SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

SDG post #17 - SDG 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

Hi #sustainability champions, today we continue and complete our  journey exploring the individual SDGs one by one to polish our knowledge and upskill in SDG learning. As you know by now we send out a post approximately once or twice weekly until today we have reached all 17 SDGs. Today we tackle  the last SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals.

You can follow or connect with us and see what we have to offer related to upscaling your change maker abilities (of tools and training) on our SDG toolkit webpages. ✔

So let’s explore Sustainable Development Goal 17 (SDG 17), also known as  "Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development ” in a concise manner suitable for learning.

What is SDG 17 about?

Sustainable Development Goal 17 (SDG 17) is a global commitment to "partnerships for the goals". It covers a substantial and diverse variety of topics such as related to enhancing availability and access to financial resources within countries and internationally particularly for developing countries, debt relief and fair debt management, increased investment into sustainable development, increased overseas development aid levels, fair sharing of and transfer of knowledge and technology to developing countries, create and invigorate global, regional and national partnerships for sustainable development including public, private and civil society, ensure policy coherence for sustainable development, universal, rules based, open, non-discriminatory and fair trading system to support developing nations, ensure macroeconomic stability, enhance data collection capability and availability and measures/metrics for sustainable development. It is therefore a pertinent and foundational and enabling topic everywhere and for all of the SDGs. 

Why does SDG 17 matter?

In a landscape of declining international cooperation and rising geopolitical tensions and open conflicts, strengthened global partnerships and enhanced cooperation are urgently needed to address widening financing gaps, reinforce post-pandemic recovery and promote as well as achieve sustainable development, particularly in the least developed and other vulnerable countries. 

On the other hand the world today is more interconnected than ever before. Improving access to technology and knowledge is an important way to share ideas and foster innovation. Coordinating policies to help developing countries manage their debt, as well as promoting investment for the least developed, is vital to achieve sustainable development.

The Global Goals can only be met if we work together. International investments and support is needed to ensure innovative technological development, fair trade and fair market access, especially for developing countries. 

While official development assistance  (ODA) from developed countries increased by 66 percent between 2000 and 2014, humanitarian crises brought on by conflict or natural disasters continue to demand financial resources and aid. Many countries also require official development assistance (ODA) to encourage development and trade.

The goals aim to enhance North-South and South-South cooperation by supporting national plans to achieve all the targets. Promoting international fair trade, and helping developing countries increase their exports where appropriate, is all part of achieving a universal rules-based and equitable trading system that is fair and open, and benefits all. Hence, an integrated approach is crucial for progress across multiple goals.

Global partnerships for sustainable development encompass key areas such as finance, technology, trade and data. There are mixed trends in mobilising financial resources for development, expanding internet connectivity, and strengthening statistical systems. However, a substantial $4 trillion annual investment gap for developing countries to achieve the SDGs, persistent and crippling issues such as unprecedentedly high external debt levels, and limited access to online connectivity in low-income countries or limited or unfair market access through unfair trading regimes, underscore the need for sustained collaboration and enhanced cooperation and support in a landscape of worsening international cooperation and geopolitical tensions.

• Foreign direct investment flows to developing countries have decreased while gains in remittances and ODA have been modest and increases in 2022 is primarily attributed to spending on refugees in donor countries and aid to Ukraine . The Secretary-General has urged countries to support an SDG stimulus of at least $500 billion annually.
• External debt stock levels have remained unprecedentedly high in developing countries. About 60 percent of low-income countries are at high risk of debt distress or already experiencing it.
• Developing countries are grappling with an unprecedented rise in external debt levels following the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by challenges such as record inflation, escalating interest rates, competing priorities and constrained fiscal capacity, underscoring the urgent need for debt relief and financial assistance.
• Approximately 67 per cent of the world’s population was online in 2023, up 69 per cent from 2015. Investment in infrastructure and affordable Internet access for the remaining 2.6 billion people is crucial for inclusive development.
• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of high-quality, timely and disaggregated data for informed decision-making. Yet funding gaps threaten the resilience of statistical systems in developing countries.

Achieving the ambitious targets of the 2030 Agenda requires a revitalised and enhanced global partnership that brings together governments, civil society, the private sector, the United Nations system and other actors, mobilising all available resources. Meeting implementation targets, including the raising of necessary funds, is key to realising the Agenda. Increasing support to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states, is fundamental to equitable progress for all.

