Hunger and Environmental Goals for Asia: Synergies and Trade-offs Among the SDGs
Abstract
Rapid progress in hunger reduction in Asia has come at the cost of environmental degradation, while pursuing environmental conservation goals risk slowing further progress on hunger. Operationalizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) shows us the complexity of achieving multiple societal goals simultaneously. The lack of coordination across sector-specific agencies responsible for various SDGs has aggravated the problem. This paper presents the challenge of seeking a nexus across the SDGs with particular reference to the SDG target 2.3., “Doubling productivity and Incomes.” A detailed assessment, with respect to South Asia, of the synergies and tradeoffs between SDG 2.3 and the other SDG targets is provided. High payoff interventions and policies for maximizing the positive linkages and minimizing the negative linkages with SDG 2.3 are discussed.