Regional launch of the Global Sustainable Development Report 2019 takes place in Accra

The regional launch of the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) 2019 has taken place in Accra. The launch in Accra is the first on the continent following the global launch in September at the United Nations headquarters.

The GSDR 2019 is titled The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development. It focuses on the relevance of science in advancing sustainable development and calls for a drastic change in development policies, incentives and actions informed by research into the interconnectivity of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if we are to meet the target of achieving the SDGs by 2030. The report acknowledges the role of various actors, such as States, private sector, civil society organisations and the academia in the implementation of the SDGs and points to the urgent need for actors to understand and engage with the scientific realities that underpin the relationship between human activity and the natural world.

The GSDR 2019 was prepared by a 15-member team of scientists from various regions and representing a variety of scientific disciplines and institutions.  One of the members, Dr. Ernest Foli, a principal scientist with the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, presented the highlights of the report to an audience of journalists, scientists and academia.  He called for support into research that are guided by the 2030 Agenda and are solution based.

Dr. Foli, expressed appreciation to the United Nations for the opportunity given him to serve humanity through his work on the GSDR 2019. “I am glad I have served my country well” he noted at the end of his presentation.

Representation the UN Resident Coordinator, the Head of Office and Representative of UNESCO to Ghana, Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo noted that the UN will continue to support the Government of Ghana in its effort towards sustainable development and to leave no one behind. For his part, Mr. Cletus Alengah, a Research and Policy Associate of the SDGs Advisory Unit at the office of the President said the GSDR 2019 will serve as a reference in pursuant of attaining the SDGs.

Reacting to the Report, Prof. Alfred Oteng-Yeboah of the Department of Plant and Environmental Biology of the University of Ghana said “putting people ahead of nature in our quest for a better future” will derail our efforts towards attaining the SDGs.

The report is available here.