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Photo: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) addresses a meeting to brief Member States on April 4, 2016 on the preparations for the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), set for 23-24 May in Istanbul, Turkey. At his side is Stephen O'Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Istanbul Summit to Find Ways Out of Humanitarian Crises

Analysis by Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) - It is an open secret that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has put his heart into the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit set for May 23 and 24 in Istanbul, the most populous city in Turkey and the country’s economic, cultural, and historic hub.

If successful, the Summit would go down in history as his lasting legacy. Because it symbolizes a cupola supported by four columns: the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement.

The crux of Ban’s message since September 2015, when world leaders endorsed 17 Sustainable Development Goals with 169 targets: “I call upon global leaders to place humanity – the concern for the dignity, safety and well-being of our citizens – at the forefront of all policies, strategies and decision-making. The World Humanitarian Summit must be for the people living on the frontline of humanity. They count on us. We cannot let them down.” (P04) CHINESE TEXT VERSION PDF | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 17; 23 April 2016

Photo: ‘Think Forest’ Panel during IMF/World Bank Spring Meeting. Credit: Fabiola Oritz.

Investing in Forests the Next Big Thing for Development Agenda

Analysis by Fabíola Ortiz

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) - Investing in forests has become the next big thing as an essential segment of the development solution, whether for meeting climate goals, coping with extreme weather, boosting livelihoods, greening supply chains or carbon sinking. However, the world has lost 50 soccer fields of forests every minute, every day, over the last twenty years.

“This is a great tragedy,” says Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization that works in more than 50 countries. Managing forests has been difficult, he adds. Around one fifth of the global population (1.3 billion people) relies on forests for livelihoods.

According to the World Bank, about 350 million people live within or close to dense forests depending directly on them for their subsistence. And of those, nearly 60 million people – especially indigenous communities – are completely dependent on forests. (P03) CHINESE TEXT VERSION PDF | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 13+14+15; 21 April 2016

Achieving UN Goal of Development Aid Remains an Uphill Task

Analysis by Jaya Ramachandran

PARIS | NEW YORK (IDN) - Revitalizing the global partnership is Goal 17 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic Summit at the UN headquarters in New York.

It urges developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance (ODA) commitments, including the commitment to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of the Gross National Income (GNI) given as ODA to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent to least developed countries.

“ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries,” says one of the Goal 17 targets endorsed by the world leaders. (P02) JAPANESE TEXT PDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 17; 16 April 2016

Sustainable Development Crucial to Countering Terrorism

Analysis by Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) - Within days of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington that considered modes of averting nuclear materials falling into the hands of terrorists, possible ways of Preventing Violent Extremism drew the focus of a UN conference in Geneva.

The conference on April 7-8 was held against the backdrop that terrorist groups such as ISIL, Al-Qaida and Boko Haram have come to embody the image of violent extremism and the debate about how to address this threat.

An important element of a plan to counter all kinds of terrorism, according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, has to be full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), because fulfilment of these goals will address many of the socioeconomic drivers of violent extremism. The SDGs highlight women’s empowerment and youth engagement, because societies with higher equality and inclusion are less vulnerable to violent extremism. (P01) HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT PDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH