Issue: 116
Photo: UNDP Eurasia
The Conference resulted in the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, a comprehensive framework to guide policies that will mobilize financial resources, as well as the launch of new initiatives to finance the achievement of the proposed sustainable development goals, including on social welfare, access to clean energy, and greater cooperation on tax issues.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “The Addis Ababa Action Agenda is a major step forward in building a world of prosperity and dignity for all.” He said the agreement “points the way for all stakeholders for smart investments in people and the planet where they are needed, when they are needed and at the scale they are needed.”
The conference in Addis Ababa was the first of three milestones in the year 2015. It will be followed by the Summit on Sustainable Development in New York in September where countries will adopt a new sustainable development agenda, and the Paris Climate Conference in December.
The framework provided by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda includes more than 100 measures that will, if implemented, result in policies that will enable and direct financial investments by the public and private sectors to meet an array of challenges.
Areas of sharp focus include commitment to direct finance to social protection, infrastructure, technology, assistance to the poorest countries, cooperation on tax issues and the need to address illicit financial flows that take resources away from development. Notably, in the Action Agenda, countries committed themselves to pursue the equal rights and opportunities of women and girls in the economy.
For the full agreement, please click here.
You can read the full interview below.
Please tell us about yourself – in particular your education and professional career.
I was born in the town of Nazilli in Turkey, where I attended primary and secondary school. I completed my high school education at Robert College in Istanbul. Afterwards I went to the USA for my BA and MA studies. I graduated from Columbia University in New York, where during my college years I focused on economics and international relations.
I joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1981 after a brief internship period. I took on several roles at the UN’s headquarters in New York, as well as at locations in Asia, Africa, Arab states and Europe. I was the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Lithuania and Belarus. I have been in New York for seven years. During this period, I initially served as the Director of Human Resources in UNDP, where I was responsible for about 44,000 members of staff, and the development and implementation of corporate policies on human resources. I was appointed Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC) in 2012. I am the highest ranking among Turkish citizens working within the UN.
Within the geography I am responsible for, there are 22 countries and territories, including Turkey, Western Balkans, South Caucasus, as well as Central Asia and Commonwealth of Independent States. All these aforementioned sub-regions have tremendous development gains; however, they also face many challenges: most of them are middle-income countries. We, as UNDP, together with governments and other partners try to support these countries in reaching their sustainable human development goals. I would like to underline that our Istanbul Regional Hub, which was officially launched this year, has logistical and other advantages, which prove convenient in our work.
What were the turning points of your career?
My first assignment was in Malawi in Africa. This was a very informative period for me for many reasons. Firstly, I was very young and it was my first job. I did not know anything about living in Africa. My horizon broadened. I became aware of what "least developed" and "poverty" mean; as well as what we can do about them as the international community. This consolidated my will to work in the development sector. The second turning point was the time when I was appointed as the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Lithuania. This appointment coincided with the time when Lithuania started its membership negotiations with the European Union. We supported the Government’s priorities in this area. After Lithuania joined the European Union in 2014, I received the honour of being awarded with a special distinction by the-then President of the Republic of Lithuania. Lastly, I would like to talk about my current position. Generally speaking Assistant Administrator positions are political assignments. Since I was appointed to my current position after a long career period in UNDP, I really think that I inspired and opened the path for people to follow me.
What does success mean to you?
I think the definition of success is a very personal one. For me, success was never about ‘me.’ It was always about what my contribution was and how I created additional value for the community I live in. I suppose my idealist side and empathy skills are much stronger. For this reason I feel the fortune and responsibility for working in the UN. Our target as the UNDP is sustainable human development. We want to achieve a healthy and happy life full of hopes for future generations. If I have contributed to this target in any way then I think this is success.
What do you think is the reason for your success?
