Dr. Asha Rajvanshi

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Linking Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with
biodiversity conservation and human well-being
Dr. Asha Rajvanshi ar_at_wii.gov.in Professor
Head, EIA Cell Wildlife Institute of India,
Dehradun
WII-ETMA Training Programme 08, Saudi Arabia
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Evolution of MDGs
D E V E L O P M E N T
UN Conferences From Economic to Social

• Intl Conference on Population and Development
  (1994)
• World Summit on Social Development (1995)
• Fourth World Conference on Women (1995)

• IDGs (1996)

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2000 Millennium Declaration

• All 189 UN Member States pledged to take concrete
  measures for judging performance through a set of
  inter-related commitments, goals and targets on
  development, governance, peace, security and
  human rights

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What are MDGs.

• The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the
  world's time-bound and quantified targets for
  addressing extreme poverty.
• The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets
  contained in the Millennium Declaration that was
  adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of
  states and governments during the UN Millennium
  Summit in September 2000.

(Source http//www.unmillenniumproject.org/index.
htm)
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MDG Goals Targets
8 goals, 18 targets, 48 indicators

• Progress in achieving goals defined in terms of
  targets
• Monitoring progress through target-specific
  indicators

Baseline Year 1990 Target Year 2015
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The Millennium Development Goals
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Goal 1 - Targets

1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of
   people whose income is less than 1 a day
2. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of
   people who suffer from hunger

• In 2003, 1.2 billion people were living in
  poverty (surviving on less than 1 a day).
• More than 800 million people are malnourished.
• Malnutrition causes more than half of all child
  deaths.
• Source www.anausa.org

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Goal 2 - Targets

1. Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys
   and girls alike, will be able to complete a full
   course of primary schooling

• In 2003, 115 million children were not enrolled
  in primary school.
• Three-fifths of the 115 million children not
  enrolled in primary school are girls.
• Children enrolled in primary school have a one in
  three chance of completion.
• Source www.anausa.org

Proportion of primary first grade pupils who
reach fifth grade in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(SourceUNDP Ministry of Economy and Planning,
KSA, 2005)
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Goal 3 - Targets

1. Eliminate gender disparity in primary and
   secondary education preferably by 2005 and in all
   levels of education no later than 2015

• A one-year increase in the schooling of all adult
  females in a country is associated with
• 700 increase in GDP per capita,
• 1.4 percent reduction in childrens labor force
  participation,
• 4.3 percent increase in females continuing on to
  secondary school,
• 3.7 percent increase in access to safe water and
  5.4 percent to sanitation.
• (Source World Bank)

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The comparative distribution of the employed by
education level and gender (2003) in Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia
(Source UNDP Ministry of Economy and Planning,
KSA, 2005)
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Goal 4 - Targets

1. Reduce, by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the
   under-five mortality rate

• 11 million children die each year before they
  reach the age of five, in most cases by easily
  treatable diseases.
• 20 of child deaths in developing countries are
  caused by preventable acute respiratory
  infections.
• 30 million children worldwide do not receive
  vaccinations for easily preventable diseases.
• Source www.anausa.org

Some Rate of incidence of communicable diseases
in the Kingdom per 100,000
(Source UNDP Ministry of Economy and Planning,
KSA, 2005)
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Goal 5 - Targets

1. Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015,
   the maternal mortality ratio

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Goal 6 - Targets

1. Stop and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
2. Stop and reverse the incidence of malaria and
   other major diseases by 2015

• In 2002, 42 million adults and 5 million children
  were living with HIV/AIDS, over 95 of them in
  developing countries (70 of them in sub-Saharan
  Africa).
• In 2003 alone, 3 million people died from AIDS
  since 1996 over 20 million people have died.
• 14 million children have lost one or both parents
  to AIDS by 2010 the number is expected to reach
  25 million.
• Tuberculosis is the leading infectious killer of
  adults and kills almost 2 million people a year
  malaria kills more than 1 million people a year.
• People with HIV/AIDS are seven times more likely
  to develop tuberculosis.
• In 2000, 17 million people in Africa were
  affected with both HIV and tuberculosis
  simultaneously.
• Source www.anausa.org

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Ratio of incidence of malaria
Proportion of Tuberculosis cases detected and
cured in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(Source UNDP Ministry of Economy and Planning,
KSA, 2005)
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Goal 7 - Targets
(Source UNDP Ministry of Economy and Planning,
KSA, 2005)
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Goal 8 - Targets

1. Develop an open, rule-based, predictable,
   non-discriminatory trading and financial system
2. Address the special needs of the least developed
   countries
3. Address the special needs of landlocked countries
   and small island developing states
4. Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of
   developing countries through national and
   international measures
5. Provide access to affordable, essential drugs in
   developing countries
6. Make available the benefits of new technologies,
   especially information and communications
   technologies

• Assistance from developed countries decreased by
  a third in the 1990s.
• In 2001 landlocked countries received only 6 of
  all official development assistance.
• In 2002, 74 million young people (15 to 24) were
  unemployed. They account for 41 of unemployed
  people globally.
• Source www.anausa.org

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MDG Essential Values

• Freedom
• Equality
• Solidarity
• Tolerance
• Respect for nature
• Shared responsibility

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MDGs Why do they matter?

