VertigO (Aug 2024)
Vulnérabilité croissante ? Une transition vers développement durable et équitable en Asie du Sud-Est
Abstract
What is the impact of the Post-2015 Agenda on the equitable development of marginalised groups? Do development interventions implemented as part of countries’ commitments to the Post-2015 Agenda ― the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction ― increase or reduce vulnerability of groups for whom impacts of climate change, climate-related disasters, and maldevelopment are felt most acutely? Our paper builds on studies that critically examine how climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction projects impact vulnerability of marginalised groups. Specifically, we analyse strategies, policies, plans and reports of two Southeast Asian States and donors who work there to explore how they implement these global agreements and reveal their impacts on equity outcomes. We argue that the way in which the Post-2015 Agenda is being actually implemented contributes to increased vulnerability of already-disadvantaged groups. Through literature review and content analysis, we demonstrate first, that a key concept used across the Post-2015 Agenda ― vulnerability ― is defined and operationalised differently across agreements, leading to inconsistencies in implementation. Second, projects that target “vulnerable groups” do not focus on strengthening factors that contribute to reducing the vulnerability of these groups. Thus, the ways in which the Post-2015 Agenda is being put into action are detrimental to sustainable development that is equitable. Ultimately, we demonstrate that to achieve sustainable development that does not “leave anyone behind” (United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), 2015) , it is necessary for global agreements to forge a consistent use of the term vulnerability and to prioritize vulnerability reduction with a focus on strengthening social and cultural assets.
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