• Sustainable development - definition

  "Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."
  Bruntland Report, 1987

  Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, but the most common citation definition is from the "Brundtland Report", a report written by the World Commission on Environment and Development on behalf of the United Nations in 1987. The report's title: ”Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future”

• Sustainable development - models

  

  Model A
  The three dimensions (ecological, social, economic) of Sustainable Development can be visualized as three circles where ecological sustainability constitutes the outer limit of what is possible. The three circles can alternatively be placed on top of each other in a hierarchy, where ecological sustainability forms the foundation for the social and economic.

  

  Model B
  The three dimensions (ecological, social, economic) of Sustainable Development can be visualized as three circles that partially overlap. This model conveys an image of sustainable development where all three dimensions are not only needed, but also given equal weight and value.

• Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development Goals

  

  Sustainability is the basis of today's leading global framework for international cooperation: Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

  It was at the UN summit on 25-27 September 2015 that world leaders set the 17 global goals for Sustainable Development for the period up to 2030.

  The 17 Goals for Sustainable Development are:
  1.No Poverty
  2.Zero Hunger
  3. Good Health and Well-being
  4. Quality Education
  5. Gender Equality
  6. Clean Water and Sanitation
  7. Affordable and Clean Energy
  8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
  9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  10. Reduced Inequality
  11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
  12. Responsible Consumption and Production
  13. Climate Action
  14. Life Below Water
  15. Life on Land
  16. Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
  17. Partnerships to achieve the Goal

  “LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND.”
  The defining principle of the Global Goals and Agenda 2030 is a joint pledge by every country to work together to ensure the rights and well-being of all on a healthy, prosperous planet.
  
  

  SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2025
  Subtitle: "Financing Sustainable Development to 2030 and Mid-Century"
  Two key messages in Sustainable Development Report 2025:
  A) On average globally, the SDGs are far off-track. At the global level, none of the 17 goals are currently on course to be achieved by 2030.
  Ref: Page 11 « Based on the rate of progress since they were adopted by the international community in 2015, none of the 17 SDGs will be achieved by 2030. At the global level, SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) are particularly off track, facing major challenges (indicated in red on the dashboards) and showing no or very limited progress since 2015.”
  Note: Each of the goals consists of 8-12 targets. In total, there are 169 SDG targets for the 17 17 sustainability goals. Of these targets, 16,7 % are however on track to be achieved globally.
  B) The need for fair financing
  For many developing countries, a lack of fiscal space is the major obstacle to SDG progress.
  Roughly half the world's population lives in countries that cannot invest adequately in sustainable development due to debt burdens and a lack of access to affordable, long-term capital. Global public goods are vastly under-financed.
  The report acknowledge that high-income countries have a special responsibility, both as a matter of distributive justice – that the rich not leave the poor behind – and as a matter of reparative justice – that those countries that contributed most to greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental harms in the past must do the most to curb their emissions in the future and to compensate the other countries for the damages their past actions have caused.
  The report also state that UN member states must increase their financing of the global commons, including the biodiversity of the world’s tropical rainforests; the marine life of the oceans; and the protection of the atmosphere, freshwater, soils, coastlines, wetlands, and other ecosystems from transboundary pollution and global-scale degradation. The high-income countries bear the responsibility for filling the funds they have designated for these purposes, including the Adaptation Fund, the Loss and
  Damage Fund, the Green Climate Fund, and others.

• Fair Trade is a good tool for sustainable development.

  For example, Fair Trade principle number 1 is “Creating opportunities for economically marginalized producers”. It is perfectly in line with SDG number 1 No poverty. Fair Trade principle number 10”Respect for the environment” reflects SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production, 13 Climate action and 15 Life on land. Another example is Fair Trade principle number 6, which is reflected by SDG 5 Gender equality. Finally, Fair Trade practice in its daily work and at grass root level SDG 17: Partnership for the goals.

  The 10 principles of Fair Trade lead the work of Fair Trade organizations such as La Maison Afrique FAIR TRADE. They are principles that have been worked out for many years within the international Fair Trade movement.

• The 10 principles for Fair Trade are

  1. Creating Opportunities for Economically Disadvantaged Producers
  2. Transparency and Accountability
  3. Fair Trading Practices
  4. Payment of a Fair Price
  5. Ensuring no Child Labour and Forced Labour
  6. Commitment to non-Discrimination, Gender Equity and Freedom of Association
  7. Ensuring good Working Conditions
  8. Providing Capacity Building
  9. Promoting Fair Trade
  10. Respect for the Environment

  The image above shows again the model (A) for Sustainable Development where the dimensions (ecological, social, economic) of Sustainable Development are described in the form of three circles where ecological sustainability constitutes the outer limit of what is possible.
  The model contains suggestions for how Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, in parallel, Fair Trade principles can be placed. NB: The placement of goals/principles in the model is only a suggestion.

• Global Sustainable Development - demands engagement for global fairness

  The World Bank writes in its "Poverty Overview" that the number of people globally in extreme poverty has decreased from about 2.3 billion in 1990 to 831 million in 2025. However, the global poverty reduction is due to broad and robust economic growth in Asia. Extreme poverty has increasingly become concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa. Climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, increased interest costs and conflicts have burdened these already poor countries the worst - which means that the number of people living in extreme poverty is still unacceptably high and there is reason to believe that the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of reducing the proportion of people living in extreme poverty to below 3% by 2030 will not be achieved.
  
