A rapid assessment of co-benefits and trade-offs among Sustainable Development Goals

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Gerald G.,Cisneros-Montemayor,Andrés M.,Swartz,Wilf,Cheu Singh (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Abstract: Achieving the United Nations" 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) results in many ecological, social, andeconomic consequences that are inter-related. Understanding relationships between sustainability goals anddetermining their interactions can help prioritize effective and efficient policy options. This paper presents aframework that integrates existing knowledge from literature and expert opinions to rapidly assess the relationships between one SDG goal and another. Specifically, given the important role of the oceans in the world'ssocial-ecological systems, this study focuses on how SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and the targets within that goal,contributes to other SDG goals. This framework differentiates relationships based on compatibility (co-benefit,trade-off, neutral), the optional nature of achieving one goal in attaining another, and whether these relationships are context dependent. The results from applying this framework indicate that oceans SDG targets arerelated to all other SDG goals, with two ocean targets (of seven in total) most related across all other SDG goals.Firstly, the ocean SDG target to increase economic benefits to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and leastdeveloped countries for sustainable marine uses has positive relationships across all SDGs. Secondly, the oceanSDG target to eliminate overfishing, illegal and destructive fishing practices is a necessary pre-condition forachieving the largest number of other SDG targets. This study highlights the importance of the oceans inachieving sustainable development. The rapid assessment framework can be applied to other SDGs to comprehensively map out the subset of targets that are also pivotal in achieving sustainable development.

Additional Information

Publication

Other

Language: English

Date: 2017

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals; Ocean sustainability; Policy prioritization; Sustainability framework; Sustainability relationships

Email this document to