EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
other pressing issues, local governments that invest in improving infrastructure and services or supporting upgrading of informal settlements can integrate disaster risk reduction and resilience to the impacts of climate change into their plans. Many local governments in Latin America have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to reduce disaster risks – often supported by national agencies and new legislation.105 Some local governments have also demonstrated a capacity to integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into city planning and governance.106 Though cities in Europe are less affected by the most severe consequences of extreme weather, they also need to build their resilience. There is also the urgent need for global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Many local governments in North America and Europe, as well as some in other regions, have made commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within their boundaries and are implementing initiatives to do so, but the scale and the scope of these commitments needs to expand greatly.
of improving the lives of slum-dwellers can also only be achieved by extending access to basic services to informal settlements. Only two basic services covered in this report - solid waste management and transport - were not mentioned in the MDGs. The MDGs have been helpful in drawing attention to basic needs and rights, but weaker in addressing the issue of responsibility for implementation. While national governments made the MDG commitments (with little or no consultation with sub-national governments), local governments are responsible for achieving many of the goals in practice. A major question in achieving the MDGs by 2015 – and for the Post-2015 Agenda – is whether global processes that are still largely dominated by national governments and international agencies can adapt to give sufficient attention to sub-national governments and their three critical roles: as implementers, financers and manag-
ers of the basic services that are essential to meeting many development goals; as the focal point for democratic en-
gagement with citizens and civil society on understanding and jointly addressing needs and ensuring accountability; and
THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, BASIC SERVICES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 105
IFRC (2010).
Roberts (2008); Roberts (2010). 106
“We learned from the MDGs that global targets are only effectively executed when they are locally-owned – embedded in national plans as national targets.” United Nations High-Level Panel (2013) p. 21. 107
While the only MDG target that directly deals with basic services is target 7.C on access to “safe drinking water” and “basic sanitation”, the achievement of many other goals - the reduction of poverty, hunger and disease, the promotion of gender equality and improved maternal and child health, ensuring sustainable development - implies improvements to basic services. The target
in monitoring and reporting on progress
at local level so that local discrepancies in meeting targets are revealed. Discussions about ‘localizing’ the MDGs refer to the national level, not local contexts.107 When ‘good governance’ is mentioned, it refers to national government activities, rather than the vital relationships between citizens and their local administrations. When progress is measured, national data sets are used, relying on aggregate data, and failing to reveal who is left out and where they live. The report of the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 Development Agenda pointed out that the MDGs