• They are the first set of quantitative and
  time-bound goals shared by developing and
  developed countries.
• They offer an integrated, goal-oriented framework
  for poverty reduction.
• They form the basis on which to mobilize
  resources for investing in human development.
• At the country level they provide a platform for
  discussion and advocacy.

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What do MDGs offer ?

1. An unparalleled opportunity to make the world a
   better place.
2. A formal recognition that poverty can be solved
   when both the rich and poor work together.
3. A practical and achievable set of targets for
   human development up to 2015.

a once-in-a generation chance to bring about
historic, fundamental change... Kofi Annan,
Secretary-General United Nations
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• Relating the MDGs to

Human Development Environment Biodiversity
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Human development and MDGs
Measures and concepts

• Two aspects
• Process of widening peoples choices
• Level of their achieved well-being
• Two sides
• Capabilities Formation of human capabilities
• Opportunities Use of the acquired capabilities

• Dimensions
• Long and healthy life
• Knowledge
• Decent standard of living
• Participation or exclusion

Human beings are the participants in the
development process (concept of human
development) and not just beneficiaries (human
welfare approach)
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Environment the MDGs

• Environmental sustainability
• Development cannot be sustained for long at the
  cost of environmental degradation

• One specifically stated goal that cuts across all
  goals
• essential ingredient for achieving all the other
  MDGs

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How biodiversity can contribute to the MDGs
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Linking biodiversity, poverty and the MDGs

• Biodiversity is the foundation for human
  well-being

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• How environment and poverty nexus affect
  biodiversity?

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• Revisiting the goals

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Poor peoples livelihoods and food security often
depend on ecosystem goods and services
Biodiversity and ecosystem services are
essential to the productivity of croplands and
wetlands. Biodiversity also provides essential
resources to combat malnutrition, hunger and
poverty
Poor will have to maintain and enhance
biodiversity BECAUSE poor people tend to have
insecure rights to environmental resources and
inadequate access to markets, decision-making and
environmental informationlimiting their
capability to protect the environment and improve
their livelihoods and wellbeing
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Increased dependence on biodiversity for
sustenance leads to increased physical
burden. Decline in biodiversity resources limits
options of livelihood for the poor. Natural
disasters linked to biodiversity loss and
impairment of ecosystem services reduce
childrens available time and access to education
opportunities.
http//www.saudiembassy.net/Publications/MagSpring
02/Educating20young20Saudis.htm
Education will improve the human resources
capital, encourage alternative income options and
thereby reduce dependence on biodiversity
resource based subsistence.
http//www.saudiembassy.net/Publications/MagSpring
02/Educating20young20Saudis.htm
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Securing womens rights and access to natural
resources, giving a fair share of the benefits
from their knowledge and providing them with
capacity-building support can help empowering
women.
http//isla3629.blogspot.com/2007/03/women-take-up
-top-jobs-in-arabia.html
(Eighth Development Plan (20052009) To accord
concern to womens issues, promote womens
capabilities, and remove obstacles to
participation of women in development
30
Parasitic diseases are still widespread, and
sample surveys have indicated sub-optimal
nutrition of rural pre-school children. Recent
estimates on the infant mortality rate have
ranged from 65 to 120 per 1000 live births in
Saudi Arabia (Serenius and Hofvander 2008)
That the strongest link between people and nature
is for medicinal plants and that is why these
resources need to be carefully managed.
Some 80 per cent of the worlds people rely on
traditional health care systems that use
traditional medicines, derived from plants
(Source WHO 2005).
http//news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4400000/n
ewsid_4405100/4405164.stm
31
Many diseases (e.g. malaria) are known to flare
up in ecological systems which have their
regulation component altered by irrigation
projects ,dams, construction sites, standing
water and poorly drained areas.
Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Jordan and Tunisia
are the highest-ranking countries, where below 90
mothers die per 100 000 live births.
http//photos.codlib.com/2007/12/03/women-of-saudi
-arabia/
(Source UNDP Ministry of Economy and Planning,
KSA, 2005)
New biodiversity-derived medicines hold promise
for fighting major diseases.
http//java.nationalgeographic.com/studentatlas/cl
ickup/images/arabs.jpg
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Biodiversity buffers humans from organisms and
agents that cause disease. By diluting the pool
of virus targets and hosts, biodiversity reduces
their impact on humans and provides a form of
global health insurance. At the same time,
intrusion into the worlds areas of high
biodiversity disturbs these biological reservoirs
and exposes people to new forms of more virulent
disease organisms including SARS, Ebola, malaria,
and the HIV pandemic. By significantly boosting
the immune system without the side effects of
expensive anti-viral drugs.
Preventing emerging diseases through biodiversity
conservation is far more cost effective than
developing vaccines to combat them later.
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Drought-resistant crops are known to reduce the
likelihood of famines triggered by lack of
rainfall. Mangroves provide shelter against an
increasing number of typhoons and floods.
Biodiversity resources can reduce the impacts of
climate change on people and production.
34
Many global environmental problems climate
change, loss of species diversity, depletion of
global fisheriescan be solved only through
partnerships between rich and poor countries.
Conserving habitats which support wildlife is
necessary for strengthening the capacity of
governments to generate income from tourism and
support projects, which could eradicate poverty,
improve maternal health, and reduce child
mortality.
Ratio of Kingdoms area protected to maintain
Biological Diversity Source UNDP Ministry of
Economy and Planning, KSA, 2005
35
Links between climate change and MDGs The role
of biodiversity
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Looking ahead..
For everyone on Earth, the Millennium
Development Goals are a linchpin in the quest for
a more secure and peaceful world... Jeffrey D.
Sachs, Director Millennium Project