Stronger partnerships will contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development by mobilising resources, sharing knowledge, promoting the creation and transfer of environmentally sound technologies, and building capacity. There is tremendous scope for making the existing financial system more sustainable and fair by integrating the environmental and social dimensions.

Growing cooperation among multilateral organisations, donors and the private sector is needed to provide developing countries and beneficiaries with technologies that increase efficiency, the use of natural resources, generate low waste, treat the generated pollution and mitigate climate change.

To be successful, everyone will need to mobilise both existing and additional resources, and developed countries will need to fulfil their official development assistance commitments.

From eradication of poverty (SDG 1), end hunger (SDG 2), provision of good health and well-being (SDG 3), quality education (SDG 4), and gender equality (SDG 5), water and sanitation (SDG6), clean energy (SDG 7),  decent work (SDG 8), infrastructure, industry and innovation (SDG 9), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), sustainable cities and communities (SDG11), sustainable production and consumption (SDG12), climate action (SDG 13), SDG 17 connects with most especially the social, economic and provisioning related SDGs, if not all SDGs in a direct or indirect manner, hence the type and way of enhancing availability and access to financial resources within countries and internationally particularly for developing countries, debt relief and fair debt management, increased investment into sustainable development, increased overseas development aid levels, fair sharing of and transfer of knowledge and technology to developing countries, create and invigorate global, regional and national partnerships for sustainable development including public, private and civil society, ensure policy coherence for sustainable development, universal, rules based, open, non-discriminatory and fair trading system to support developing nations, ensure macroeconomic stability, enhance data collection capability and availability and measures/metrics for sustainable development are all critically important, foundational and enabling to achieve the SDGs and all targets, be it for the environment, for society and economy.

• Mobilising financial resources is crucial for driving global recovery and achieving the SDGs. In 2023, the annual SDG investment gap in developing countries was estimated at about $4 trillion, with over half, or $2.2 trillion, needed for the energy transition alone. The current investment gap is 60 per cent higher than the $2.5 trillion estimated in 2019. The increase results from shortfalls since 2015, compounded by multiple global challenges, including the pandemic and the food, energy and financing crises.
• In 2023, ODA from Development Assistance Committee members totalled $223.7 billion, representing 0.37 percent of members’ combined gross national income. This marked a 1.8 per cent increase in real terms from 2022 and a 47 per cent rise from 2015, making it the fifth consecutive year of record-high ODA. The increase was primarily driven by aid for Ukraine, humanitarian assistance and contributions to international organizations. Net bilateral ODA flows to Africa increased by 2 per cent and to LDCs by 3 per cent.
• Global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in 2023 amounted to $1.33 trillion, a decrease of 2 per cent from 2022. Excluding a few European economies that registered large swings in investment flows, global FDI flows were 10 per cent lower than in 2022. FDI flows to developing countries fell by 7 per cent to $867 billion and declined or stagnated in most regions.
• In the post-COVID period, remittances have proved to be resilient and become a premier source of external finance for developing countries.
• The external debt stock level of low- and middle-income countries decreased in 2022 for the first time since 2015, to $9.0 trillion in 2022 from $9.3 trillion in 2021. Despite the slight decrease in 2022, external debt stock levels remained unprecedentedly high following more than a decade of rapid debt accumulation. Moreover, going forward, interest costs both in nominal terms and in relation to GNI and export revenue are expected to increase given the aggressive rise in global interest rates to tame inflation and could become increasingly burdensome by crowding out spending on other priorities for many low- and middle-income countries.
• The climate debt that rich polluting countries are liable to pay low- and lower-middle income countries is US$ 107 trillion. This is more than 70 times greater than the total external debt of US$ 1.45 trillion that these countries collectively owe.
• Multinational corporations shift on average US$ 1.13 trillion worth of profit into tax havens causing governments around the world to lose urgently needed tax revenue.
• The number of countries that actively promote outward foreign direct investment to developing countries, including least developed countries, remains limited.
• Policy coherence remains a significant issue, particularly environmental and governance Goals face severe obstacles, for example with 71% of countries with policies in place that hinder progress on life on land (SDG 15), 53% on peace, justice, and strong institutions (SDG 16), and 52% on responsible consumption and production (SDG 12).
• Approximately 67% of the world’s population, or 5.4 billion people were online in 2023. This represents a growth of 4.7% since 2022, a higher increase than that recorded from 2021 to 2022 at 3.5%. While there was an uptick in the increase in the number of Internet users during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the last three years growth rates in the number of Internet users were back to pre-pandemic levels. Globally, one in three people are still offline, underscoring the urgency of infrastructure investments and affordable Internet access, particularly in underserved regions. 
• One of the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic was the limited ability of national statistical offices to collect recent data for the Sustainable Development Goals. But, there has been a resurgence in international support for the development of data and statistics

