Expert Opinions & Stories

When the Beijing Declaration was adopted in 1995, it called for the removal of systematic and structure barriers that prevent women and girls from enjoying their human rights across social, economic,…

Amid a sea of high-rises and blocks of concrete, taking a walk through Bangkok’s Lumphini park or New Delhi’s Sunder Nursery can give you a much-needed break to “touch the grass,” in the midst of…

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicator framework has been developed with 231 indicators for global monitoring of the 2030 Agenda. However, the applicability of certain indicators to…

As countries in Asia and the Pacific strive to achieve sustainable development against mounting climate change challenges, engaging youth in digital innovation is recognized as one strategy for…

Have you ever tried to register a birth, a death or maybe your own marriage? Unfortunately, many of these vital events in Asia and the Pacific remain unregistered often with dire consequences for…

Food system risk is increasing across most countries in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years according to the recently launched INFER Framework
INFER uses 95 indicators to produce food system…

As we celebrate the World Environment Day this year, it bears repeating that the world is in the midst of an extinction crisis. Asia and the Pacific sees the most rapid and serious decline in…

The Asia-Pacific region has the world’s highest estimated number of children and youth (ages 24 or younger), counting over 1.7 billion in 2020. This represents 1.7 billion distinct lives and,…

As we reach the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is an opportune moment to reflect on the Asia-Pacific region’s progress and accelerate efforts to achieve our goals.

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In a few days, global leaders will gather at UN headquarters in New York to make certain we recognize the value of water, appreciate its vitality to life and embrace a visionary Water Action Agenda…

As countries gathered at the United Nations’ biodiversity conference, or COP15, to agree on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, policymakers, scientists, and rights advocates reaffirmed…

The recent climate talks in Egypt have left us with a sobering reality: The window for maintaining global warming to 1.5 degrees is closing fast and what is on the table currently is insufficient to…

Last week, the death certificate of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II made international news. Such certificates rarely make the headlines, possibly with the notable exception of the discussions…

Increasing attention is being paid today to gender equality. There is growing awareness of the importance of narrowing gaps between girls and boys, women and men in all spheres of their lives -…

Sustainability, inclusive development, diversity, resilience, to name a few, are terms and phrases often bandied about in the universe of discourse on international development. One that we hear a…

“My name is Ali. (…) I was not registered until I reached the age of 16, when I realized how important it is.  Without my birth certificate, I would have been deprived of my right to…

Even as Asia and the Pacific continues to be the fastest growing region in the world, economic growth has been slowing since the 2008 global financial crisis. Add the COVID-19 pandemic to the mix,…

The adoption of the Paris Agreement (“PA”) in December 2015 created the opportunity to use legal instruments for climate action. To reach the strategic objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C,…

Throughout history, zoonotic diseases (diseases transmitted from animals to humans) have made their marks in human history. For example, the bubonic plague, which was transmitted from rodents, is…

If there is anything we share equally in this world – it is the number of hours in the day. However, how we allocate and use those 24 hours differs greatly. The type of activities we undertake, their…