Governance for Sustainable Development Volume 7: Interlinking Major Sustainable Development Events of 2023 to Enhance Policy Coherence and Implementation of the 2030 Agenda, edited by the Friends of Governance for SD (2023)
Interlinking Major Sustainable Development Events to Embrace Policy Coherence and Implementation of the 2030 Agenda is produced by the Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development (the Friends Group). The chapters in this book are based on some of the presentations made at the workshop titled “Building Momentum for a Successful Interlinked Set of UN Conferences and Events in 2023.” The Friends Group is coordinated by the governments of Germany, Morocco, Indonesia, Nigeria, Romania, and the Republic of Korea, the secretariat being provided by the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service (RMWSSS) at Arizona State University and Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future.
Governance for Sustainable Development Volume 6: Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Including Addressing Key Climate and Environmental Governance Issues, edited by the Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development (2022)
The chapters in this book are based on some of the presentations made at the three workshops. In 2021, during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group of Friends convened UN officials, experts, and representatives from governments at three participatory workshops on relevant governance issues. The workshops were organized in partnership with the UN-DESA Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development focusing on providing open space for member states to discuss issues that they would be addressing later this or the next year. Having the chance to hear what experts think is useful for their consideration. We expect the present publication to be a useful input for the ongoing discussions about the institutional architecture for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Heroes of Environmental Diplomacy: Profiles in Courage, edited By Felix Dodds & Chris Spence (2022)
Today more than ever, when the world is beset by environmental, social, healthcare, and economic challenges, we need courage in our politics, both nationally and globally. This book tells the stories, some for the first time, of twelve individuals who made heroic contributions to protecting our planet through ground-breaking international treaties. Today more than ever, when the world is beset by environmental, social, healthcare, and economic challenges, we need courage in our politics, both nationally and globally. This book tells the stories, some for the first time, of twelve individuals who made heroic contributions to protecting our planet through ground-breaking international treaties.
Tomorrow’s People and New Technology: Changing How We Live Our Lives, by Felix Dodds, Carolina Duque Chopitea & Ranger Ruffins (2022)
As we witness a series of social, political, cultural, and economic changes/disruptions this book examines the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the way emerging technologies are impacting our lives and changing society.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by the emergence of new technologies that are blurring the boundaries between the physical, the digital, and the biological worlds. This book allows readers to explore how these technologies will impact people’s lives by 2030. It helps readers not only better understand the use and implications of emerging technologies, but also to imagine how their individual lives will be shaped by them. It also provides an opportunity to see the great potential but also the threats and challenges presented by the emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, posing questions for the reader to think about what future they want.
Governance for Sustainable Development Volume 5: Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Governance Challenges, edited by the Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development (2021)
The fifth book in the Group of Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development series was produced to widely share the papers that were presented at the workshops for Member States to discuss. The Group recognizes that there is
an inextricable link between good governance and sustainable development and that, as the 2030 Agenda is implemented, governance challenges will need discussion and action at all levels and by all institutions. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group of Friends convened UN officials, experts, and representatives from government at four participatory workshops on relevant governance issues.
Governance for Sustainable Development Volume 4: Challenges and Opportunities for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, edited by the Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development (2020)
The 2030 Agenda represents one of the most important sets of Global Goals that the international community has committed to. It is an unprecedented effort that embodies universal aspirations for achieving a more just, equitable, peaceful, and sustainable future. It is an excellent example of successful multilateralism. This ambitious and unique exercise represents a paradigm shift in policy-making for sustainable development. It gives a roadmap by which we all, the UN, governments, and stakeholders can work together to address the most pressing global challenges. In this context, the rule of law, as well as effective, robust, participatory, and accountable institutions are of the utmost importance to achieve the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 169 targets. This is the fourth book that the Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development has produced in an effort to share widely the papers that have been presented at the workshops for Member States to discuss.
