I studied the 2018 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals to understand how India, Canada, and the USA are doing. It is safe to assume that this post is going to talk a lot about India because it is a lower middle-income country with a lot of progress to show because from where it is coming from as compared to the other two countries who have already done a lot of progress before. It contains over 180 maps and charts and shows the progress societies are making towards the 17 SDGs. It’s a big report, hence the cherrypicking.
India
- Home to 260 million people in poverty. No – extreme poverty. Which means all these people do not have the pleasure of basic necessities and facilities.
- Has the largest number of people practicing open defecation. When I was a kid, I’ve done it too. In fact, hear this. I’ve experienced both open defecation and dirty public toilets. Not during the occasional travels, but for a good 20 years of my life. It was accepted as a way of life. It wasn’t such a bother until I leaped over to the other side of the world that uses good smelling toilets and soft tissue rolls.
- 100% village electrification achieved – exhilarating to hear about, but it hasn’t reached each and every house.
- 780 million (59%) people do not have access to clean fuels for cooking. People are now talking about indoor (ambient) air pollution. Although I do enjoy the occasional wood-fired/dung-fired food.
- Don’t even ask about North India’s air pollution. The area is practically living in soot instead of clean air.
- Forest cover has been slightly increasing.
- Low CO2 emissions per capita.
- More than 9% animal species threatened.
Canada
- Forest cover looks steady. As if nothing is growing, nothing is dying.
USA
- Increase in patents being designed to encourage innovation by providing incentives for research and development.
- Alongside China, it collects the most municipal waste, the majority of which makes its way to landfills.
- High CO2 emissions per capita.
- Forest cover has been slightly increasing.
- 16% animal species threatened.
It is not a competition. This report is calling for harmony. It is an in-depth and compelling report to read. I encourage you to read it and learn even more insights into our world today, such as:
- 71% of the world gets safely managed drinking water.
- One-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have been growing steadily.
- Fish stocks are increasingly overfished.
- Activities on land are causing marine dead zones.
- Only about 7% of the world’s ocean area is designated as marine protected area, officially reserved for long-term conservation.
- Oceans are warmer and more acidic because of climate change.
- Globally, about 14% of the land is protected as national park, wildlife preserve, or a similar designation.
- China’s forest cover has been growing substantially.
- Over half of assessed plant species and one-quarter of assessed animal species are threatened.
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