| Overview : The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development demands a UN development system that is agile, cohesive and responsive to a country’s priorities and people’s needs. It requires rights-based programming for the Agenda 2030 that is underpinned by robust national analysis, a renewed push for collective action and partnerships, and a focus on helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), leaving no one behind. The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (Cooperation Framework) outlines reflect the contemporary relationship between Governments and the UN development system collaboration to achieve the SDGs. The new focus emphasizes the primacy of the Cooperation Framework in articulating government expectations of the UN development system and in driving major UN development system contributions at the country level by Delivering as One. SDG targets and indicators are the default monitoring frameworks, informed by country-defined and disaggregated baselines. The Cooperation Framework provides guidance to UN Country Teams (UNCTs) as they plan, finance, deliver and evaluate their support to countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNEP is mandated by its Environment Assembly to take action to enhance coordinated, coherent and integrated delivery within the United Nations system on the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2020-2025 outlines the UN development system´s collective commitment to support sustainable development in South Africa in line with national, regional and global development priorities. It is aligned to South Africa´s long-term National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 and Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2019-2024, and firmly anchored in the 2030 Agenda and the UN Charter. With this framework, the UN Country Team seeks to realise the UN Secretary-General´s reform at country level, through improving coordination, integration and efficiency for real transformative impact for all people in South Africa. Anchored in the UNSDCF 2020-2025, UN Common Country Analysis (CCA), National Environmental Summary (NES)and UNEP’s Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) for 2022-2025, the Country Strategic Framework for UNEP in South Africa sets out the vision and strategic direction for UNEP activities in the country for the period 2021-2025. It will frame UNEP’s Programme of Work (PoW), which details the results framework against which UNEP’s performance will be measured. The document rests on the principle of putting people at the centre of the environmental dimension of sustainable development, as reflected in “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” as well as in paragraph 88 of the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20), The Future We Want. In line with national needs and priorities, UNEP will work jointly with other UN Agencies and institutions to mitigate the immediate challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic whilst supporting South Africa build back better after the pandemic to increase resilience to future crisis. |
