In 2015, the Member States of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, along with principles for their implementation, representing a vision of the world to strive for by 2030.
The 17 overarching and 169 specific goals cover a wide range of sectoral policies. Local and regional authorities played a significant role in defining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), successfully ensuring the establishment of a standalone goal related to municipalities—SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements—as well as international recognition of the central role of local and regional authorities in sustainable development.
Since the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda must be achieved at global, national, and subnational levels, the success of this ambitious Agenda depends on the active participation of all levels of government and a wide range of stakeholders. The overarching Sustainable Development Goals, with their universal definition of general and specific targets, need to be adapted to concrete situations and specific needs in order to deliver real benefits to citizens and their living conditions. The process of adapting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda to the subnational context is known as the “localization of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Localization refers both to how the Sustainable Development Goals can provide a framework for local development policies, and to how local and regional authorities can support their achievement through “bottom-up” actions. In this regard, municipal capacities are crucial for implementing the 2030 Agenda, monitoring progress at the local level, and engaging the public, private, and civil sectors.
To support local authorities of its member municipalities in the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS), with the support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), has prepared a Handbook. The Handbook will help practitioners at the municipal level enhance their knowledge and strengthen their understanding of the importance of the 2030 Agenda and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals at the local level. It also aims to build their capacities to act as promoters of the SDGs and to encourage them to involve other stakeholders.
The Handbook provides key information on the Sustainable Development Goals, explaining the role of municipalities in achieving them and outlining mechanisms for raising awareness that municipalities can use to bring the SDGs closer to citizens. It also offers a variety of examples from the region and beyond, illustrating municipal activities in promoting the goals and how these efforts have contributed to the well-being of their communities.
The Handbook also provides guidance on integrating the Sustainable Development Goals into local strategies and explores the role of associations of local authorities and NALAS in mobilizing municipalities to achieve the SDGs.