Multi Stakeholder partnerships will be crucial to leverage the inter-linkages between the Sustainable Development Goals to enhance their effectiveness and impact and accelerate progress in achieving the Goals. To build a better world and leave no one behind, we need to be supportive, empathetic, inventive, passionate, and above all, cooperative.

Key targets and indicators  

SDG 17 is defined by 19 targets, which  are measured by 25 indicators, which makes SDG 17 by its focus a large and major SDG to tackle as a foundation and enabler to achieve many of the other SDGs (similar like SDG 16), ensuring progress can be tracked and goals can be met, that look at all dimensions of partnerships for the goals for all which explores a variety of topics related to enhancing availability and access to financial resources within countries and internationally particularly for developing countries, debt relief and fair debt management, increased investment into sustainable development, increased overseas development aid levels, fair sharing of and transfer of knowledge and technology to developing countries, create and invigorate global, regional and national partnerships for sustainable development including public, private and civil society, ensure policy coherence for sustainable development, universal, rules based, open, non-discriminatory and fair trading system to support developing nations, ensure macroeconomic stability, enhance data collection capability and availability and measures/metrics for sustainable development. The main targets summarised include (if you want to know the exact wording in the Agenda 2030 you should have a look here):

• Strengthen domestic resource mobilisation to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection
• Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) of gross national income (GNI) to developing countries
• Mobilise additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources and adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries
• Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring
• Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing of sustainable technologies to to developing countries on favourable terms
• Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all  SDGs and enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
• Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system 
• Significantly increase the exports of developing countries and realise timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed and developing countries
• Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence
• Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development
• Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development and encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships
• Enhance capacity-building support to developing countries to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data on sustainable development
• Build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development

Challenges & Progress: 

Progress towards SDG 17 still faces significant and in some areas increasing challenges as diverse as this SDG is, from rising issues with geopolitical tensions and open conflicts, turn away from multilateralism by some, increasing economic turbulences, high inflation, energy &  supply chain problems, increasing unsustainable debts, poor and often unfair financing, inadequate and poor quality ODA, lack of adequate policies and policy coherence for sustainable development, limited knowledge and technology availability and transfer on a fair basis, lack of internet access for a third of the world populations, as well as inadequate data availability and accessibility for sustainable development and others particularly for many countries of the global south, especially least developed countries, but also elsewhere.  At the same time issues still arising in the aftermath of COVID-19, with increasing climate change and other disasters are on the rise, putting a lot of especially developing countries under increasing multiple stresses. To expedite progress towards SDG 17 and all SDGs depend on establishing  fair and lasting access to the needed financial resources for sustainable development, appropriate and fair debt relief and management, access to knowledge and technologies for sustainable development in a fair manner and in global cooperation, fair and rules based global trading system and access to markets, at the same time as protecting vulnerable countries for increased self-development, macroeconomic stabilisation, comprehensive and coherent policies for sustainable development, global, national and regional fair partnerships with multiple stakeholders on partnerships for sustainable development, and support in data availability and appropriate measurements/metrics for sustainable development. 

"I can do things you can’t do. You can do things, I can’t do. Together we can achieve great things” Mother Teresa

Urgent action is needed to provide the resources, means, knowledge, technologies, trade systems, coherent policies for sustainable development as well as measures to gain better and necessary data and metrics for sustainable development. 

Overall the latest UN SDG progress report on SDG 17 shows variable progress from regression (debt sustainability, respect for a country’s policy space), stagnation (tax & other revenue collection, exports), marginal progress (ODS commitment, transfer of technologies, market access), to moderate progress (financial resources, macroeconomic stability, data & statistics availability and capability), and some appear to be on track (investment promotion, access to technology, use of the internet, capacity building for SDGs, multilateral trading system),   with a significant number of targets with insufficient data to date to determine trends (policy coherence for SD, global partnerships for SD, public, private & civil society partnerships) but together they show that we are overall way off track with enormous regional differences and hugely significant acceleration is required on all of  SDG 17 targets. 

