The Government of Colombia has made progress in important issues to keep with the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030

In 2015, the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, created the Inter-institutional Commission for the Preparation and Effective Implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Sustainable Development Goals are global goals agreed by the international system to protect the planet, solve world problems and guarantee resources for the welfare of new generations.

Leer en español: Colombia: ¿Cómo va el país con la implementación de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenibles?

Several state organizations and ministries of the nation work in this committee, among which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Department (DNP, by its acronym in Spanish) stand out. The objective of the committee is to monitor, evaluate, prepare and implement the strategies and projects designed to meet the 17 global goals.

According to the Chancellery, the work of the committee has positioned Colombia in synergies on the subject. Thanks to the joint work with civil society, and state and non-state agencies, Colombia has stood out in the region for its strategies, programs, and creation of indicators to monitor, evaluate and guarantee sustainable development in the country, which contributes to the consolidation of a stable and lasting peace.

The participation of the Colombian State in the High-Level Political Forum for the SDGs confirms its leadership in the issue. Since 2015, Colombia has been collaborating with the forum, preparing reports and voluntary presentations on the national implementation of the SDGs.

Advances in meeting the agenda

According to a report by the DNP, in recent years the country has made progress on various issues. One of the achievements is linked to "Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation", given that the current government achieved that 6.9 million people had access to drinking water for the first time.

Likewise, according to information from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Colombian State has reached important goals for the implementation of the SDGs, such as access to energy in 202,000 homes, of which 29,000 are located in post-conflict zones, the construction of 1.7 million homes, of which about 5.7 million people have benefited and the reduction of 30% of the production of plastic bags.

You can also read: What do Latin American countries do to protect their forests?

In the same way, challenges have been identified for the incoming Colombian government based on the reports presented to date. The Colombian role in the region gives the Colombian State the obligation to appropriate and lead regional synergies on the issue, that is, Colombia must be linked to neighboring countries to ensure the implementation of the SDGs regionally.

Likewise, for the planning director of WWF, interinstitutional articulation is important in order to make environmental actions more effective. Based on the foregoing, it is important to promote the participation of all sectors of civil, private and public society to continue reaping achievements in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

However, the path of the coffee country is long and full of environmental problems. Deforestation, the environmental crisis in communities such as La Guajira, maritime pollution and social inequality and poverty are challenges for which the next government must double its efforts to continue complying with the SDGs.

LatinAmerican Post | Bryan Andrés Murcia

Transtaled from "Colombia: ¿Cómo va el país con la implementación de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenibles?"