SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Photo: ReefDoctor
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) are a collection of global goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all" – a universal call to action for the betterment of people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships. The SDGs were set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.They are unprecedented in both scope and ambition, being the first time in history the international community was able to define a global and comprehensive sustainable development agenda including both social objectives and environmental goals, recognising that economic prosperity, social progress and environmental protection go hand in hand and must be brought together. To catalyse cooperative, transformative action at the international scale, the SDG’s include a set of 17 universally applicable, integrated objectives for sustainable development, such as ending poverty, hunger and gender inequality, as well as protecting the planet and ensuring global access to good quality education and clean energy.
AIMS: ENSURE INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE EQUALITY EDUCATION AND PROMOTE LIFELONG LEARNING OPPORTUNITES FOR ALL.
Education liberates the intellect, unlocks the imagination and is fundamental for sustainable development. It is the key to prosperity and opens a world of opportunities, making it possible for each of us to contribute to a progressive, healthy society, as well as protect the environment. Learning benefits every human being and should be available to all.
​
What is Zara Loko doing to help achieve SDG 4?
By creating high quality environmental education material, we hope to promote a passion for nature and sustainable lifestyles. The stories also promote a culture of peace, empathy and non-violence.
There are numerous issues that prevent girls from fulfilling their right to education. These issues range from social and gender norms to financial barriers, and harmful traditional practices. For example, the role of women in Madagascar is often that of child bearer and household manager, with girls typically marrying and having children from as young as 12. Women's livelihood options and engagement in civil society are notably restricted by cultural expectations. In some countries, there are also stigmas attached to the education of women and girls, and as a result, untapped human potential and gender inequality persist.
​
The outcome is that countries become trapped in a complex web of economic paralysis, poverty, poor health, and gender-based violence. Women are not only affected by these problems but also possess ideas and leadership to solve them. The gender discrimination which holds many women back holds the world back too.
​
Education leading to good employment can break the cycle of poverty for families, and for the next generations. According to research by the World Bank, for every extra year of primary education, a girl’s individual wage rate increases an average of 10–20% and 25% with an extra year of secondary school. Furthermore, 90% of a mother’s wage goes towards caring for her family, thus lifting a household out of poverty and hunger.
​
Women’s equality and empowerment is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, but also integral to all dimensions of inclusive and sustainable development. In short, all the SDGs depend on the achievement of Goal 5​.
​
​.What is Zara Loko doing to help achieve SDG 5?
Each of our stories are based around a strong, determined and passionate female character. We hope this will inspire young girls to realise their true potential and give them the confidence to speak up for equality.
AIMS: ENSURE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER ALL WOMEN AND GIRLS
WHY IS GENDER EQUALITY SO IMPORTANT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?
Globally, the evidence has been mounting in linking gender equality and enhanced environmental outcomes. For example, countries with more women in their parliaments are more likely to set aside protected land areas and ratify international environmental treaties. In fact, evidence reveals that there is a correlation between environment and gender; when gender inequality is high, so is environmental degradation.
​
But effectively engaging women is not just about avoiding negative consequences. Women are active agents of conservation and restoration of natural resources, as their caregiving responsibilities and livelihood activities are often highly dependent on these resources, such as the fetching of water and subsistence farming. For instance, in almost three-quarters of households without drinkable water, women are primarily responsible for collecting it. This consequently means that they have strong knowledge of such resources and perhaps greater desirability to protect it.
​
There are examples from around the world on how women are leading responses to climate change by modifying growing patterns, developing water harvesting and soil conservation initiatives, managing disaster risk reduction and response plans, and adopting consumption patterns that reduce the footprint of households and communities. Women leaders globally are working to strengthen their countries’ efforts to halt environmental degradation and improve the lives of women and their families. In cities around the world, women leaders are hard at work improving sustainability by promoting bike sharing programs, safe public transport and urban trees, while their rural counterparts work to restore landscapes and improve access to clean sources of energy..
​
Additionally, there is growing evidence that community management of natural resources is improved by having management groups consisting of both men and women. For example, in India and Nepal, studies have shown that when women participate in forest management and decision-making processes at the community level, we see better forest conservation. Research in Indonesia, Peru and Tanzania has also shown then when women make up at least 50% of a decision making body, more trees were conserved and the benefits of such conservation were more equally shared.
​
What all this proves is how advancements in gender equality will have a profoundly positive impact on social and environmental well-being. If we care about the environment, we must care and actively strive towards gender equality.
.png)
Worldwide consumption and production — a driving force of the global economy — rest on the use of the natural environment and resources in a way that continues to have destructive impacts on the planet.
​
Sustainable consumption and production is about promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all.
​
What is Zara Loko doing to help achieve SDG 5?
I am very passionate about making sure Zara Loko is carbon positive, through printing on recycled paper and supporting reforestation projects. It is also very important to me that we support the Malagasy economy as much as possible, hence all the printing is done in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
GOAL 12: RESPONSIBLE
CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
AIMS: ENSURE SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION PATTERNS
