Climate, Water, and Livelihood Skills: A Post-Development Reading of the SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals, anthropocentrism and neoliberalism

“…Ariel Salleh argues that 'The SDG proposals are not just unrealistic but undemocratic, since the goals are to be realised by growing gross domestic product (GDP), increasing market liberalisation and free trade, as well as according more power to the World Trade Organization.' 94 In a similar vein, Heloise Weber argues that neoliberal policies are explicit goals in a 'framework that privileges commercial interests over commitments to provide universal entitlements to address fundamental life-sustaining needs. Political struggles over development will continue against the ideology of the SDG project and for transformative shifts for actually sustainable development.'…”

Islands: balancing development and sustainability?

“…However, a 'sustainability revolution will need to happen on an extraordinarily short time scale, draw on the best anticipatory planning and science, demonstrate a renewed empathy for and identification with all life, and muster groundbreaking global collaboration' (Glasser 2016: 63; emphasis added). The main value of the SDGs lies less in their ability to be achieved and more in their reaffirming people's rights to selfdetermination (Easterly 2015, Salleh 2016. Sustainability is thus usually attached both to a particular place or sector, rather than to an island (or island state) as a whole, and to 'movements towards' that concept.…”

“…Lal (2008: 41), after listing multiple constraints to SD, still concluded that ‘Through sustainable development, countries can expect in the long run to achieve their national development goals of poverty alleviation, equitable distribution of economic wealth, and minimising local conflict and threats to national security.’ However, a ‘sustainability revolution will need to happen on an extraordinarily short time scale, draw on the best anticipatory planning and science, demonstrate a renewed empathy for and identification with all life, and muster groundbreaking global collaboration’ (Glasser 2016: 63; emphasis added). The main value of the SDGs lies less in their ability to be achieved and more in their reaffirming people's rights to self-determination (Easterly 2015, Salleh 2016). Sustainability is thus usually attached both to a particular place or sector, rather than to an island (or island state) as a whole, and to ‘movements towards’ that concept.…”

Sustainable development and climate change adaptation: goal interlinkages and the case SIDS

“…Some studies have focused on implications for implementing the SDG goals: climate adaptation and development policy in developing states (Lamb, 2016;Sherman et al, 2016); the SDGs' transformative power for economic, climate, and social justice policy (Koehler, 2016); and the reduced effectiveness of SDGs implementation processes because of insufficient focus on ecological and relational inclusive development when compared with social development (Gupta & Vegelin, 2016). Others have focused on specific actions, such as landscape approaches to social and environmental goals (Reed et al, 2016); the use of economic growth and technology as tools for SDG implementation (Salleh, 2016); global governance approaches to integrate the SDGs development agencies with the global financial system (Radermacher, 2016); reform towards a common agenda for global institutions through a nexus approach that mirrors the interrelatedness of the SDGs (Boas, Biermann, & Kanie, 2016b); the effectiveness of multi-stakeholder partnerships in sustainability policy domains such as climate change, health, and biodiversity (Pattberg & Widerberg, 2016); or the relevance of household-level interventions for food, energy, water, or health (Toole, Klocker, & Head, 2016). Finally, some studies have questioned the value of related actions: regarding whether an integrated sustainable development multi-sectoral approach could achieve desired outcomes (Nordbeck & Steurer, 2016) and the unwanted consequences of maladaptive responses to climate change for sustainable development (Magnan et al, 2016).…”