Despite and because of the disruptions of the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, reduced multilateralism, new and escalating conflicts and wars, we are living in a world that is increasingly divided. Some regions enjoy sustained levels of prosperity and development and have the resources and capabilities, knowledge and technologies for it, while others fall into seemingly endless cycles of debt, underdevelopment, resources, knowledge, and technology scarcity. This is by no means inevitable and must be addressed and the SDGs are a means of achieving this, when approached systematically and multilaterally.

High levels of debt, lack of development opportunities and/or market access, lack of appropriate technologies, human and financial resources and so forth have destructive impacts on a country’s development, affecting economic development and often resulting in long standing issues with poverty, hunger, health, education, water and sanitation, energy, infrastructure, economic opportunities, as well as associated land and water degradation and more like social strife and internal conflicts, inequality, migration and lack of security, safety and supply of basic needs. Hence,  countries must take measures together to protect those who are most at risk and in need.

The SDGs aim to provide for sufficient financial and other resources, as well as knowledge, technology availability and access, coherent policies for sustainable development, for fair trade and market access, but also a determination of own development pathways, through multilateral partnerships including public, private and civil society stakeholders.

If you would like to know more about where your country currently stands with SDG 17 (and all other SDGs), you can check out the latest Sustainable Development Report - Country Profiles (as well as Rankings, Interactive Maps and a Data Explorer), and additional visual presentations available on Our World in Data with some further information on a focus subject for 2025, debt and financing sustainable development can be found in ‘Who owes who?’ or for options to bring the SDGs back on track in ‘Reinvigorating the Sustainable Development Goals - The Utrecht Roadmap’ 

To celebrate our diversity of culture and perspective as a source of strength, innovation and resilience, rather than regarding it as a reason for irreconcilable conflict is the challenge of the 21st century., if we hope to respond in a wise and timely fashion to the multiple converging crisis humanity is faced with. Sustainable development requires multi-stakeholder partnerships and collaboration. 

With more than 8 billion of us, and the human population expected to rise to 9.7 billion by 2050, the world has become far too small for the competitive mindset of the past. We are now interconnected and interdependent, as humanity and as life on Earth, that we have to create new ways of collaborating in order to create a world where all can thrive not just survive. The transition ahead requires a fundamental shift in our worldview and values systems. Humanity needs to pursue collaborative rather than competitive advantage!

How to achieve partnerships for the goals?

Like any other SDG, also SDG 17 will require a multifaceted and multi-dimensional approach, but in general SDG 17  is one of the foundational and enabling but also complex and tightly interconnected (with other) SDGs to tackle which will require transformations on many levels like poverty, hunger, health, education, social protection, inequality, decent work, innovation and infrastructure, and more, particularly for vulnerable and disadvantaged peoples and countries. Some of the more higher level (and often global to national) aspects of achieving SDG 17 could possibly include in summary (but by far not be limited to) something like the following, which aim to create a holistic approach to create more prosperous, peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, which needs multilateral partnerships between governments (at all levels), the private sector and civil society. Such integrative partnerships, which are based on a common vision and common beliefs, values and goals, which put people and planet at the centre, are needed on a global, regional, national and local scale. 

Enhanced Global Financial Cooperation    

Firstly increase the ODA to 0.7% of GNI by developed nations. Then significantly increase public and private investments in sustainable development, with an emphasis on climate change, poverty alleviation, health  and education as well as basic infrastructure and nature restoration. Establish a global financial framework to enhance aid, provide low or no-interest financing, and support investments in  developing regions. Establish progressive taxation policies at national and international levels, including wealth and inheritance taxes and corporate taxes, close tax loops and tax avoidance schemes and more to increase financial resources for SDG implementation.

Debt relief and debt jubilees

Allow for full debt cancellation for the least developed countries, small island nations and highly indebted developing countries. This needs to be followed by increased grants and no interest bearing loans for these countries earmarked for the development of basic infrastructures and needs based development for all, together with improvements in governance practices and systems. 

