Sustainable Development Goals Agenda Research Articles

Batik Marunda as Cultural Heritageand Role in Sustainable Development

Batik Marunda is a batik producer in Jakarta that has a role in supporting one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as empowering relocation communities in three flats in the North Jakarta area. The study analyzes how Batik Marunda's role in the cultural preservation program while still contributing to economic empowerment, waste management to batik and batik materials. Methods of research are field studies, interviews with batik producers, the concept of collaboration in three flats and their governance. The findings show that Batik Marunda empowers especially women in the three flats area, through various skills training that has an impact on increasing skills, insights and economic levels for local residents, to waste management to reduce textile waste and support one of the SDG goals, namely responsible production and consumption. The three flats collaboration in the North Jakarta area is expected to strengthen the creative, environmentally friendly economic network and improve the quality of empowerment in the surrounding community. In summary, this research sees the important role of governance integration between cultural preservation programs, community empowerment, innovation and governance to support the SDGs agenda in the aspects of decent work, economic growth, climate change in sustainable development efforts.

SustentAÇÃO: E-learning training on food sustainability for teachers in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

Abstract Background It is essential to address food sustainability (FS) within the school community to enhance both public and environmental health. In Portugal, in the scope of AML Alimenta, teachers’ training on FS was identified as a priority. Therefore, local partners along with academia developed, implemented, monitored, and evaluated the SustentAÇÃO. Objectives SustentAÇÃO aimed to empower school teachers in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area to teach students between 6 and 14 years old on FS. The program consisted of 10 hours of asynchronous online learning (MoodleTM), structured in 4 modules, and 10 hours of autonomous learning (5 students’ educational sessions), offering autonomy and flexible time management. The contents were adapted for different age groups. The teacher’s performance was monitored and evaluated continuously. A process evaluation was conducted for both teachers and students. Results Of the 79 teachers enrolled, 47% completed the program. Teachers’ performance (0-20) on the 4 evaluation questionnaires was on average 17,9±3,13. Most teachers found the program benefited their work (94%) and considered it essential for enhancing student’s knowledge (98%). Considering overall satisfaction, 85% of teachers were satisfied or very satisfied with the training and 91% would recommend it to their colleagues. Additionally, 86% of students enjoyed the activities delivered, 76% considered that they were wasting less food, and 78% believed they had improved their ability to make healthier and more sustainable food choices. Conclusions Through a collaborative work between local partners and academia, an innovative e-learning training programme on FS was developed, implemented, monitored, and evaluated, responding to the local needs identified. SustentAÇÃO complies with national education guidelines and contributes to the sustainable development goals agenda. Key messages • SustentAÇÃO E-learning training highlights the importance of collaborative work, based on an initial assessment to target local needs. • SustentAÇÃO E-learning training improve teachers’ knowledge on FS and benefit their students.

Practices Pertaining to Sustainable Development Goals in University Libraries of Sri Lanka: An Exploratory Study

Sustainable development, embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is a global obligation. University libraries are crucial in advancing these goals by disseminating knowledge, fostering sustainability, and promoting inclusive practices. This study uses a survey conducted through interviews to explore the practices, strategies, and challenges faced by university libraries in Sri Lanka in aligning with the SDGs. It surveyed SDG practices under five key themes. Sri Lankan university libraries strongly commit to the SDGs through their initiatives in these areas. However, compared to global practices such as seed libraries, zero-waste initiatives recycling projects, sustainable landscaping, rainwater harvesting and financial literacy programs, the scale of their activities remains more localized. Financial constraints, limited resources, and lack of awareness pose common barriers. The study demonstrates that Sri Lankan libraries are good at translating global SDG goals into actionable local initiatives, emphasizing the importance of the context. These libraries provide invaluable insights for other institutions. Future directions include expanding collaborations, enhancing public engagement, and embracing emerging technologies to further the SDG agenda.

