CONGRESS AND CONFERENCES

TOWARDS 2030: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE is the topic of the 2016 annual report of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), the ninth in the series on the State of Arab Environment which kicked off in 2008. The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously agreed in its 70th session in September 2015 on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They include: poverty eradication, food security, healthy life, equitable education, gender equality, water for all, energy for all, jobs for all, resilient infrastructure, reduction of inequality, safe cities, sustainable consumption and production, climate action, protection and sustainable use of oceans and land resources, peace and justice, partnership for implementation. Those goals will guide development plans for the coming 15 years until 2030. State of implementation will be monitored based on a set of indicators. The 2016 AFED report will be analytical, aiming at answering the question of how Arab countries can achieve the SDGs by the 2030 deadline, taking into account the constraints and the emerging situation in the region during recent years, including uprisings, conflicts, wars, and the refugee crisis. What are Arab priorities within the SDGs, and what are the requirements, technical, administrative, financial and others, needed for implementation? AFED reports have gained global reputation as the most reliable and independent sources on environment issues in the Arab region, and served as policy drivers. Speakers include leading Arab and international experts and decision-makers. The conference will host side events organized by many regional and international organizations active in the field of sustainability, consumption and production, water, food energy, education, food and sustainable development.