Stakeholder Democracy: Represented Democracy in a Time of Fear, by Felix Dodds (2019)
In the context of sustainable development, this book describes how we are moving from representative to participatory democracy, and how we are now in a “stakeholder democracy,” which is working to strengthen represented democracy in a time of fear. Since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit the idea of stakeholder democracy has grown, with stakeholders engaged in helping governments and intergovernmental bodies make better decisions, and in helping them to deliver those decisions in partnerships amongst various stakeholders, with and without government. Seen through a multi-stakeholder, sector, and level lens, this book describes the history of the development of stakeholder democracy, particularly in the area of sustainable development. The authors draw on more than twenty-five years of experience to review, learn from, and make recommendations on how best to engage stakeholders in policy development. The book illustrates successful practical examples of multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) to implement agreements and outline elements of an MSP Charter. This will provide a benchmark for partnerships, enabling those being developed to understand what the necessary quality standards are and understand what is expected in terms of transparency, accountability, financial reporting, impact, and governance.
Governance for Sustainable Development Volume 3: Preparing for the Heads of State Review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by Felix Dodds (Author, Editor), Akinremi Bolaji, Yeongmoo Cho, Verena Klinger-Dering, et. al. (2019)
The Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development have continued to host workshops on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda represents one of the most important sets of Global Goals that the international community has committed to. It is an unprecedented effort that embodies universal aspirations for achieving a more just, equitable, peaceful, and sustainable future. It is an excellent example of successful multilateralism. This ambitious and unique exercise represents a paradigm shift in policy-making for sustainable development. It gives a roadmap by which we all, the UN, governments, and stakeholders can work together to address the most pressing global challenges. In this context, the rule of law, as well as effective, robust, participatory, and accountable institutions are of the utmost importance to achieve the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 169 targets. This is the third book that the Group of Friends of the Governance for Sustainable Development has produced in an effort to share widely the papers that have been presented at the workshops for Member States to discuss.
Transforming Multilateral Diplomacy: The Inside Story of the Sustainable Development Goals, by Macharia Kamau, Pamela Chasek, & David O’Connor (2018)
Transforming Multilateral Diplomacy provides an inside view of the negotiations that produced the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Not only did this process mark a sea change in how the UN conducts multilateral diplomacy, it changed the way the UN does its business. This book tells the story of the people, issues, negotiations, and paradigm shifts that unfolded through the Open Working Group (OWG) on SDGs and the subsequent negotiations on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, from the unique point of view of Ambassador Macharia Kamau, and other key participants from governments, the UN Secretariat, and civil society.
Governance for Sustainable Development Volume 2: Ideas for the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, edited by the Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development (2018)
Achieving sustainable development requires an enabling environment. Governance plays a crucial role in creating those conditions, notably, for our purposes in the implementation of the 2030 sustainable development agenda process. From creating new platforms to reforming old ones, the process must live up to this standard and its mechanisms should be geared towards fostering this type of new international environment and cooperation for sustainable development. This is the second volume produced by the Friends Group. The first volume presented the period from late 2014 to the end of 2015. The Group also has a website that places the papers that are being discussed at the Friends Group’s meetings, which can be found here. The chapters of this book are a reflection of the rich contributions made by governments, intergovernmental bodies, and stakeholders to the three workshops that the Friends Group hosted in 2017.
Negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals: A Transformational Agenda for an Insecure World, by Felix Dodds, Ambassador David Donoghue, & Jimena Leiva Roesch (2017)
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal set of seventeen goals and 169 targets, with accompanying indicators, which were agreed by UN member states to frame their policy agendas for the fifteen-year period from 2015 to 2030. Written by three authors who have been engaged in the development of the SDGs from the beginning, this book offers an insider view of the process and a unique entry into what will be seen as one of the most significant negotiations and global policy agendas of the twenty-first century. The book reviews how the SDGs were developed, what happened in key meetings, and how this transformational agenda, which took more than three years to negotiate, came together in September 2015. It dissects and analyzes the meetings, organizations, and individuals that played key roles in their development. It provides fascinating insights into the subtleties and challenges of high-level negotiation processes of governments and stakeholders, and into how the SDGs were debated, formulated, and agreed upon. It is essential reading for all interested in the UN, sustainable development, and the future of the planet and humankind.
