Think globally, act locally: Implementing the sustainable development goals in Montenegro

Abstract

Following the UN adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015, the Government of Montenegro entered in the final phase of revising of National Strategy for Sustainable Development (NSSD 2030). Under the supervision of the National Council for Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Integrated Coastal Zone Management, an NSSD team of national and international experts was assembled under the coordination of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism. To demonstrate commitment to the UN 2030 Agenda, Montenegro decided to center the NSSD 2030 on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), targets and indicators. One of the first UN member countries to implement the UN 2030 Agenda within the national policy context, Montenegro adopted its NSSD 2030 on July 7, 2016. As members of the NSSD team, here we 1) describe how the UN 2030 Agenda has been implemented within the policy context of Montenegro’s NSSD 2030, and 2) focus on the identification of the NSSD 2030 monitoring and reporting framework. Our key finding is that 26 institutions will be handling data for assessing 137 out of the 241 (56.8%) SDG indicators in the first reporting period scheduled for 2019. Although the paper deals with the implementation of the SDGs in Montenegro and its implications, we believe it will be useful in informing other countries in their process of national transposition and operationalization of the UN 2030 Agenda.