Inclusive Trade and Fair Trade Practices  

Promote fair trade by creating equitable global trade systems that allow developing countries to participate more effectively in global markets, but at the same time allow them to develop on their own terms and maintain their sovereignty. Reduce trade barriers and subsidies that disadvantage developing economies, but also allow developing countries to protect their own economic development. Implement international trade policies that prioritize labor rights, gender equality, environmental sustainability, and the rights of marginalised communities, ensuring that no country or population is left behind.

Technology and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships  

Facilitate the open transfer of technologies, innovations, and knowledge between high-income and low-income countries to support sustainable development. This includes advancing clean energy technologies, healthcare innovations, and digital infrastructure. Encourage South-South cooperation and strengthen international institutions that enable knowledge-sharing, with a focus on equitable access to technology and capacity building in developing countries.

Capacity Building and Education for Sustainable Development  

Invest in education and capacity-building programs, particularly for marginalised groups, to equip people with the skills and capabilities necessary to contribute to sustainable development in their communities. Focus on gender-sensitive educational initiatives, with a particular focus on girls' education and increasing access to technical and vocational training to build local expertise in sustainable practices.

Strengthening Global Partnerships for the SDGs  

Promote and implement strong and binding international agreements to tackle climate change, the biodiversity crisis and all other of the multiple crises, ensuring that developing countries receive the financial and technological support and opportunity for sovereign development needed to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change and other crises. Support the development of sustainability finance mechanisms that are transparent, accountable, and accessible, with an emphasis on equity and justice, which will need to include increased loss and damages funds and reparation funds.

Inclusive and Transparent Governance Systems  

Strengthen international institutions and governance frameworks that support SDG implementation, ensuring they are transparent, accountable, and inclusive and provide for full policy coherence for sustainable development. Empower marginalised and vulnerable communities by guaranteeing participatory governance and the right to hold governments accountable, ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making processes.

In 2023 official global development assistance was US$223,3 billion. The number of internet users in Africa almost doubled between 2015 and 2022. Yet, almost a third of people worldwide do not have access to the internet and most of them are from the developing world. Open source access to information, education and technology can enable deeper, faster and broader collaboration in science, innovation and technology that includes all of humanity, not just the privileged top 30 percent. 

Nature's life sustaining processes are inherently scale-linking, connecting the local to the global, interweaving short-term and long-term cycles and patterns for change. Partnerships aiming to implement the Global Goals will have to learn from these patterns and effectively enable collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and technology between the local, regional, national and global scales. 

Instead of putting too much emphasis on generic larger scale ‘solutions’, which are likely somewhat removed from the realities and contexts of many local communities wherever they are and these and similar policies are likely not sufficient to steer us towards regenerative futures. And because the supported approach by Gaia Education for regenerative design and development, is about the context specific potential of each and every place and community. Hence, we want to support the life affirming or life regenerating local to bioregional conversations and co-creative processes which should be a starting point of whole systems based realisation of SDG 17 and all strongly linked and all other SDG systemically together. From this we provide some useful questions to ask yourself or a group you work with locally in relation to SDG 17 (sourced from the Gaia Education SDG Flashcards) in a multidimensional manner in the social, ecological, economic and worldview/cultural dimensions.

As you already know, the SDG Flashcards 

 can  provide you with some ideas on how one can possibly work with the SDGs in different (not top down but bottom up) and generative approaches. Based and part of the Gaia Education SDG Flashcards, they contain more than 200 questions on the system-wide approach to achieving the 2030 Agenda.

The cards enable a participatory and problem-centric group conversation and solutions oriented multi-perspectival dialogue. They invite participants to engage and to collaborate to identify actions and solutions to implement the SDGs in ways that are relevant to their lives and communities, locally. This is an effective way to establish local to bioregional community ownership and realisation for the UN SDGs and the Agenda 2030.

The SDG Flashcards are used in the SDG Training of Multipliers. Check out the freely downloadable SDG Training of Multipliers Handbook for a detailed description of how to prepare, promote, and how to use these cards  more easily to promote community activist training, in various settings (e.g. local public bodies, communities, schools, universities, business etc.) as well as many other tools from our SDG webpages.