Governance for Sustainable Development Volume 1: Ideas for the Post-2015 Agenda, edited by the Friends of Governance for Sustainable Development (2016)
It is with great pleasure that we are now presenting this publication which compiles the main elements of the engaging and valuable discussions that governmental representatives, UN officials, several NGOs, experts, and civil society had during the aforementioned workshops. In this sense, we would like to thank all the participants for their important contributions. Moreover, we extend our gratitude to the Tellus Institute and the organization ARTICLE 19 who have worked extensively to make these dialogues and the present publication a reality. We expect the present publication to be a useful input for the ongoing discussions about the institutional architecture for the Post-2015 Agenda. Our generation has now the opportunity to redefine the future and bring real, significant, transformative, and universal change for and with the people, leaving no one behind. However, sustainable development will only become a reality if we have the enabling environment for it to happen. Thus, good governance will be pivotal for implementing, reviewing, and improving the Post-2015 Development Agenda. We expect that this publication contributes to the colossal, but encouraging, challenges we will be facing during the next 15 years.
The Water, Food, Energy and Climate Nexus: Challenges and an Agenda for Action, edited By Felix Dodds & Jamie Bartram (2016) – With a foreword by HRH the Prince of Wales
Global trends of population growth, rising living standards, and the rapidly increasing urbanized world are increasing the demand for water, food, and energy. Added to this is the growing threat of climate change which will have huge impacts on water and food availability. It is increasingly clear that there is no place in an interlinked world for isolated solutions aimed at just one sector. In recent years the “nexus” has emerged as a powerful concept to capture these inter-linkages of resources and is now a key feature of policy-making. This book is one of the first to provide a broad overview of both the science behind the nexus and the implications for policies and sustainable development. It brings together contributions by leading intergovernmental and governmental officials, industry, scientists, and other stakeholder thinkers who are working to develop approaches to the Nexus of water-food-energy and climate. It represents a major synthesis and state-of-the-art assessment of the Nexus by major players, in light of the adoption by the United Nations of the new Sustainable Development Goals and Targets in 2015.
From Rio+20 to a New Development Agenda: Building a Bridge to a Sustainable Future, by Felix Dodds, Jorge Laguna-Celis, & Liz Thompson (2014)
Twenty years after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, The Earth Summit, the Rio+20 conference in 2012 brought life back to sustainable development by putting it at the centre of a new global development partnership, one in which sustainable development is the basis for eradicating poverty, upholding human development and transforming economies. Written by practitioners and participants involved in the multilateral process of negotiations, this book presents a unique insider analysis of not only what happened and why, but also where the outcomes might impact in the future, particularly in the UN development agenda beyond 2015.
Only One Earth: The Long Road via Rio to Sustainable Development, by Felix Dodds, Michael Strauss, with Maurice F. Strong (2012)
Forty years after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm – the Stockholm Conference, the goal of sustainable development continued via the Rio+20 conference in 2012. This book will enable a broad readership to understand what has been achieved in the past forty years and what hasn’t. It shows the continuing threat of our present way of living to the planet. It looks to the challenges that we face twenty years from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, “The Earth Summit,” in Rio, in particular in the areas of economics and governance and the role of stakeholders. It puts forward a set of recommendations that the international community must address now and in the future. It reminds us of the planetary boundaries we must all live within and what needs to be addressed in the next twenty years for democracy, equity, and fairness to survive. Finally, it proposes through the survival agenda a bare minimum of what needs to be done, arguing for a series of absolute minimum policy changes we need to move forward.