Development of Robot Feature for Stunting Analysis Using Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) Algorithm

Stunting prevalence in Indonesia persists as a significant challenge necessitating concerted efforts from all stakeholders. We developed robot for stunting analysis using deep learning algorithm. It aligns with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda, specifically targeting SDG 3, which focuses on ensuring good health and well-being for all. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) is a type of Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) designed to overcome the vanishing gradient problem in traditional RNNs. In general, either LSTM can be used in analysis. This study aims to classify stunting based on age and height using LSTM. The LSTM model was trained with 50 epochs using datasets collected from the health office and robots. The evaluation results show training accuracy of 96.65% and training validation of 96.61%, with precision, recall and f1-score varying with relevance to the f1-score and support value. This research illustrates the potential for using data classification methods in stunting diagnosis. However, it is necessary to adjust parameters and increase the amount of training data to improve model performance. With good convergence at epoch 50, these results show the model's ability to classify stunting based on age and height. However, further validation and testing on larger datasets is needed to thoroughly test the reliability and generalization of the model. This research can contribute to the development of deep learning regarding robots as a means of testing stunting. This research provides initial evidence of the potential of stunting classification methods using robots. However, parameter adjustments and increasing the amount of training data need to be done to improve the overall model performance.

Literature Study: The Role of Health Cadres in Stunting Prevention to Support the Realisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's)

Introduction: Stunting is one of the chronic nutritional problems of global concern, including in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) agenda. In Indonesia, stunting is still a major health problem and contributor to child morbidity and mortality. To overcome this problem, prevention efforts are needed that involve various parties, including health cadres at the community level. This study aims to analyze the role of health cadres in stunting prevention to support the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's). Methods: This study used a literature study by collecting and reviewing previous research, especially looking for information about the involvement of the role of health cadres in stunting prevention. Results: Health cadres have a role and function as the main driver at the community level to provide education, monitor children's nutritional status, and conduct nutrition intervention activities. Through increased capacity and knowledge, health cadres can help reduce the prevalence of stunting and support the achievement of the SDGs, namely ending hunger and ensuring healthy lives and well-being for all. Conclusion: Support and commitment from all parties are needed to strengthen the role of health cadres in supporting the realization of the SDGs. With the right support and good collaboration, this program can have a significant impact in improving the health and welfare of the community.

The economic impact of terrorism in South Asia

This study examines the economic impact of terrorism in South Asia. The region is currently home to 123 active terrorist/insurgent groups and is accountable for over 27 % of recorded global terrorist attacks. The annual data from the six most-terror-affected South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) during the US-led war on terror (2001 - 2022) is used. For econometric estimation, the five models: fixed-effect, generalized least squares (GLS), generalized estimating equation (GEE), quantile regression (QR), and panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) are applied. Terror-related death (a proxy for human capital loss) and per capita income (a proxy for purchasing power) are considered to measure terrorism and its economic impact. In addition, four economic indicators (military expenditure, population, official development assistance (ODA), and USAID) and three institutional indicators (electoral democracy index, political violence index, and mobilization for autocracy index) are taken into account as control variables. The result suggests that every additional 886 terror-related human capital loss across the region significantly reduces the purchasing power of each South Asian person by at least 9.800 US dollars. Moreover, among the control variables, military expenditure, political violence, and mobilization for autocracy negatively affect per capita income, while electoral democracy, population, ODA, and USAID positively impact it. This study will also help understand the implications of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda and achieving specific targets such as SDG 8 (promoting economic growth) and SDG 16 (promoting just, peaceful, and inclusive societies) based on the most terror-affected region.