There are of course many examples of working on SDG 17  and  partnerships for the goals, sometimes also in a systemic way  (First SDGs explained post). Gaia Education is involved in educational and training offerings which support the implementation of the SDGs including SDG 17, but is also part of projects and initiatives where at least one, mostly several SDGs are targeted. Examples of training or project involvement with some focus on SDG 17  in a wider sense are: 

Gaia Education Partnerships

Our face to face programmes and projects have been taking place in 55 countries since we started operating in 2005. This was made possible through the collaboration with our partners and organisers, associates and friends around the world, who have helped us to 

train more than 25,000 people over the past years and touch and transform the lives of many more. 

Our partnerships include our main supporter and long term sponsor Gaia Trust but also our cooperation with UNITAR and UNESCO, the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) and Ecolise. We have or had partnerships with various academic institutions and other associated partners, all of which were and are crucial in the operations and success and also future thriving of Gaia Education. 

Our programs, projects and initiatives over the now 20 years of Gaia Education’s existence was made possible and as successful as it was and is through the cooperation with a large number of groups and organisations and individuals (around 146 such groups/organisations) around the world, with which we have and do cooperate on various levels and for various purposes, be it academic, for courses, course development, in projects or on the ground initiatives largely with some form of educational focus and for transformative education to empower people to initiate and implement their own sustainability and regeneration work. Throughout the SDGs explained blog series we have showcased at least a few initiatives and projects Gaia Education was and is involved in, all happening with a large number of partners and affiliates, without which such work would not have happened. 

So if you are interested in partnering with Gaia Education, be it for conducting a face to face course at your locality (like an SDGs Multipliers Training or other), or for creating innovative courses or educational approaches for sustainability and regeneration, or for on the ground implementation projects, or other projects or initiatives where you may need support and cooperation with an experienced educational organisation, wherever you may be, we are always interested to talk to you. So get in touch with us about your SDGs, or other sustainability and regeneration related projects, initiatives and ideas. 

Earth Charter

Even though the Earth Charter is not something Gaia Education is directly involved with, it certainly informs and also guides the work we do. It is considered by some as the ethical foundation of the SDGs and as such an appropriate source of inspiration and direction now that we come to the end of the SDGs explained journey. 

The Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. Created by a large multi-year global consultation process, and endorsed by thousands of organizations representing millions of people, the Charter "seeks to inspire in all peoples a sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family, the greater community of life, and future generations." It calls upon humanity to help create a global partnership at a critical juncture in history. The Earth Charter's vision proposes that environmental protection & sustainability, human rights, equitable human development, and peace are interdependent and indivisible. The Charter attempts to provide a framework for thinking about and addressing these issues.

Hence, how does your local community's partnerships for your SDGs projects look like? 

Again, let’s take our future into our own hands, and start your SDG journey and locally to bio-regionally based community project now!

And to close if you would like to learn much more about SDG 17 and all other SDGs and the Agenda 2030 and many more topics, approaches and methods to practically work with the SDGs in your local to bioregional context we encourage you  to start or re-invigorate your personal SDG journey through the upcoming online SDGs Multipliers course, starting on 20th October 2025. 

Join here!

For more and the video affine the ‘SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals - UN Sustainable Development Goals - DEEP DIVE’ is unfortunately not yet available from our usual source. But check out their website regularly as it's promised to be released sometime soon in 2025.

WOW we have made it through all of the 17 goals (and a few more general posts). What a journey, but we sincerely hope that you have enjoyed it and gained some valuable insights and learnings out of it and are encouraged to dig deeper and/or get more engaged with the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs at your location, in your community or initiative and make a valuable contribution to achieving the goals by 2030 and beyond, something which is currently more important than ever before. In that context we are very well aware that the term and practice of ‘development’ is contentious to say the least and one should be aware and reflect upon what development means in your context and how it may commonly be used and also often misused and with it perpetuating existing injustices and un-sustainability. If you want to reflect upon it you may want to read a recent article by author Charles Eisenstein on ‘Our New, Happy Life? The Ideology of Development’.

But you may also appreciate that each and every SDG and each and every target is an extensive and complex deeply interconnected issue and challenge by itself and it takes concerted effort and deep collaboration to start to become able to work together within these complex systems (within systems, within systems,...). Start your SDGs engagement today!

As an endnote, we are planning to make an edited (somewhat streamlined) version of the SDGs explained blog posts available as a small booklet for download from our SDG web pages in the near future, so you have a handy reference document for your own SDG work. So check it out soon or sign up to the Gaia Education Newsletter to stay up to date on what is happening in our community and world. Take care and engage!

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