242
need to respect “each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development,” as stated in
target 17.15 of the 2030 Agenda, which emphasizes the need for international commitments to bolster capacity-building in developing countries and in turn facilitate
national endeavors to enhance sustainable development
14
and policy coherence.
Above all, complying with the recent global environmental and development
commitments is a matter of suitable governance (Adger et al. 2009). However, governance poses specific challenges, such as, for instance, how to deal with institutional fragmentation, since global challenges involve almost all domains of policy
and governance levels; or how to account for persisting uncertainties regarding the
nature and scale of risks and proposed solutions; and how to design short-term policies based on long-term projections. The main question remains: how to develop
strategies that bolster sustainable development in the context of climate change,
and increase the ability of society to cope with and initiate social transformations
away from unsustainable trajectories towards new social–ecological pathways
strengthening ecosystem stewardship, and its associated values (Olsson 2003;
Chapin et al. 2009).
However, change is brought about by slow-moving variables (Chapin et al. 1996;
Carpenter and Turner 2000) that nevertheless bear a strong influence on internal
dynamics, and therefore, tracking and understanding these variables may be the
most crucial step. Indeed, it will illuminate the rates, directions, and magnitudes of
the key processes underlying the long-term evolution of societies and ecosystems
(Stafford Smith and Huigen 2009).
Although large quantities of data are currently being collected, there remain significant gaps and deficiencies in our ability to monitor drylands (Verstraete et al.
2009) principally in reason of the high variability of data on human and social
dimensions caused by the tight coupling of human and environmental processes in
arid and semiarid regions. Existing systems of observation in drylands have typically been designed for ad hoc purposes, without much concern for integration or
interoperability with other structures; in some cases, they have initially developed
or adapted for different environments. As a result, many key variables in drylands
are not always properly monitored.
Much data that could be critical on multiple fronts of policy-making currently
lies fallow or fragmented. Many governments, but particularly the poorest and most
marginalized, still lack access to adequate demographic and territorial data. The
current situation will evidently fall short of expectations on sustainability, both
globally and locally. Short of an overhaul in the way data is treated and collected,
the international community, acting through bilateral or multilateral ODA (Official
Development Assistance) will not be able to support the most vulnerable people.
Thus the importance of capacity-building as a way of improving the availability of
high-quality, reliable, punctually reported data in the developing world by 2020.
15
14 Target 17.9 of the Sustainable Development Agenda (2030 Agenda).
15 Target 17.18 of the Sustainable Development Agenda (2030 Agenda).
A. Rizzo et al.
need to respect “each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development,” as stated in
target 17.15 of the 2030 Agenda, which emphasizes the need for international commitments to bolster capacity-building in developing countries and in turn facilitate
national endeavors to enhance sustainable development
14
and policy coherence.
Above all, complying with the recent global environmental and development
commitments is a matter of suitable governance (Adger et al. 2009). However, governance poses specific challenges, such as, for instance, how to deal with institutional fragmentation, since global challenges involve almost all domains of policy
and governance levels; or how to account for persisting uncertainties regarding the
nature and scale of risks and proposed solutions; and how to design short-term policies based on long-term projections. The main question remains: how to develop
strategies that bolster sustainable development in the context of climate change,
and increase the ability of society to cope with and initiate social transformations
away from unsustainable trajectories towards new social–ecological pathways
strengthening ecosystem stewardship, and its associated values (Olsson 2003;
Chapin et al. 2009).
However, change is brought about by slow-moving variables (Chapin et al. 1996;
Carpenter and Turner 2000) that nevertheless bear a strong influence on internal
dynamics, and therefore, tracking and understanding these variables may be the
most crucial step. Indeed, it will illuminate the rates, directions, and magnitudes of
the key processes underlying the long-term evolution of societies and ecosystems
(Stafford Smith and Huigen 2009).
Although large quantities of data are currently being collected, there remain significant gaps and deficiencies in our ability to monitor drylands (Verstraete et al.
2009) principally in reason of the high variability of data on human and social
dimensions caused by the tight coupling of human and environmental processes in
arid and semiarid regions. Existing systems of observation in drylands have typically been designed for ad hoc purposes, without much concern for integration or
interoperability with other structures; in some cases, they have initially developed
or adapted for different environments. As a result, many key variables in drylands
are not always properly monitored.
Much data that could be critical on multiple fronts of policy-making currently
lies fallow or fragmented. Many governments, but particularly the poorest and most
marginalized, still lack access to adequate demographic and territorial data. The
current situation will evidently fall short of expectations on sustainability, both
globally and locally. Short of an overhaul in the way data is treated and collected,
the international community, acting through bilateral or multilateral ODA (Official
Development Assistance) will not be able to support the most vulnerable people.
Thus the importance of capacity-building as a way of improving the availability of
high-quality, reliable, punctually reported data in the developing world by 2020.
15
14 Target 17.9 of the Sustainable Development Agenda (2030 Agenda).
15 Target 17.18 of the Sustainable Development Agenda (2030 Agenda).
A. Rizzo et al.