I think being successful first and foremost depends on having goals and a vision. And these goals can only be identified if we know ourselves better. Education is very important. However this is not dependent on what we have learned in school - it also depends on values, manners and culture we have seen and learned from our family. Moreover nobody can achieve something alone. We all have strong teams behind us. As leaders, our success depends on the respect we show to people we work with and the motivation we provide for them to achieve larger goals in unity. I have taken lessons from good examples as well as bad ones during my career. Lastly, I have always tried to learn something from my superiors. And, of course, hard work is always important.
What are your plans for the future?
I really enjoy my current position. As I said, most of the countries in the region that I'm responsible for are middle-income countries. But this does not mean that all of their problems are solved. These countries have tremendous amounts of knowledge and experience to share in the process of global development. We work to enable the exchange of information between these countries and increase their contributions.
Capacity Development for Sustainable Community Based Tourism project, which was initiated in 2012, aims at developing national and local capacities for planning and implementation of sustainable community based tourism in Turkey.
This initiative, which is nationally implemented by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT), will also provide inputs for the Tourism Strategy of Turkey 2023, with a focus on diverse tourism activities and emphasis on alternative tourism initiatives.
Kemaliye and Cumalıkızık
The project makes an inventory of existing local initiatives on sustainable community based tourism for selected regions, namely Kemaliye and Cumalıkızık, and come up with capacity related recommendations to replicate successful examples and build on lessons learned.
This approach does not solely focus on tourism as an end in itself, but aims to integrate widely adopted new trends such as competitiveness and value chains, sustainable and green businesses and capacity development as well as decentralization.
What is Sustainable Community Based Tourism?
Sustainable Community Based Tourism is the type of tourism that is built on local natural and cultural values with a view to both protect and benefit from such values and that provides benefit to local communities of that location including women and the most disadvantaged populations.
UNDP Turkey and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have a longstanding partnership since 2007, focusing on various segments of tourism for local economic development. Within this partnership tourism development and destination marketing have been supported through several projects:
GHG Emission Projections Expert Working Group Meeting was organized on July 27th-28th, in Ankara.
GHG Emission Projections Expert Working Group Meeting has been held under the scope of the Support for the Preparation of Turkey’s First Biennial Report to UNFCCC Project implemented in cooperation between the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The meeting which was led by the Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and Chief Negotiator for Climate Change Prof. Dr. Mehmet Emin Birpınar hosted 53 representatives from 17 institutions working in the field of climate change.
As preparations for the new post-2020 agreement on climate change are ongoing throughout the international negotiations, countries are requested to present their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for post-2020 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat.
In this framework, the study on ‘Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections with Sectoral Emission Reduction Potentials and Cost Analysis’ carried out under the Preparation of Turkey’s 6th National Communication on Climate Change Project, implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center, has been presented to the review of the meeting participants.
The meeting which has also hosted the discussions on the INDCs was concluded with a note that the study should be revised and finalized with the expert groups’ comments.
The busy scheduled meeting held with the active participation of representatives from all relevant institutions was regarded as a milestone in the process of preparing Turkey’s contribution in line with the format identified by UNFCCC Secretariat and in the way towards the Paris 2015 Climate Summit.
The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015 found that the 15-year effort to achieve the eight aspirational goals set out in the Millennium Declaration in 2000 was largely successful across the globe, while acknowledging shortfalls that remain.
The data and analysis presented in the report show that, with targeted interventions, sound strategies, adequate resources and political will, even the poorest can make dramatic and unprecedented progress.
“Following profound and consistent gains, we now know that extreme poverty can be eradicated within one more generation,” said Ban Ki-moon. “The MDGs have greatly contributed to this progress, and have taught us how governments, business, and civil society can work together to achieve transformational breakthroughs.”
Goals and targets work
The MDG report confirms that goal setting can lift millions of people out of poverty, empower women and girls, improve health and wellbeing, and provide vast new opportunities for better lives.
Only two short decades ago, nearly half of the developing world lived in extreme poverty. The number of people now living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half, falling from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015.
The world has also witnessed dramatic improvement in gender equality in schooling since the MDGs and gender parity in primary school has been achieved in the majority of countries.
