Regionalizing the sustainable development goals: interpretations of priorities and key actors for creating sustainable island futures

Ecology and Society: a journal of integrative science for resilience and sustainability

article

Mark C. J. Stoddart¹  Yixi Yang¹  Cole Atlin² 

[1] Department of Sociology, Memorial University of Newfoundland;School of Environment, University of Waterloo

关键词: Canada;    governance;    local;    sustainability;    sustainable development;    Sustainable Development Goals;   

DOI  :  10.5751/ES-13728-280204

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Resilience Alliance Publications

【 摘 要 】

The 17 United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) are an important step in defining what sustainabledevelopment looks like in practice. However, to make concrete progress toward the SDGs, it is essential to understand how they areperceived and can be acted upon locally or regionally. In this study, we draw on survey and focus group research carried out inNewfoundland and Labrador, on the east coast of Canada, to analyze how the SDGs are interpreted in a regional context. Our researchquestions are as follows: Which SDGs have the highest salience for participants and may be leveraged for sustainability policy andpractice? Which political actors are seen as having the capacity to implement the goals into policy and practice? Sustainable developmentgoals aligned with economic sustainability are emphasized and seen as particularly important. However, economically oriented SDGsare viewed as compatible with a broad range of SDGs. Overall, respondents view the provincial government as the most salient actorwith the capacity to implement sustainability policy and practice for the region. However, despite its perceived importance, participantsassess provincial government performance very poorly regarding SDG implementation. In terms of the governance dimension ofsustainability, our results highlight the importance of attending to the roles of mid-level political actors, as well as their relationshipswith national and local/municipal governments, in pursuing regional sustainability.

【 授权许可】

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