216
G. M. Oliveira et al.
1 Introduction: Measuring Sustainable Development
at National, Regional and Municipality Level
Sustainable development aims for the universal wellbeing of humanity and for integral human development thus it is becoming an important issue of the modern world
due to the urgent need of ecosystems preservation for future generations and of a
fair distribution of wealth to eliminate inequalities (United Nations General Assembly 2015). Currently, the challenges of the universal implementation of sustainable
development are political, social, economic and environmental interrelated. Moreover, individual objectives of sustainable development plans of action do not always
converge with the human development goals, sometimes even aggravate actual social
and gender disparities, even at national scale. Balanced and integrated solutions are
needed when approaching different perspectives of a reality that must consider the
human being and human rights as the core issue, while taking into account communities’ and territories’ characteristics and particularities (Salvia et al. 2019). Sustainable
development policies must be considered as the point of convergence for plans and
actions aiming to pursue objectives for healthy, economic welfare and successful
societies while safeguarding natural resources and ecosystems. There should not be
“a one solution fits all” but, on the opposite, tailored and oriented plans and actions
which properly address sustainability. The effectiveness of sustainable development
policies has to be measured on a regular basis to follow and to account for the progress
of the defined political commitments. Either at regional or at local level, where the
action of communities and the local governance is of the utmost importance, the
promotion, support and operationalization of the interconnected and transformative
UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should rely on adequate means for
monitoring, measurement and accountability of plans and actions.
The management and implementation of this multidisciplinary and complex matter cannot be left, exclusively, in the hands of government bodies and the UN motto
“leaving no one behind” also relates to the participation and engagement from the
academia and from different civil society stakeholders (Salvia et al. 2019). Sustainable solutions to improve environmental and life quality may even require additional
technological resources but, most important, require cooperative action between local
authorities, central governments, industrial, economic and academic stakeholders
and, of course, citizens (Leal Filho et al. 2018). Countries’ governments have the
responsibility to manage official statistical data and to implement sustainable development plans that pursue the defined political commitments, both internally and
before international bodies such as the UN, the World Bank, or the EU. However,
many sustainable development policies are implemented at the municipality scale,
thus monitoring has also to occur at this local range. Objective measures of the life
conditions determined only for a country level may conceal very important inequalities within a country population such as the uneven access to health or to education
programmes as well as unbalanced levels of income.
A considerable volume of discussion and, even criticism, encircles the building
and application of composite indicators (OECD and JRC European Commission
G. M. Oliveira et al.
1 Introduction: Measuring Sustainable Development
at National, Regional and Municipality Level
Sustainable development aims for the universal wellbeing of humanity and for integral human development thus it is becoming an important issue of the modern world
due to the urgent need of ecosystems preservation for future generations and of a
fair distribution of wealth to eliminate inequalities (United Nations General Assembly 2015). Currently, the challenges of the universal implementation of sustainable
development are political, social, economic and environmental interrelated. Moreover, individual objectives of sustainable development plans of action do not always
converge with the human development goals, sometimes even aggravate actual social
and gender disparities, even at national scale. Balanced and integrated solutions are
needed when approaching different perspectives of a reality that must consider the
human being and human rights as the core issue, while taking into account communities’ and territories’ characteristics and particularities (Salvia et al. 2019). Sustainable
development policies must be considered as the point of convergence for plans and
actions aiming to pursue objectives for healthy, economic welfare and successful
societies while safeguarding natural resources and ecosystems. There should not be
“a one solution fits all” but, on the opposite, tailored and oriented plans and actions
which properly address sustainability. The effectiveness of sustainable development
policies has to be measured on a regular basis to follow and to account for the progress
of the defined political commitments. Either at regional or at local level, where the
action of communities and the local governance is of the utmost importance, the
promotion, support and operationalization of the interconnected and transformative
UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should rely on adequate means for
monitoring, measurement and accountability of plans and actions.
The management and implementation of this multidisciplinary and complex matter cannot be left, exclusively, in the hands of government bodies and the UN motto
“leaving no one behind” also relates to the participation and engagement from the
academia and from different civil society stakeholders (Salvia et al. 2019). Sustainable solutions to improve environmental and life quality may even require additional
technological resources but, most important, require cooperative action between local
authorities, central governments, industrial, economic and academic stakeholders
and, of course, citizens (Leal Filho et al. 2018). Countries’ governments have the
responsibility to manage official statistical data and to implement sustainable development plans that pursue the defined political commitments, both internally and
before international bodies such as the UN, the World Bank, or the EU. However,
many sustainable development policies are implemented at the municipality scale,
thus monitoring has also to occur at this local range. Objective measures of the life
conditions determined only for a country level may conceal very important inequalities within a country population such as the uneven access to health or to education
programmes as well as unbalanced levels of income.
A considerable volume of discussion and, even criticism, encircles the building
and application of composite indicators (OECD and JRC European Commission