Practitioner-to-Practitioner Forum on Strengthening Capacities of Public Administration in Island States

Background

Adopted in 2015 by all United Nations Member States, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aims to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a holistic and interdependent agenda to be achieved in both developed and developing countries. It aspires to “leave no one behind” and calls for a special effort to ensure that Island States make rapid progress towards realizing the SDGs. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda with its seven targets and indicators embedded across the SDGs. The Sendai Framework advances the achievement of eleven goals, particularly 1,2,3,4,5,6,9,11.13.14 and 15 among others to ensure resilience in progress on sustainable development across all Member States.

For Island States with finite borders come finite resources, especially in terms of natural resource constraints, requiring them to address sustainable development and resilience strategies in tandem. Island states are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and the increasing intensity and frequency of natural disasters. The pursuit of more collaborative and coordinated efforts to deal with increasingly limited resources is required as global progress towards meeting disaster risk reduction targets. The growing risks from climate change continue to impact all countries, with the most vulnerable least able to cope. SIDS are faced with unique and particular challenges due to their small size, remoteness, narrow resource and export base, and exposure to global environmental challenges and external economic shocks. 

As an island economy forging a sustainable development pathway, Sri Lanka's economic prosperity is increasingly being planned in accordance with the country’s commitments to the 2030 Agenda. In July 2017, Sri Lanka released a national statement during the 2017 High Level Political Forum, in which it provided detailed information on the key institutional arrangements the country has established in support of SDG implementation. In 2018, the Government has further elaborated on its sustainable development achievements through its Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the 2018 HLPF, on the theme of “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”.

In line with the above, the learning objectives of the Forum are implementation and results-oriented, based on the outcomes of the 2018 HLPF. At the conclusion of the visit, it is expected that participants will have:

1. Increased knowledge of results-based management in realizing resilience, including through planning and policy design, management of funds, partnerships and stakeholder engagement;
2. Increased awareness to support the integration of the SDGs in national development plans and policies through evidence-based policymaking, institutional coordination and policy coherence to achieve the SDGs in line with national public administration systems;
3. Strengthened skills to help mobilize resources, technologies and other means to strengthen public service delivery and implement the SDGs from national to local levels, ensuring that no one is left behind;
4. Compared partnership models and stakeholder engagement mechanisms for implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; 5. Examined key dimensions of disaster risk reduction (DRR) with enhanced awareness of proven good practices to strengthen resilience including