More girls are now in school and women have gained ground in parliamentary representation in nearly 90 per cent of the 174 countries with data over the past 20 years. The average proportion of women in parliament has nearly doubled during the same period.
The rate of children dying before their fifth birthday has declined by more than half, dropping from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births since 1990. Figures for maternal mortality ratio show a decline of 45 per cent worldwide, with most of the reduction occurring since 2000.
Targeted investments in fighting diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria have brought unprecedented results. Over 6.2 million malaria deaths have been averted between 2000 and 2015, while tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment interventions saved an estimated 37 million lives between 2000 and 2013.
Worldwide 2.1 billion have gained access to improved sanitation and the proportion of people practicing open defecation has fallen almost by half since 1990.
Official development assistance from developed countries increased 66 per cent in real terms from 2000 and 2014, reaching $135.2 billion.
Inequalities persist
The report highlighted that significant gains have been made for many of the MDG targets worldwide, but progress has been uneven across regions and countries, leaving significant gaps. Conflicts remain the biggest threat to human development, with fragile and conflict-affected countries typically experiencing the highest poverty rates.
Gender inequality still persists in spite of more representation of women in parliament and more girls going to school. Women continue to face discrimination in access to work, economic assets and participation in private and public decision making.
Despite enormous progress driven by the MDGs, about 800 million people still live in extreme poverty and suffer from hunger. Children from the poorest 20 per cent of households are more than twice as likely to be stunted as those from the wealthiest 20 per cent and are also four times as likely to be out of school. In countries affected by conflict, the proportion of out-of-school children increased from 30 per cent in 1999 to 36 per cent in 2012.
In the context of the environment, global emissions of carbon dioxide have increased over 50 per cent since 1990 and water scarcity now affects 40 per cent of people in the world and is projected to increase.
New Sustainable Development Agenda
World leaders have called for an ambitious long-term sustainability agenda to succeed the MDGs.
Building on the success and momentum of the MDGs, new global goals will break fresh ground with ambitions on inequalities, economic growth, decent jobs, cities and human settlements, industrialization, energy, climate change, sustainable consumption and production, peace and justice.
[BAGLANTILAR]
Utilization of Renewable Energy Resources and Increasing Energy Efficiency in Southeastern Anatolia Region project was promoted in various platforms, within this framework.
ICCI 2015 21st International Energy & Environment Fair and Conference
Utilization of Renewable Energy Resources and Increasing Energy Efficiency in Southeastern Anatolia Region Project and the Applied Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Center of Harran University were exhibited at ICCI 2015 International Energy and Environment Fair and Conference that took place in Istanbul on May 6th-8th, 2015.
Pilot project applications in renewable energy and energy efficiency were introduced to visitors from private sector companies and universities, and co-operation opportunities were discussed.
Pilot solar irrigation applications presented at FAO meeting in Italy
The pilot solar irrigation applications within the scope of Utilization of Renewable Energy Resources and Increasing Energy Efficiency in Southeastern Anatolia Region Project were presented at International Workshop on Prospects for Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems in Developing Countries, organized by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy, on May 27th-29th, 2015.
Worldwide applications at both pilot and industrial scales were introduced and discussed during the workshop where representatives of 14 countries participated in. The workshop concluded with the decision to further increase the multinational cooperation on sustainable and green agriculture applications.
Study visit to INTERSOLAR 2015 International Solar Energy Fair and Conference
A study visit to INTERSOLAR 2015 International Solar Energy Fair and Conference was realized, within the scope of the institutional capacity development component of Utilization of Renewable Energy and Increasing Energy Efficiency in Southeastern Anatolia Region Project, in Munich, Germany, on June 10th-12th, 2015.
The activity included the visits to Solarpark Fahrenzhausen and Krinner Q-Cells Solarpark.
To see all vacancies, click here.
Editor: Faik Uyanık
Assistant: Nazife Ece
Contributors to this issue: Burak Erten Şahin, Deniz Tapan, Gözde Ata