  Madagascar is one of the countries in the world that, according to the World Bank's Poverty data 2025, has the largest proportion (80,0%) of its population in extreme poverty - and which is severely affected by the escalating climate crisis and extreme weather events; cyclones, floods, prolonged droughts.

• The year 2022 has begun with Madagascar being hit by two cyclones and two tropical storms in a month

  January 22 tropical storm Ana, February 5 cyclone Batsirai, February 15 tropical storm Dumako and February 21 cyclone Emnati. Storms and cyclones that have caused important losses in human lives, destroyed homes and infrastructure. "Even though it is a cyclonic season in the Indian Ocean, it is rare to see four storms hit the same country within four weeks," said Clare Nullis of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in the UN article, which also reminds of perennial drought for some time back causes famine in the southern part of the country.

  Madagascar has repeatedly been hit by political crises and severe cyclones. The combination has had a major impact on the economy as a whole and perhaps worst for the already poorest and most marginalized in society. Poor infrastructure, e.g. roads and electricity supply, is a result of political instability, natural disasters, widespread poverty. At the same time, Madagascar's poor infrastructure is a major obstacle to inclusive economic growth. More about that in the World bank group report 2021 mentioned above and e.g: In the Africa Competitiveness Report 2017, Madagascar has the bottom rank (ranked 138 out of 138 countries included) regarding road quality. In the World Bank report "Doing Business Madagascar 2020", Madagascar is ranked close to the bottom (186 out of 190 counted countries) regarding access to electricity. The country is ranked 161 when the assessment includes all ten indicators of the report on how difficult or easy it is to start and run a company there.

• At the same time, Madagascar has one of the richest and most unique flora and fauna in the world to preserve

  Madagascar is, together with the smaller surrounding islands, one of the world’s “biodiversity hotspots”. Here below some figures to describe an immeasurable great value.

• Endemism
  Madagascar and the surrounding islands has an extremely high floral and faunal endemism.
• Plants
  The threshold of endemism for a region to qualify as biodiversity hotspot is 1500 endemic plants; the Madagascar flora alone comprises about 10 000 endemic species. For palm trees (Arecaceae), Madagascar is considered as one of the world’s richest places. The wealth is mainly characterised by endemism close to 100 %.
• Regarding fauna, the level of species endemism is exceptional.
• Mammals

  Of the approx. 211 indigenous species of terrestrial mammals, 95% are endemic. Lemurs, which are endemic to Madagascar, are considered the world's oldest primates. The history of lemurs begins over 70 million years ago, when lemur-like animals roamed Africa alongside the dinosaurs. Scientists believe that about 65 million years ago, lemurs made their way across the water to the island of Madagascar on floating vegetation. Over the next tens of millions of years, the lemurs of Madagascar evolved and diversified into the 112 species we see today. The smallest of the lemur species is Madame Berthe's mouse lemur (Microcebus berthae), which has an average body weight of 30 grams is also the world's smallest primate. The largest of the lemur species is Indri (Indri indri), which weighs around 6-9.5 kg.

  With 112 species of endemic lemurs divided into five families and 14 genera, Madagascar has the world's greatest primate biodiversity. (Brazil, which has 77 species but only two endemic genera and no endemic families, is second). Lemurs are fascinating creatures, but a recent update to the IUCN Red List showed that 98% of lemur species are threatened with extinction.

• Madagascar carnivores

  Eupleridae is a family of carnivores endemic to Madagascar, comprising 10 known living species in seven genera. (That these animals form their own systematic group was only discovered after genetic studies and previously most of the species were placed in the viverrid or mongoose families.) The best known of the species is the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox). Fossa is the largest carnivore among the endemic mammals of Madagascar. Resembling a small cougar or slender, long-tailed cat. Adults have a main body length of 70–80 cm and weigh between 5.5 and 8.6 kg, with males larger than females. The fossa has semi-retractable claws (meaning it can extend but not fully retract the claws) and flexible ankle joints that allow it to climb up and down trees head first, and also support jumping from tree to tree.

  Cryptoprocta ferox was assessed for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2015 and is listed as Vulnerable (VU).

• Birds

  Madagascar and the surrounding islands avifauna is characterised by low diversity but spectacular specific endemism; of the 503 species found in the hotspot, nearly 60% are found nowhere else on the planet.

• Reptiles

  The diversity (+457 species) and endemism (96%) of reptiles is high. The region is a major center of diversity for chameleons, with dozens of species on Madagascar. Current examples are that in 2021, the world's smallest reptile to date (the chameleon Brookesia nana) was identified in northern Madagascar. Males of the species Brookesi nana measure 21.6 mm from snout including tail, females 28.9 mm. In the year 2022, researchers investigating the same region in northern Madagascar have identified eight new species of miniature geckos within the Lygodactylus madagascariensis group.

• Amphibians

  The specific amphibian endemism in the region is extraordinary, with only one species out of 309 identified that is not endemic to the hotspot. Endemism is 99,7%.

• In addition to the above mentioned, the hotspot includes a wealth of endemic freshwater fish, invertebrates and has an impressive marine biodiversity: fishes, marine turtles and marine mammals.

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