Governing SDGs in Developing Countries

Dear Colleagues,

The 1987 World Commission on Economic Development (WCED), known more commonly as the Brundtland Commission, released a report titled Our Common Future that provides the most widely accepted modern-day definition of sustainable development as, “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland, 1987, p. 41). The UN’s (2000) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were another set of guidelines that governments, corporations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), activists, educators, and social entrepreneurs could follow in their quests to promote and achieve sustainable development outcomes. Since the industrial revolution, the standard of living and life expectancy in the developed world have increased dramatically, whereas the developing world is still mired in poverty and disease. Again, developed countries are commonly cited as examples of good practice in the adaptation of sustainable development, but developing countries are also increasingly interested in this area. The UNESCO (2004) further explained these pillars as follows:

1. Society: how social institutions, such as governments, play a role in change and development.
2. Environment: being aware of the fragile nature of natural resources and the physical environment and how this can affect human activity, while also acknowledging that this includes a commitment to evaluate environmental concerns when making decisions on social and economic development.
3. Economy: understanding that economic growth can have an impact on society and the environment and realizing that economic plans should be assessed against their societal and environmental impacts.

The three pillars all are independent areas of interest, but all three must be considered as affecting each other when one is making choices or planning policies. The United Nations (2015) introduced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a roadmap to transform the world through a sustainable development agenda. This agenda introduced seventeen SDGs to build on and expand the MDGs over another fifteen-year period. These 17 SDGs, with 169 specific targets, have a more ambitious agenda than the MDGs, as the SDGs seek to eliminate poverty entirely.

As UNESCO (UN Millennium Project, 2006) was clear to assert that ESD should not be equated with environmental education, we shall explore how sustainability became tied to education, known as ESD theory in developing countries, and trace how ESD has transformed from a purely environmental focus into a type of SDG taught throughout various emerging spaces. Higher education institutions can thrive by obtaining a higher world ranking when they incorporate sustainability as a driving force in their university social responsibility; educating individuals in the correct aspects of both sustainability and social responsibility is the key to their chances for success. For theory to develop in this area, we need more research on the barriers, challenges, costs, and benefits of SDGs for public organizations and public policies in various settings, contexts, policy domains, and geographical and virtual places. This effort should come from various methodological perspectives, including experiments and comparative studies. We also need to better understand the relationship between SDGs and other stakeholders in the public arena, particularly citizens, managers, high-level politicians and bureaucrats, and interest groups. More research is also needed regarding the normative aspects of governance for SDGs. Is it a desirable phenomenon? Therefore, we invite scholars to address several key areas of interest in which research is still only beginning to emerge:

1. How do SDGs occur in different types of organizations, contexts, and places?
2. How do different settings affect governance for SDGs?
3. What are the strategies that SDGs adopt?
4. Do developing countries deploy particular policy narratives to achieve their SDGs?
5. What factors lead to the success or failure of governance for SDGs?
6. What are characteristics of education for sustainable development theory in developing countries?
7. What are strategies that higher education institutions use to promote/implement SDGs?

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Kuotai Cheng
Prof. Dr. Kirk Chang
Guest Editors

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• Sustainable Development Goals
• education for sustainable development
• developing countries
• resilient community
• city governance