• PROMOTE upstreaming of biodiversity in
  development actions for economically and
  environmentally secure and peaceful world.
• USE MDGs as an opportunity to translate the
  recognition of the importance of biodiversity
  into tangible and visible outcome for
  sustainable development.
• CONTRIBUTE to the capacity building efforts to
  identify critical links between biodiversity and
  human actions to harmonize development goals
  with the human well being.

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Sources of photos
Pictures in title slide
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References
Ash, N. and Jenkins, M. (2007). Biodiversity
and Poverty Reduction. The Importance of
Biodiversity for Ecosystem Services. United
Nations Environment Programme World Conservation
Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) Publication.
Cambridge, U.K.
Biodiversity, nutrition and health making a
difference to hunger and conservation in the
developing world. Keynote Address to the Seventh
Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 7)
Chivian, E (Ed.) (2002). Biodiversity Its
Importance to Human Health. Centre for Health and
the Global Environment Harvard Medical School,
Harvard.
Frison, E. A., Cherfas, J., Eyzaguirre, P. B.,
Johns, T. (2004). Biodiversity, Nutrition and
Health Making a difference to Hunger and
Conservation in the Developing World. IPGRI and
CBD Publication.
GEF (2005). Achieving the Millennium Development
Goals. A GEF progress report. Global Environment
Facility. Washington, DC, U.S.A.
IIED (2002). Drawers of water II. In
Collaboration with Community Management and
Training Services Ltd. (Kenya). Institute of
Resource Assessment of the University of Dar es
Salaam (Tanzania) and Child Health of Makerere
University Medical School (Uganda). London.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005).
Ecosystems and the human well-being Biodiversity
Synthesis. Old Resource Institute, Washington,
DC.
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Saksena, S., Prasad, R. and Joshi, V. (1995).
Time Allocation and Fuel Usage in Three Villages
of the Garhwal Himalaya, India. Mountain Research
and Development, 15(1), 57-67.
UNFPA (2004). State of World Population 2004. The
Cairo Consensus at Ten Population, Reproductive
Health and the Global Effort to End Poverty.
United Nations Population Fund, New York, U.S.A.
United Nations Association of the USA and the
Business Council for the United Nations
www.unausa.org
WHO (2002). The World Health Report 2002
Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. World
Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA (2003). Maternal Mortality
in 2000 Estimates Developed by WHO, UNICEF and
UNFPA. World Health Organization, Geneva,
Switzerland.
http//www.moiti.org/pdf/Brazil20Health20Care20
System.pdf

• http//www.undp.org/mdg

http//www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
http//mdg_guide.undp.org
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• F. SERENIUS and Y. HOFVANDER 2008 The Ecological
  Context of Child Health in Saudi Arabia Acta
  Pediatric Volume 77  15 - 28

UNDP (2003b) The Millennium Development Goals in
Arab Countries (New York United Nations
Development Programme).
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Millennium Development
Goals 1425 H 2005 G Ministry of Economy and
Planning United Nations Development Program
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Thank you all