Does Board Gender Diversity Influence SDGs Disclosure? Insight from Top 15 JSE-Listed Mining Companies

An assessment was made halfway into the sustainable development goals (SDGs) agenda period, and the findings indicated a slower than anticipated pace towards the implementation of the SDGs agenda. One of the possible causes of the slower pace is a lack of strong governance mechanisms such as gender diversity, sustainability committees, and board sustainability experience in institutions. The study sought to investigate the influence of board gender diversity on SDGs disclosure amongst the top 15 JSE-listed mining companies in light of their contribution towards the attainment of this global agenda. Mining in South Africa affects about nine percent of the country’s population. The study was anchored on the agency and the stakeholder theories. This is quantitative research which employed a keyword search to measure SDGs disclosure in the annual integrated reports for the sampled companies from 2019 to 2023. The study hypothesised that there is a significant positive relationship between a female-dominated board and SDGs disclosure in the sampled companies. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, as well as regression analysis were employed. The results established a lack of significant evidence of a positive or negative relationship between gender diversity and SDGs disclosure, a significant positive relationship between board size and SDGs disclosure, and no relationship between board independence and SDGs disclosure in the sampled mining companies. It was concluded that board gender diversity in corporate boards in the top 15 JSE-listed mining companies has no impact on the SDGs disclosure. The study recommends including more moderating factors and conducting more empirical studies towards the attainment of conclusive results in this space.

Sustainability risk in insurance companies: A machine learning analysis

AbstractSustainable development constitutes a global challenge today, and the sustainable development goals (Agenda 2030) will probably set the course for the coming decades. This paper discusses sustainability in insurance companies by combining two aspects: a social approach (the environmental impact) and a business approach (the prediction of claims due to climate change). Our objective is to analyse the impact of physical risk in a home insurance portfolio and to measure in economic terms the effect of climate change in the future, by applying machine learning methodologies. Two data sources are used: a Spanish insurance portfolio with 31,998 policies and claims from 2017 to 2022, and daily meteorological variables from 290 Spanish weather stations from 2000 to 2022. Two climate scenarios are considered: RCP 4.5 (medium impact) and RCP 8.5 (high impact). On average for the period 2023–2052, the results reveal that claims will increase by 105% for the 4.5 scenario and by 129% for the 8.5 scenario. Our paper makes a clear contribution to sustainability by analysing climate risks and their impact on an insurance portfolio. It shows the grave consequences of climate change for the insurance sector's solvency and the political implications for the financial system in general.

Accounting for Knowledge-intensive Public Organizations: challenges represented by COVID-19 to achieve Sustainable Development Goals

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine prominent issues and contributions from extant research and explore the literature on the services provided by Knowledge-Intensive Public Organizations (KIPOs) and its pursuit to achieve the United Nations (UN) 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (hereafter referred to as the UN 2030 SDGs agenda) amidst the challenges represented by COVID-19 pandemic. It emphasizes the crucial role of accounting in dealing with techniques and social and moral practices concerned with the sustainable utilization of resources. This paper also provides an overview of the other papers presented in this JPBAFM Special Issue and draws from their findings to scope out future impactful research opportunities in this area.Design/methodology/approachThe design consists of a review and examination of the prior relevant literature and the other papers published in this JPBAFM Special Issue.FindingsThe paper identifies and summarizes three key research themes in the extant literature: the growth in the types of KIPO; the rise in the research approaches to study the provision of public services by KIPO in pursuit of the UN 2030 SDG agenda and the consequent call for developments in the accounting field; and unintended consequences during COVID-19 pandemic. It draws upon work within these research themes to set out four broad areas for future impactful research.Research limitations/implicationsThe value of this paper rests with collating and synthesizing several important research themes on the nature and unintended consequences of the UN 2030 SDG agenda, and the challenges represented by COVID-19 pandemic in the governance, management and accounting for KIPO and in prompting future extensions of this work through setting out areas for further innovative research within the field.Practical implicationsThe research examined in this paper and the future research avenues proposed are highly relevant to the health sector, the judiciary, museums, research centers and the UN. The focus on accounting and accountability towards a broader spectrum of stakeholders calls for new avenues of study in the accounting field. They also offer important insights into matters of management, accounting, accountability, sustainability accounting and control more generally.Social implicationsThe research examined in this paper and the future research avenues proposed are highly relevant to the health sector, the judiciary, museums, universities, research centers and the UN. They also offer important insights into matters of management, accounting, accountability, sustainability accounting and control more generally.Originality/valueThis paper adds to vibrant existing streams of research in the area of KIPO by bringing together authors from different areas of accounting research for this JPBAFM Special Issue. In scoping out an agenda for impactful research approaches used to study the provision of public services by KIPO, this paper also draws attention to underexplored issues pertaining to extents such as the “lived experience” of personnel in the KIPO and envisioning what a future system of governance, management and accounting of SDG might look like.

