Author: Zain Pathan
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SDG 16 and Institutional Development in India
At the heart of human progress lies a profound but often invisible architecture: the institutions that govern our daily lives. Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG-16) dedicated to Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions is not merely one goal among seventeen in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. It is the bedrock upon which all other development goals…
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Why Land Degradation, Not Deforestation Alone, is the Real Bottleneck to SDG 15
Discussions around SDG 15 (Life on Land) are often dominated by forests and wildlife protection. While deforestation and biodiversity loss are critical, this emphasis obscures a more pervasive and economically consequential problem: land degradation. Globally, ecosystems are not only being cleared; they are being used in ways that steadily erode their productive capacity. For countries…
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SDG 14 and Rethinking Oceans in the Global Economy
When the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the framework aimed to reconcile economic development with planetary boundaries. Among these goals, SDG 14: Life Below Water occupies a structurally different position. Unlike goals centred on poverty, health, or education, SDG 14 addresses the ecological foundations upon which human welfare depends but…
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Climate Action and SDG 13: Confronting the Defining Challenge of Our Time
Climate change is no longer an abstract idea confined to scientific reports or diplomatic negotiations. Its effects are unfolding in everyday life, shaping weather patterns, livelihoods, and ecosystems across the globe. Prolonged heat, unpredictable rainfall, destructive floods, and intensifying droughts are no longer rare events they are becoming part of a new normal. In this…
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Cutting Food Waste: Why It Matters and What We Can Do (ft SDG 12)
Every day, food is thrown away while millions of people struggle to eat enough. This contradiction sits at the heart of today’s global food system. Farms, factories, supermarkets, and households together produce more than enough food to feed the world, yet large amounts of it never reach a plate. Recognising the scale and impact of…
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SDG 11: A case study of Sustainable Urban Development in Pune
Urbanization is rapidly transforming social, economic, and environmental landscapes across the world. Cities have emerged as engines of innovation, cultural exchange, and economic opportunity, yet they also confront persistent challenges ranging from inequality and congestion to ecological degradation and climate risk Recognizing this complexity, the United Nations established Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11), which…
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Diving into the concept of Gini Coefficient and the Story It tells
We’ve all felt it. You see a news report about a CEO’s nine-figure bonus in the same broadcast that features a story on rising food bank usage. You walk past a gleaming skyscraper on your way to a crumbling public school. This feeling this sense of a gap is a basic human observation. We are…
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North East India’s path towards SDG 9 Infrastructure
The goal of sustainable development (SDG 9) is to build better roads, bring in new industries, and encourage clever new ideas. For India, achieving this goal is essential for the nation’s progress. In North East India (NER), building a simple bridge or laying a new railway line is far more complicated than anywhere else. The…
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SDG 8 and Rights, Challenges, Contributions to Economies of Migrant Workers
They are the people you may not always see the arriving labourer with a small suitcase at the railway station, the day-labourers quietly leaving before dawn, those from villages settling into the city and sending money back home. Migrant workers in India are among the country’s most resilient and underserved citizens, weaving together stories of…
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A deep dive into the UAE’s water security strategy
When you live in a place where rain is rare, rivers are non-existent, and summer feels like a giant furnace, you quickly learn that water is not just “a resource” it’s survival. For the United Arab Emirates, a nation built in the heart of the desert, water has always been precious. But with booming cities,…