Regional
Headquarters, Jamaica. Tuesday, 29 October 2019—Dr
David Smith, Coordinator of the Institute for Sustainable Development
(ISD) and Director of the Centre for Environmental Management (CEM)
at The
University of the West Indies (The UWI),
is one of 15 independent scientists who prepared the Global
Sustainable Development Report (GSDR).

This inaugural
global report, commissioned by the United Nations Secretary General,
was launched last month ahead of the 2019 SDG Summit. It aims to
strengthen the science-policy evidence-based approach to advance
knowledge that informs action and supports policy makers and
stakeholders in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Entitled “The
Future is now: Science for achieving the SDGs”, the report stresses
the need for governments, business, communities and civil society to
transform key areas of human activities such as food, energy,
consumption and cities. It reveals that some
models of development have
delivered prosperity to hundreds of millions, but have also led to
continuing poverty and other deprivations; unprecedented levels of
inequality that undermine innovation, social cohesion and sustainable
economic growth. The group argue that the situation has brought the
world close to tipping points with the global climate system and
biodiversity loss. It states further, that these development models
are not sustainable, and the progress made in the last two decades is
in danger of being reversed through worsening social inequalities and
potentially irreversible declines in the natural environment that
sustains us. The scientists conclude, however, that a far more
optimistic future is still attainable.

The report
emphasizes the need for a collective, holistic approach along six key
“entry points” that can accelerate transformational action for
sustainable development. These include: human well-being and
capabilities; sustainable and just economies; food systems and
nutrition patterns; energy decarbonisation with universal access;
urban and peri-urban development and global environmental commons.

The levers
identified to be deployed to enable transformation include:
governance; economy and finance

individual and
collective action; science and technology.

Dr Smith, speaking
in a video release on the report noted,
“The good news is that we can get back on track and there are ways
to get those goals, but we’ve got to do the right thing”.

The report will be
produced every four years. It will strengthen the work of the
High-level political forum on sustainable development.

In addition to his
positions at The UWI, Dr Smith is Coordinator of the University
Consortium of Small Island States (UCSIS) and Caribbean
Coordinator for the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network
(UNSDSN Caribbean). Dr Smith’s contribution is celebrated by
The UWI for both his individual achievement and role in advancing the
regional University’s strategic advocacy for Climate and
Sustainable Development Action.

Notes

The
full report, “The
Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development,” can
be

found
here: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/gsdr2019

A
complete list of the scientists is available here:

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/gsdr2019

More
about Dr David Smith

David
Smith (Jamaica) is Coordinator of the Institute for Sustainable
Development (ISD) and Director of the Centre for Environmental
Management (CEM) at the University of the West Indies (The UWI). The
Institute focuses on research in Sustainable Development Governance
and Policy, Disaster Management and Environmental Management. He is
also the Coordinator of the University Consortium for Small Island
States (UCSIS), and Chair of the UN Caribbean Sustainable Development
Solutions Network (UNSDSN Caribbean)

Dr
Smith was an expert reviewer for the IPCC Special Report on Managing
the Risks of Extreme Events (SREX). He has served on the Board of the
Caribbean Conservation Association for five years and was President
in 1995. From 1994 to 2000 he was a Regional Councillor of IUCN-The
World Conservation Union and chaired the Business Committee of IUCN’s
Council; was a member of the steering committees of the IUCN
commissions on Species Survival, Protected Areas, and Communications
and Education. He oversaw the development of the Jamaican Protected
Areas System Plan and contributed to the National Forestry Management
Plan. He has consulted on small business management and the design of
environmental financing mechanisms in Jamaica, Uganda, Guyana and
Trinidad and Tobago.

About
The UWI

For
over 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has
provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region and wider
world. The UWI has evolved from a university college of London in
Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 to an internationally
respected, regional university with near 50,000 students and five
campuses: Mona
in Jamaica, St.
Augustine
in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave
Hill in
Barbados, Five Islands
in Antigua and Barbuda and an Open Campus. As part of its robust
globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with
universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa
including the State
University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and
Sustainable Development;
the Canada-Caribbean Studies Institute with Brock University; the
Strategic Alliance for Hemispheric Development with Universidad de
los Andes (UNIANDES); the UWI-China Institute of Information
Technology, the University of Lagos (UNILAG)-UWI Institute of African
and Diaspora Studies and the
Institute for Global African Affairs with the University of
Johannesburg (UJ).
The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and
postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering,
Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science &
Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. 

As the
region’s premier research academy, The UWI’s foremost objective
is driving the growth and development of the regional economy. The
world’s most reputable ranking agency, Times
Higher Education,
has ranked The UWI among the top 600 universities in the world for
2019 and 2020, and the 40 best universities in Latin America and the
Caribbean for 2018 and 2019. The
UWI has been the only Caribbean-based university to make the
prestigious lists. For more, visit www.uwi.edu.