Injury mortality in South Africa: a 2009 and 2017 comparison to track progress to meeting sustainable development goal targets

ABSTRACT Background Injuries, often preventable, prompted urgent action within the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to improve global health. South Africa (SA) has high rates of injury mortality, but accurate reporting of official national data is hindered by death misclassification. Objective Two nationally representative surveys for 2009 and 2017 are utilised to assess SA’s progress towards SDG targets for violence and road traffic injuries, alongside changes in suicide and under-5 mortality rates for childhood injuries, and compare these estimates with those of the Global Burden of Disease for SA. Methods The surveys utilised multi-stage, stratified cluster sampling from eight provinces, with mortuaries as primary sampling units. Post-mortem files for non-natural deaths were reviewed, with additional data from the Western Cape. Age-standardised rates, 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated for manner of death rate comparisons and for age groups. Results The all-injury age-standardised mortality rate decreased significantly between 2009 and 2017. Homicide and transport remained the leading causes of injury deaths, with a significant 31% decrease in road traffic mortality (IRR = 0.69), from 36.1 to 25.0 per 100 000 population. Conclusions Despite a reduction in SA’s road traffic mortality rate, challenges to achieve targets related to young and novice drivers and male homicide persist. Achieving SA’s injury mortality SDG targets requires comprehensive evaluations of programmes addressing road safety, violence reduction, and mental well-being. In the absence of reliable routine data, survey data allow to accurately assess the country’s SDG progress through commitment to evidence-based policymaking.

Rethinking External Environmental Analysis for Sustainable Development: The Case of a Beverage Manufacturing Industry in a Southern African Country

The advent of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda 2030 ushered in a new way of thinking about the forces that drive change in the business environment. Literature suggests that sustainable development is a megaforce driving change globally and envelops the traditional political, economic, social, technological, and ecological (PESTE) forces approach. This article reframes the external environmental analysis to integrate SDGs into the business strategy of a beverage manufacturing industry. A qualitative design using snowball sampling resulted in semi-structured, face-to-face interviews that were audio recorded. Interviews were held with eight executives, one former executive, and three non-executive staff from four companies of a southern African country’s beverage manufacturing industry. The data exposed some ignorance on sustainable development. Many executives understood the importance of sustainable development without consensus on its exact nature and implementation in the organisational context. Thematic data analysis confirmed the relevance of sustainable development and the need to incorporate it in external environmental analysis. Categorising SDGs into a 5-P framework (people, prosperity, planet, peace, partnerships) and integrating it with the PESTE framework, the study provides a new approach/tool for external environmental analysis. This approach facilitates identification of SDGs that are relevant to business during strategic planning.

Framing the European Rare Diseases field through a structured movement of patient organisations

EURORDIS-Rare Diseases Europe is an alliance of patient organisations, working across countries, empowering patients with trainings, and generating evidence through surveys. It advocates for the needs of people living with rare diseases in Europe, influencing policy, legislation, research, healthcare services, social inclusion, medicines development and access. Since its creation, EURORDIS has maintained a global perspective. By nature of the rarity of these conditions, knowledge and expertise are scattered, so collaboration on a global level is required to have an understanding of disease progression. Thus, every rare disease patient group must be equipped to collaborate beyond its own borders. EURORDIS impacts global activities with a focus on raising awareness; empowering a global alliance; supporting international, national and regional initiatives; and recognising rare diseases within the international community while fostering collaboration among stakeholders. For these reasons, the organisation’s impact extends beyond Europe, as demonstrated by its international partnerships. This perspective paper explores EURORDIS’ achievements over two decades, examining its role in shaping policies and regulations, to demonstrate the vital importance of global collaboration in the rare disease field. Looking ahead, EURORDIS’ Strategic Goals, to be achieved by 2030, align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030 and advocate for a European Action Plan for Rare Diseases. This illustrates EURORDIS’ continued commitment to transforming policies into tangible outcomes. With its ongoing dedication, collaborative efforts, and enduring impact on the rare disease community, EURORDIS remains a driving force for positive change in the lives of people living with rare diseases.

