Sustainable Development Goals and Lebanon
[3] Lebanon has always faced different challenges in terms of creating a clear vision plan that would develop and advance policy to improve the SDG implementation strategy.
[4] However, there are developmental attempts by The United Nations Global Compact to lead impactful initiatives to integrate best SDG practices on terms of advancing the private sector bto meet up with 2030 Agenda expectations.
For this to happen, on 25 September 2015 world leaders assembled at the United Nations headquarters in New York, to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development replacing MDGs.
In this 2030 Agenda, 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were listed to act as a guided path for the upcoming 15 years to make the world a better place for anyone, anywhere.
There was no actual improvement on the level of bringing to light the need for a national developmental strategy to enhance SDG status in Lebanon all way through 2016.
Adding to this, the originally found issue linked to the Syrian crisis impact on the wellbeing of the country prevented further infrastructure advancement.
The 2006 war damaged infrastructure and public services and caused the contamination of agricultural lands, and the coastal sea due to a large oil spill.
On June 5, 2012, leading up to the world summit, the President of the Republic of Lebanon addressed the people calling for a "conscience awakening".
He acclaimed that the Rio+20 summit is a "milestone on the path that we took in re-placing Lebanon on the international map and stressing on its civilizational and cultural status in the world."
It was also essential to advance structural reforms such as the secularization of the state and the adoption of a sound electoral law that secures the equitable representation of all the Lebanese and the creation of a culture of citizenship.
A ESCWA report, prepared in cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry of Environment in early 2015, identified six sustainable development priorities for Lebanon.
[16] The Lebanese government established an institutional mechanism to give stakeholders the opportunity to participate in the SDG reporting process.
[28] The VNR highlighted the importance of public-private-partnerships in the Lebanese economy and the need for SDG financing and private sector mobilization.
[29] The VNR introduced the present conjuncture of the SDG implementation in Lebanon in the areas where the agreement with the 2030 agenda is still fragile or absent.
The collection of data from primary resources, included extensive consultation with key ministries, parliament, and other state entities, was done as a first step.
A survey consisting of short questions was also sent to all relevant public-sector administrations to gather facts and details on national policies and strategies related to the SDGs.
[17] The second step consisted of a review of secondary sources including sectoral strategies, ministry reports, plans and legislations.
As stated in “Together towards Sustainable Development” a project implemented by The UNDP Lebanon they reported that the private sector has that ability and power to advance the country's status towards SDG developmental initiatives that has a positive effect over all other SDGs mainly SDG9.
First, UNDP will "act as an incubator" for the development of private sector projects on national and regional levels, thus contributing to SDG 8, economic growth.
The main platform that groups corporate sustainability initiatives in Lebanon is the local chapter of the UN Global Compact.
The compact works on capacity building by mainstreaming a principle-based approach to the SDGs and provide good business practices to lead the way.
For this, considering the statistical indicators, 16.5% of children under 5 years old in are stunted, meaning they are not developing properly due to malnutrition.
It is important to mention that regardless these struggles, the Lebanese economy has shown a high level of resilience in the face of regional instability, supported by sectors such as tourism and construction.
[10] Inequalities have different faces in Lebanon that is related to income, consumption and social aspects, particularly between Beirut and rural areas.
Adding to this, the majority of Syrian refugees live in urban areas, often in high density poor neighborhoods and sometimes in vulnerable conditions.
[citation needed] In this regard, it is expected that Lebanon can do more to reduce its contribution to climate change and increase the capacities of institutions working with environmental issues.
[10] Lebanon increased its greenhouse gas emissions, gases that are harmful to the environment and contribute to climate change, by nearly 5% annually between 1994 and 2012.
On July 18, 2018: the Ministerial Meeting of the 2018 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) publicly shared the representation of 46 Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) for three days.
Its main goal was to reduce the total number of Syrian refugees and at the same time encourage them to return to Syria, it is still an ongoing target listed on the governmental agenda.
This concentration of investments in specific sectors failed to improve the county's economic status and attract new advanced projects from investors that would have boosted all the goals targeted by the 2030 agenda.
