Millennium Development Goals: A Review of Achievement of Ensuring Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of 8 time-bound goals for tackling poverty as an environmental problem of human societies across the globe, particularly in developing countries. The aim of Millennium Development Goal No. 7 is to ensure environmental sustainability. A review of the achievement of this goal and the main barriers that impede its progress in developing countries was conducted by analyzing the quality of past studies on it from 2000-2015. Environmental, health and socio-economic databases were searched and 15 empirical quantitative studies (ecological, cross-sectional and descriptive) on MDGs, identified, out of which 5 studies that reported reasonable serious impediments in the progress of MDG No. 7 in developing countries were selected. The results of the review revealed the main barriers to MDG No. 7 as environmental injustice directed to the poor, socio-economic inequalities, HIV/AIDS, lack of political will at the local areas, inadequate data to track progress and corruption. On the strength of the fact that the MDG No. 7 is over (except for its target 11 with 2020 deadline) given the 2015 deadline for all MDGs, the major recommendation is that the experiences of the programme be integrated into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which have replaced the MDGs.