The Annual Report on Regional Progress and Challenges in Relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean was drafted by a forum of countries that was created during the 36th session of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Its aim is to function as a monitoring mechanism for the 2030 Agenda.
Given the huge range of issues covered by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the report is limited to three areas: a diagnostic exercise on the progress achieved to date, an analysis of the institutional instruments available for implementing the agenda in each country, and a discussion around the challenges and opportunities involved in building and measuring SDG indicators.
The diagnostics chapter delves analytically into the current state of globalization, particularly how dominant trends are affecting the position of Latin America and the Caribbean. The emphasis is on the different types of technological change and the impact that these might have on key variables in regional economies. The report also reveals how, in the current global context, it is essential to strengthen regional integration ties as a means for achieving the SDGs, according to the guidelines set out in the 2030 Agenda.
The section that looks at institutions provides an overview of the capacity of civil society and public authorities to take on the challenge of this strategic vision. There is a particular focus on articulating public policies to facilitate coordination between institutions. One section looks at how to include the SDGs in the toolkit for public accounts in the region.
The third chapter tackles the complex problems that need to be solved to create a statistical framework for monitoring the SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The point is how to open up, systematize, and generate information to ensure that indicators for progress or setbacks are available in a timely fashion in relation to the specific goals of the 2030 Agenda. The chapter discusses the design, measurement, and interpretation of a very broad range of data and indicators for this strategic vision.
This report is the first in a series that will be published between now and 2030 and seeks to identify the starting point and foundations from which countries can work toward achieving the SDGs.
ECLAC. Annual Report on Regional Progress and Challenges in Relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Santiago de Chile: 2017.
