

The MDGs which were created in 2000 during the UN Millennium summit were adopted by 189 member states. The eight goals had specific targets and dates for achieving those them before the deadline of 2015. The goals aimed at eradicating abject poverty, hunger, illiteracy, child mortality, promote gender equality; improve maternal health and foster global partnership in order to achieve all the targets. Despite the huge funds injected into the MDGs most countries didn’t meet the deadline.

Sustainable development goals are aimed at building a future befitting all human races. Global sustainability is the desire of everyman. Building a sustainable future presents numerous challenges. It encompasses all aspect of livelihood, like sustainability of agriculture, energy, transportation, education, health and environment.

“How do we ensure a future where all people have economic opportunities they need to reach their full potential without depleting the environment that sustains all?”

In 2015, “The World We Want” a joint venture between the UN and Civil Society Organizations was formed to supports citizen participation forming a framework to replace the MDGs. Given the scale of goals of the SDGs, it is not possible for government alone to achieve these targets. All sectors of the society including private sector, corporations, civil society and the general public at all levels must participate in building the future we desire.

NGOs, trade unions, faith-based organizations, foundations, and others should critically engage governments, institutions and companies in policy matters and collaborate, where possible, to execute activities. This could be in areas of agriculture, education, maternal health, rural development, and HIV/AIDS.

Oxfam, Transparency International, Amnesty International, WWF, Save the Children, The Nature Conservancy, Human Rights Watch, Civicus, Action Aid and Access Initiative are some international CSOs working to improve lives around the world.

CSOs have played a major role in pushing for sustainable development at international and local levels. CSOs have been key drivers of inter-governmental negations, ranging from the regulation of hazardous wastes to ban of nuclear proliferation and fight against HIV/AIDS. Without the resilience of these non state actors much would not have been achieved so far.

Civil society is a diverse constellation. Some may pursue a single policy objective – for example good governance or Climate Change. Others may target thematic areas like poverty eradication or human rights protection.

CSOs are usually based in localities were they interact with the people; they have the local knowledge to tailor global development programmes to specific local circumstances. CSOs play major roles in advocacy, accountability and service delivery. It is therefore important for CSOs to continue playing critical roles in advocacy in order to achieve these sustainable goals.

Nigeria being a developing nation is in need of effective civil society groups that will make significant impact on the lives of the citizenry especially rural dwellers. NGOs can leverage local and international funding to provide quality educational support to rural schools, empower local women to enable them earn a living, provide water and sanitation in order to end open defecation. CSOs must be watchdogs ensuring that government obeys the constitution and more importantly that they deliver promises to the masses.

It is through the support of civil societies that the world can achieve significant shift to sustainable future. An aggregate of actions will drive government and non-governmental organizations through collaboration to make the world a place we would all desire for us and our offspring.

Emeka Ulor