2021-06-30
National Audit Office: only one in four Lithuanians has heard about Sustainable Development Goals
The assessment carried out by the National Audit Office on Lithuania’s readiness to implement the Sustainable Development Goals approved by the United Nations shows that a more consistent integration of goals and objectives into planning documents is needed, inter-institutional coordination and information to the public should be improved, and an effective mechanism for data monitoring and progress assessment is needed.
Lithuania, like the other 192 countries, committed in 2015 to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2016-2030, which are based on three dimensions – economic, environmental, and social – covering inequality, poverty, health, climate change, sustainable consumption and production, and other areas.
“Our assessment shows that the country’s strategic documents are linked to sustainable development, but there is a lack of consistency in their implementation and monitoring of progress. According to the 2021 Sustainable Development Index, combatting climate change poses the biggest challenges in Lithuania, and there is no progress in implementing one of the country’s priorities – reduction of inequality", – says Jūratė Dilienė, Senior Auditor of the National Audit Office Governance Audit Department.
In 2020, the government adopted a National Progress Plan 2021-2030 which, for the first time, links the country’s strategic objectives with the Sustainable Development Goals and aims to be among the 20 best rated countries in this relation. According to the 2021 Sustainable Development Index, Lithuania lags behind the neighbouring countries (Latvia, Estonia and Poland) and ranks 31st (information about the country’s index is available here).
Coordination of the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals is entrusted to the Ministry of Environment, however coordination of actions between state institutions and municipalities is not ensured, and the established National Commission for Sustainable Development, the aim of which is to strengthen coordination, has not been operating since 2017. The involvement of stakeholders was fragmented and there was no continuous dialogue between the public and private sector, the public and the academic community. According to research, only one in four Lithuanians has heard about the Sustainable Development Goals or is well aware of them when the global awareness of the goals is three times higher and reaches 76 per cent.
According to the indicators published by the Lithuanian Department of Statistics, the country is not ensuring that a continuous analysis of progress made in implementing the SDGs and the factors preventing it is carried out. The country’s progress in this respect was assessed only once – Lithuania prepared a report on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals to the United Nations in 2018.
In order to accelerate the progress of sustainable development in the country, it is important to systematically integrate the SDGs aims and objectives in the documents of the new planning period and to provide for their implementing measures, to establish an effective inter-institutional coordination mechanism, to ensure effective public information and active involvement, continuous monitoring of progress and periodic reporting of results.