High-level Event on Follow-up and Review Mechanisms for Natural Resource Management and Governance to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Institute for the Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany, along with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Biovision Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland, and Millennium Institute in Washington DC, US, held a high-level event on ‘Follow-up and Review Mechanisms for Natural Resource Management and Governance to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),“ which convened from 12-13 May 2015, in New York, US.

According to preliminary conclusions of the Chair, discussions identified: strong consensus on the need for an inclusive and participatory follow-up and review process for the post-2015 development agenda; a question of whether to develop a partnership approach for implementation or encourage strong accountability of governments and country-led implementation; the need to complement data-driven follow-up and review with participatory insights; and support for “back-up mechanisms” at the global level, in case national process are not adequately participatory.

The two-day multistakeholder event included presentations on the importance of reviewing natural resource management and governance at the national level, two interactive panel discussions, break-out groups, and a discussion of the Chair’s conclusions, which will be presented to UN Member States on 18 May 2015, on the sidelines of the fifth session of the intergovernmental negotiation process on the post-2015 development agenda.