PocketGuidetoSDGEdition2webfinal–Stakeholder-Forum 
A Pocket Guide to Sustainable Development Governance, Second Edition, edited by Emlyn W. Cruickshank, Kirsty Schneeberger, & Nadine Smith (2012)
This guide was jointly initiated by Stakeholder Forum and the Commonwealth Secretariat in response to the perceived ‘knowledge gap’ on the history and dynamics of global governance for sustainable development. A first edition was published in 2011 and this second edition was updated in February 2012. As the ‘institutional framework for sustainable development’ has been identified as one of the two core themes for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD 2012), it is hoped that this guide will provide necessary background information on global sustainable development governance to allow both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to familiarise themselves with key issues more comprehensively.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Insecurity: A Planet in Peril, edited By Ahmed Djoghlaf & Felix Dodds (2011)
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Insecurity provides an authoritative and comprehensive assessment of the threats presented to human security and well-being by the loss of ecosystems and biodiversity recently confirmed as one of the critical ‘planetary boundaries’ that has already been exceeded. Contributors examine the current trends and state of biodiversity globally, the drivers of biodiversity loss including climate change and economic and population pressures, and the mechanisms and policies needed for conserving and restoring biodiversity in the future. Strong emphasis is placed throughout on the fundamental importance of placing a realistic economic value on nature and the services that ecosystems provide if we are to manage our natural resources successfully; and also on the crucial role of international institutions and government policies in achieving this goal. As the recent high-profile meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan, underlined, the scale and pace of the destruction of natural habitats and species imperil us all. This volume is an invaluable resource for conservationists, students, and those in the private and public sectors concerned to redress the damage being done to the natural world.
Climate Change and Energy Insecurity: The Challenge for Peace, Security and Development, edited By Felix Dodds, Andrew Higham & Richard Sherman (2009)
Climate change is now recognized as one of the greatest challenges facing the international community and when coupled with energy production and use – the most significant contributor to climate change – and the related security problems the double threat to international security and human development is of the highest order. This wide-ranging book brings together leading thinkers from academia, government, and civil society to examine and address the global insecurity and development challenges arising from the twin thrust of climate change and the energy supply crunch. It offers the most comprehensive international assessment of the challenges and solutions for tackling the global insecurity arising from climate change and energy provision and use. It is essential reading for students, researchers, and professionals across international relations, security, climate change, and the energy sectors.
Negotiating and Implementing Multilateral Environmental Agreements 
Negotiating and Implementing MEAs: A Manual for NGOs, Produced by the UNEP Division of Environmental Law and Conventions (2007)
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are crucial actors and partners, both in the negotiations and the implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and the wider environmental and sustainability challenges facing the world in the 21st century. They are often well placed to reach local communities and to be an important bridge and interface between citizens, governments, and multilateral organizations like the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). NGOs will continue to be vital in other ways – from lobbying for change and providing influential research from often a different or unique perspective up to highlighting concerns via headline-grabbing stunts or provocative arguments in national and international fora. Indeed NGOs have played important roles in assisting governments to realize many of the seminal environmental conventions and treaties of the past few decades and were a key player in catalyzing the establishment of UNEP in 1972.
The Plain Language Guide to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, by Jan McHarry, Janet Strachan, Rosalie Callway, & Georgina Ayre (2005)
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002 brought together thousands of delegates who mapped out the future of the global sustainable development agenda. The resulting technical document, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), identifies priorities in the implementation of Agenda 21 and other international agreements, and commitments that will take these priorities forward. This plain language version provides an invaluable reference to the outcomes of the WSSD by explaining the JPOI clearly for the layperson and expert alike.
Human and Environmental Security: An Agenda for Change, edited By Felix Dodds & Tim Pippard (2005)
Security has tended to be seen as based on military force, yet this illusion is crumbling, literally and figuratively, before our eyes in the conflict zones of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa. It is now clear that real human security, defined by the Commission on Human Security as ‘protecting vital freedoms’, can only be achieved if the full range of issues that underpin human security – including environmental integrity – are addressed. This ground-breaking book, authored by prominent international decision-makers, tackles the global human security problem across a range of core issues including terrorism, nuclear proliferation, access to water, food security, loss of biodiversity, and climate change. The authors identify the causes of insecurity, articulate the linkages between the different elements of human security, and outline an agenda for engaging stakeholders from across the globe in building the foundations of genuine and lasting human security for all nations and all people. This is powerful, necessary, solution-focused reading in these times of peril, global conflict, mass inequity, and rampant environmental degradation.