Design With, Not For, Local Community: Utilizing e-Participation Tools in the Design of Socially Sustainable Vertical Emirati Public Housing

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is slowly transitioning from traditional single-family public housing to a ‘vertical’ typology to meet the increasing demand on public housing, solve the problem of the scarcity of land in urban areas, and contribute to achieving its local agenda for sustainable development goals. However, the direct involvement of Emirati residents in the design process of the recently developed limited number of vertical public housing projects has been missing. This research aims to involve a sample of Emirati residents, representing the targeted category for vertical public housing, in the pre-occupancy evaluation of the design of Al Ghurfa, the very recently developed vertical public housing project, focusing mainly on assessing the attainment of social sustainability in this design. The research method included four phases, including initiating a conceptual framework from relevant literature reviews, digitalizing the case study design, developing the conventional and e-Participation interview scenarios and scripts, and selecting a sample of Emirati young citizens who participated in the study. The results of the study successfully highlighted the participating residents’ preferences and concerns regarding the design of the investigated pioneering vertical public housing project. The findings revealed the interviewed citizens’ perceptions of the investigated social sustainability principles in the vertical housing design pertaining to mixed-use development within and outside the vertical residential building, social integration among neighbors of the building, vertical and horizontal accessibility inside and outside the building, security measures for the residents of the buildings and their privacy, design measures of the high-quality living environments, the user-responsive design of the housing units, and the importance of their involvement in the design. This helped propose a set of recommended design actions for attaining social sustainability in vertical housing design tailored to the specific needs of Emirati residents. The research has also revealed the successful merger between the conventional and advanced e-Participation tools in involving the residents in assessing the professional design of vertical public housing as a new emerging typology that is expected to prevail in the near future.

An asymmetric analysis of overall globalization on financial inclusion

Purpose Financial inclusion is acknowledged as a critical facilitator of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals agenda for 2030. Therefore, this study aims to examine the asymmetric role of overall globalization on financial inclusion by controlling economic growth, urbanization and population for the selected South Asian countries. Design/methodology/approach Applying the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag approach to cointegration explores the impact of overall globalization on financial inclusion in the presence of additional variables like economic growth, urbanization and population in the designed financial inclusion function. Findings The estimated econometric outcomes show that increasing overall globalization fosters financial inclusion while decreasing overall globalization reduces financial inclusion. Furthermore, a positive (negative) change in economic growth leads to an increase (decrease) in financial inclusion while varying short-run findings. Moreover, both positive and negative changes increase financial inclusion in the long run in connection with urbanization. Although the short-run results are not significant, the study finds that an increase (decrease) in population leads to a decrease (increase) in financial inclusion. Finally, to support the promotion of financial inclusivity throughout South Asia, several policies pertaining to financial inclusion are suggested. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the asymmetries related to overall globalization on financial inclusion by controlling economic growth, urbanization and population.

