Indonesia Seeks to Integrate SDGs in its National Development Agenda

June 21, 2020

Farmer working in the fields

New Delhi: Indonesia seeks to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its national development agenda to have a holistic growth which takes into account the well-being of important stakeholders- the people, the environment and the economy.

The country is focusing on four pillars [1]:

Social Pillar: The focus is to reduce poverty and hunger, promote well-being of everyone, provide quality education and ensure gender equality

Economic Pillar: The government is working hard to provide clean energy sources and decent working conditions which can help in increasing economic growth which is essential to reducing income disparity among its citizens

Environment Pillar: The government seeks to focus on having proper sanitation facilities for everyone along with a check on consumption and production, which will help in addressing climate related challenges as well

Law and Governance Pillar: The overarching goal of the government is to maintain peace throughout the country, including providing justice to the needy

Incorporating Sustainable Development into Indonesia's Economic Development

“There are few challenges that Indonesia is facing in achieving its vision for SDGs. The country lacks a proper database of all relevant development indicators. Also, sometimes national indicators don’t sync with global indicators. The government lacks a proper development mechanism which could be useful in the monitoring and evaluation process of achievement of indicators.” CITATION Hen19 \l 1033 [2]

Mokhamad Farid Fauzi from the Association of Advancement of Small Businesses, states that civil society is also putting pressure on the government to focus sharply on SDGs. Also, the government needs to increase focus on research and development, which is one of the lowest in the world. If Indonesian government fails to address its problems of good governance, proper health facilities and accelerated research and development, then the achievement of SDGs would be difficult.[3]

Conclusion- In today’s era, sustainable development is a major concern for countries round the globe and for implementing SDGs properly, Indonesia is working hard to achieve its 2030 targets. Having SDGs in its national development agenda, Indonesia has shown the intent but for successful implementation, she should rectify the problems that are currently present in its vision for SDGs.

(Shikhar Malik is an intern with OneWorld Foundation India)

End Notes [1] (PDF) Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals: Assessing Indonesia's Compliance towards the Global Goals. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333774235_Localizing_the_Sustainable_Development_Goals_Assessing_Indonesia's_Compliance_towards_the_Global_Goals

[2] Henry Asri Reagan, "Overview Of SDG Implementation In Indonesia." Regional Workshop on National SDG Reporting Mechanisms. Bangkok: Badan Pusat Statistik, 2019. pp, 1-13 (Accessed June 15,2020)

[3] Mokhamad Farid Faiz , Sustainable Development Goals Indonesia; A Reflection, Research Gate. October 2016 ( Accessed June 15, 2020)