How to Lobby at Intergovernmental Meetings, edited By Felix Dodds & Michael Strauss (2004)
‘Felix Dodds is the Milo Minderbinder of the stakeholder world!’ Alex Kirby, BBC ‘An invaluable tool for anyone wishing to understand and contribute effectively to the competition of good ideas that intergovernmental meetings should be’ Paul Hohnen, former Strategic Director, Greenpeace International ‘…the book is a valuable resource for people willing to understand the practice of international negotiation and for those preparing to be influential negotiators.’ Political Studies Review Organizations spend considerable resources taking staff to international meetings, often without understanding how these meetings work. This book is a unique guide on how to participate and be heard at intergovernmental meetings, whether as a stakeholder or a government official. It contains a wealth of essential reference material including tips for navigating the intergovernmental hot spots of New York and Geneva, lists of UN commissions, conferences, and permanent missions, contact details of key international organizations, NGOs, and stakeholder groups, and useful web addresses. If you have never lobbied or just want to have a better understanding of how the intergovernmental governance process works, this book is the essential resource to make your work much easier.
Multi-stakeholder Processes for Governance and Sustainability: Beyond Deadlock and Conflict, edited By Felix Dodds, Minu Hemmati, Jasmin Enayati & Jan McHarry (2022)
Governments, businesses, international bodies, and local groups are turning to multi-stakeholder processes to find practical ways forward. This book explains how MSPs can be organized to deliver their potential for the successful resolution of complex issues and for sustainable development. It includes detailed examples and provides practical checklists, explaining how to get beyond adversarial politics and achieve positive results.
Earth Summit 2002: A New Deal, edited By Felix Dodds (2000)
‘As we start the preparations for the Earth Summit in 2002, 10 years from Rio and 30 years from Stockholm, we need to set targets and dates that are realistic to deliver the change that is needed. There will also need to be a debate on the international machinery to achieve what we want, and 2002 will be significant in setting out the direction. This book has drawn in some of the key people who are working to make 2002 a significant event’ from the foreword by Klaus Topfer, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme and Centre for Human Settlements at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, world leaders adopted a comprehensive programme of action for implementing sustainable development worldwide. As preparations for Earth Summit 2002 proceed, leading players from around the world present a frank assessment of progress to date. They set goals and describe mechanisms that will enable the international community to complete the tasks set in Rio and prepare for new challenges and opportunities. This book will be a catalyst for the public and political momentum required to push forward the global sustainable development agenda.
Earth Summit II: Outcomes and Analysis, by Derek Osborn & Tom Bigg (1998)
In June 1997, heads of government and senior representatives from over 130 countries met in New York to consider what progress had been made since the first Earth Summit in 1992, and la decide upon priorities for the future. Earth Summit II presents the principal official documents agreed al the Summit alongside an authoritative analysis of where progress is and is not being made, the reasons for this, and the priorities of the parties involved. Finally, the authors look forward to the ten-year follow-up in 2002 and propose methods for ensuring that that event is both effective and participatory. Insightful and comprehensive, this will be essential reading for policymakers, lobbyists, and students in environment and development courses.
The Way Forward: Beyond Agenda 21, edited By Felix Dodds (1997)
First published in 1997. 1997 marked the fifth anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development – the celebrated ‘Earth Summit’ in Rio de Janeiro which represented the high-water mark of intergovernmental action for sustainable development. Whilst some were tempted to dismiss the Conference as a gesture of concern by the participating governments, the list of resolutions that arose from the Summit is formidable, and the key text to emerge from the conference process, Agenda 21, had proven to be crucial to efforts to disseminate and implement the principles of globally sustainable development.
The Way Forward outlines the successes and failures of those first five years. Calling on a list of eminent experts, it provides an unparalleled analysis of the agreements that were reached and the stakeholders who were charged with implementing them. It reviews the progress that was made at the intergovernmental, national, and grassroots levels, and offers a cogent summary of the major issues that need to be addressed in the future. Lucid, compact, and authoritative, this is the essential guide to ‘Rio plus Five’
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