Assessment of rural livelihoods, health and wellbeing in Vhembe District Municipality, South Africa and Narok County, Kenya: A water-energy-food nexus perspective

The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus has become an integral component duly suited to enable sustainable development and an important tool to achieve and sustain various socioeconomic and environmental outcomes, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. The WEF nexus has become increasingly important in recent years as it can holistically address humankind's current triple challenges, including resource depletion, environmental degradation, and population growth. Socioeconomic factors such as increased population, economic development, and climate change patterns frequently induce unprecedented pressure on WEF resources. From the various climate change model simulations, the climate is likely to increase in the future, exacerbating the demand of the population to access the WEF resources and services. For effective resource planning and decision-making, the availability of WEF resources must be assessed under ongoing climate change. In this regard, this study assessed rural livelihoods, health, and wellbeing indicators within the WEF nexus framework in Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), South Africa, and Narok County, Kenya. The premise was to determine the drivers of livelihood changes by applying the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making to understand the causal linkages between the WEF nexus resources and the sustainable livelihood indicators. Data collected from the literature review, questionnaire/group discussions, and field visit engagements were used to formulate and develop a matrix of indicators to assess livelihoods, health, and wellbeing. A correlation analysis based on the AHP was used to determine the linkages between WEF resources and sustainable livelihood indicators. The multivariate analysis used the correlation matrix to capture the pairwise degrees of relationship between WEF resources and sustainable livelihood indicators in the two study areas. The results show that the resources for sustainable livelihoods in VDM are more sustainable than those in Narok County. The Consistency Ratio values for Narok County and VDM were 0.046 and 0.067, respectively. The resulting composite index (0.143) classified both study sites under the lowly sustainable category. The results are important for informing policy formulation that guides timely interventions to balance socio-ecological systems.

Southern agency in global norms creation: Bangladesh in the SDGs formulation process

This paper examines which institutions, ideas, and interests have shaped the position of Bangladesh in creating the norms of the United Nations (UN)’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Bangladesh’s contribution to the SDGs norms creation process is examined in two distinct stages: drafting a position paper (June 2012–June 2013) and participating in UN Open Working Group (OWG) negotiations (March 2013–July 2014). Findings reveal how a small cohort of policy entrepreneurs played a key role in both stages. They gave prominence to ideas such as poverty alleviation, global inequality, and migrants’ rights in structuring the SDGs agenda. In the final round of OWG negotiations, Bangladeshi delegates calculated that active participation in the norms creation process would best serve the interests of the Global South by challenging the Global North which wanted to impose its interests. This paper offers an important insight into the norms literature by showing convergence and divergence of interests and agendas of global and local actors.

Does awareness of SDGs influence tourists’ behavior? An examination of the determinants of sustainable travel behavior considering the UN2030 Agenda

PurposeThis study aims to examine a comprehensive model for the concurrent effects of tourists’ sustainability concerns, social norms, frugality and awareness of the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) on sustainable travel behavior (STB), with sustainability in this case extending beyond the environmental to include economic and socio-cultural aspects as well.Design/methodology/approachThe model is tested using a structural equation modeling technique based on data collected from 200 US respondents who traveled internationally in the past year.FindingsResults reveal that all aforementioned variables, namely, sustainability concerns, social norms, frugality and SDG awareness, when considered together each positively influenced STB. However, SDG awareness did not accentuate tourists’ sustainability concerns associated with travel and tourism, as initially hypothesized.Originality/valueUnlike previous studies that have mainly focused on the pro-environmental aspects of sustainability and failed to consider the aforementioned variables concurrently, the results from this study advance our understanding of the determinants of STB (more generally) while accounting specifically for the expected role of the UN SDG agenda.

A Panel Analysis on the Nexus between Financial Development, Oil Production, and Trade-Openness and Its Impact on Sustainable Economic Growth: Evidence from Selected Arab Economies

In accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals agenda for decent and sustainable economic growth highlighted in the UNSDGs-8, several economies over the years have been on the quest for drivers for decent and sustainable economic growth, of which the Arab bloc is no exception. To this end, the present study draws strength from the classical growth model while exploring the dynamic nexus between oil production and economic growth while accounting for other key growth drivers like gross capital formulation accumulation, labour, trade openness, and financial development for a balanced panel of selected Arab economies. To operationalise the study objectives, the present study leverages second-generational panel econometric approaches. The econometrics techniques applied circumvent the cross-sectional dependency and slope heterogeneity in the sampled bloc. For co-integration analysis, the Westerlund’s panel co-integration test affirms a long-run equilibrium relationship between the study’s outlined variables. Furthermore, for long-run estimates, the present study leverages the common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) methodology and the augmented mean group (AMG) method for robustness and soundness of the results and coefficients. The present study corroborates the trade-induced growth hypothesis in the entire panel at a p < 0.001 statistical level, which resonates with the mercantilism school of thought. Additionally, the present study also affirms the Solow–Swan hypothesis, where gross capital formation accumulation and labour drive economic growth. Interestingly, the panel bloc shows that oil production is a key driver to the nation’s economic growth, at a p < 0.05 statistical level. However, from a policy standpoint, there are policy suggestions for diversification of the Arab economies to move from a mono-economy dependent on oil production to other sectors like service, industry, and manufacturing, which require labour, capital accumulation, and more. Further policy caveats are outlined in the concluding section.

Rural Sanitation and The Challenges For Universalization: Evaluation of The Municipalities of Brejo Grande And Ilha Das Flores in Baixo São Francisco Sergipano

Purpose: To evaluate basic sanitation in the cities of Brejo Grande/SE and Ilha das Flores/SE, located in the Lower São Francisco region of Sergipe, through a case study on already implemented public policies, highlighting water supply, sewage collection, and treatment. Theoretical Framework: Implementing basic sanitation in rural areas constitutes a significant political and social challenge. Analyzing and understanding the current dynamics of the rural world, with all its new peculiarities, is fundamentally important for defining public policies aimed at sustainable and healthy rural development. The pursuit of universalizing sanitation services is a commendable goal of the new regulatory framework, aligning with the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. Method: Hypothetical-deductive approach and case study focused on the structural conditions of sanitation in the municipalities of Brejo Grande/SE and Ilha das Flores/SE, and the effectiveness perspectives of federal legislation for the universalization of sanitation. Results and Discussion: In recent years, the municipalities of Brejo Grande/SE and Ilha das Flores/SE have witnessed significant governmental efforts to achieve the universalization of basic sanitation. These governmental actions have been crucial for improving the living and health conditions of the population, as well as for promoting sustainable development in these communities. Implications of the research: The research results indicate that the studied municipalities show deficiencies in the provision of basic sanitation, especially in rural areas. Originality/Value: The results suggest that effective management of basic sanitation, not only in Brejo Grande/SE and Ilha das Flores/SE but in general, requires careful planning to achieve universalization. It is essential for public managers to recognize basic sanitation as a fundamental human right, going beyond mere water supply and including its other dimensions.

Reevaluating the Rythu Bandhu Scheme: Toward Sustainable and Inclusive Agriculture in Telangana: A Review

The Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS), initiated by the Government of Telangana, India, on February 25, 2018, provides financial assistance to farmers across all categories. Its primary objective is to prevent farmers from succumbing to debt and to improve their financial stability. By enabling them to procure essential inputs like fertilizers, seeds, machinery, and labour, the scheme aims to enhance effective agricultural practices. However, it falls short in addressing critical environmental and social challenges in agriculture, including soil degradation, water pollution, climate change and food security. This paper proposes a comprehensive set of recommendations to enhance the Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS), ensuring its long-term sustainability and inclusivity for Telangana’s agricultural sector. The following strategies are crucial for achieving these goals: To enhance soil health and reduce erosion, encourage practices like minimum tillage, crop rotation and cover cropping. Livestock rearing provides supplementary income, valuable manure and draught power, diversifying farmers’ livelihoods. Address environmental and health concerns related to chemical fertilizers by recommending organic or bio-fertilizers. Utilize crop residues as mulch, fodder, or biofuel instead of burning them to minimize air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Establish vegetation strips along water bodies to safeguard water quality, preserve biodiversity, and prevent soil erosion. Financial incentives for sustainable practices ensure farmers’ profitability and food security. Implement district-level advisory bodies to educate farmers about sustainable methods. These recommendations align with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) agenda, benefiting both farmers and the environment.