Low growth, high debt, and fragmented trade are widening economic divides, urging the need for new development policies to promote sustainable growth.
Economic Development
business leaders will meet UN officials for their (28-29 October, New York) to advance SDG financing. Discussions will support solutions for the UN’s reform agenda, boost and unlock private sector investment in sustainable development, and prepare for the in Seville, Spain (30 June-3 July). The meeting comes at a critical time when the world needs transformative actions to bridge the SDG financing gap, which has ballooned to USD 4 trillion annually for developing countries.
Nang San Hlaing , from Myanmar, was impressed by the crucial role of women in the development of farming communities in Thailand's highlands. She believes that Myanmar can achieve similar gender equality in the future, despite the challenges of changing attitudes and shifting away from illicit crops. Inspired by what she is learning in Thailand, she wants to implement new farming methods and create social enterprises in Myanmar.
On the cold, wet and foggy slopes of the Andes mountains in South America, a unique but fragile ecosystem illustrates the interconnection between the three most urgent global environmental crises we face today: biodiversity loss, climate change and land degradation. Known as ±èá°ù²¹³¾´Ç²õ&²Ô²ú²õ±è;(alpine tundras), these high mountain ecosystems are found at altitudes higher than 3,000 metres. Considered sacred by Indigenous Peoples, the ±èá°ù²¹³¾´Ç²õ of the Andes have been inhabited by humans for the past 15,000 years. However, with over 76,000 families living in the Colombian ±èá°ù²¹³¾´Ç²õ&²Ô²ú²õ±è;today, unsustainable development has been pressuring this invaluable and delicate ecosystem. That is why the (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP), implemented by the (UNDP), launched the Guardians of the ±Êá°ù²¹³¾´Ç²õ alliance, in partnership with SWISSAID and World Women’s Corporation Colombia. Over the project’s three years of implementation, a total of 2,328 people participated, most of them rural women.
Augustina Akosua Asor Tufuor’s entrepreneurial journey started at the University of Ghana Business School. She founded Tropical Snacks to create all-natural plantain chips from surplus local produce, aiming to bridge the gap between small farmers and consumers. However, she faced challenges in accessing finance and market information. To address this, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the 51³Ô¹Ï () and the International Trade Centre launched a program called Empowering Women and Boosting Livelihoods through Agricultural Trade () in 2021. This program aims to increase women’s competitiveness in trade through strengthened knowledge, skills, and access to finance.
How can we reimagine the global financial system for the 21st Century? How do we rebuild trust in the international community in the face of conflict and polarization? With only six years to go, how do we make up lost ground on the Sustainable Development Goals? These are some of the thorny questions that participants at the , initiated by the 51³Ô¹Ï Development Programme (UNDP) and other actors, will seek to answer. Bringing together leaders from government, the private sector and civil society, the Conference holds the potential to be a critical new forum to reshape and advance sustainable development for the 21st century.
Ecuador is pioneering sustainable agriculture with innovative practices to enhance productivity while preserving its rich biodiversity and forest ecosystems. The 51³Ô¹Ï Development Programme () and Lavazza have teamed up to produce the world's first certified coffee. The initiative aims to improve the quality of coffee beans and protect nature and forests, working with farmers in the 23 provinces bordering Ecuador's Amazon rainforest. The initiative is part of the program, a government-led initiative supported by UNDP, which has restored of Amazonian land.
Nisa is a mother of four from Bamyan, Afghanistan. She faced challenges in accessing education and later migrated to Iran. Like many Afghan women facing challenges in their migration journey, her priorities shifted to supporting her family. After a few daily-wage jobs, Nisa found stable work at a noodle-making factory in Iran. After 20 years, her family returned to Afghanistan. Nisa started a noodle business using her experience in Iran. With support from the International Organization for Migration (), she expanded her business and now plans to hire women and open a restaurant.
The Employment Intensive Investment Programme () helps countries around the world create more and better jobs through public investment in inclusive infrastructure. See how the programme works.
This initiative focuses on the sustainable production of essential oils, promoting bioeconomic activities that generate sustainable income without deforestation. By employing an agroforestry system, the initiative contributes to both the conservation and sustainable use of forest resources.
The world is facing an unprecedented development crisis: the debt crisis. warns that the global public debt has more than doubled from $51 trillion in 2010 and could exceed $100 trillion by 2024. Developing countries owe almost a third of this debt, and their debt is growing twice as fast as that of developed nations.
Mohammad’s Café has transformed into an oasis in the heart of the Diyala market thanks to a grant from the SME Grant Programme, which allowed him to fully renovate the café and equip it.
The world has changed since postwar economic thought placed GDP growth as its guiding principle. 20th-century progress has pushed planetary resources to the limit and brings the sustainability of traditional macroeconomic models into question. In a new edition of the podcast, Kate Raworth talks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about her alternative model Doughnut Economics, which places economic objectives within the social and ecological boundaries of the living planet. Raworth is an ecological economist and the author of Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist.
Photo: Johannes Frandsen
After bees swarmed a hotel restaurant in Saint Lucia, Richard Matthias called a local beekeeper, William ‘Vavan’ Antione, who captured the bees and asked Richard to take care of them. Now, 15 years later, Richard is a leading beekeeper and apiculture expert in the eastern Caribbean. With support from the Global Environment Facility Facility (GEF) , implemented by the 51³Ô¹Ï Development Programme (), beekeeping projects in the region have helped revive the industry and boost honey production and beekeeper income.
Kinley Wangmo, a Bhutanese mother, turned to hydroponics farming as a solution after losing her source of income during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her interest in hydroponics developed into a passion, leading her to establish Bhutan Hydroponics in 2020. Through her dedication and expertise, she received support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the 51³Ô¹Ï () for her urban farming project, which has helped her establish three spacious greenhouses.