National Strategy / Action Plan

There is no National Strategy / Action Plan in Cyprus

national ESC(s)

There is no national ESC in Cyprus

SD council or equivalent

There is no SD council or equivalent in Cyprus

Performance

There is no Performance in Cyprus

Summary

  • The first National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) of Cyprus was approved in November 2007. It includes the main topics and subject areas of the renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS), covering all three dimensions of SD.
  • Cyprus published its first national report on implementing EU SDS in 2007.
  • Cyprus has started working on an evaluation and applicability examination of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) through an inter-ministerial committee since 2016.

Description of the initiative

    Actors

    Lead government body
    Supporting government bodies
    National Economic and Social Council
    Sustainable Development Council
    Lead government body text

    Cyprus’ institutional mechanism for the implementation of Agenda 2030 is under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    Supporting government bodies text
    • Statistical Service.
    • Ministry of Education and Culture
    • Directorate General for European Programs, Coordination and Development.
    • The House of Representatives’ Committee for the Environment
    • Ministry of Labor, Welfare and Social Insurance
    • Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism
    • Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment

    Institutional framework

    Lead and supporting government bodies
    • Cyprus’ institutional mechanism for the implementation of Agenda 2030 is comprised mainly of Ministries and other governmental services and falls under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
    Strategic framework

    Cyprus adopted its Sustainable Development strategy in 2007, including the following main targets:

    • supporting the protection of the natural environment;
    • promoting social justice and cohesion;
    • fostering economic prosperity;
    • undertaking international responsibilities.

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs supported inclusive decision making in formulating new initiatives and interventions to raise awareness on the SDGs.

    Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals
    • In order to foster the implementation of the SDGs, a relevant ministry has been assigned as coordinator for each of the 17 goals. A mapping exercise was initiated at the end of 2016, aiming to define stakeholders, national or EU strategies and indicators, if applicable, for each of the targets. The mapping outlines the national priorities (mainly SDGs 1, 3, 7, 8 and 9, as well as SDGs 4 and 14) and the policies prepared to achieve them.
    • In May 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Culture jointly launched an online survey to explore Cypriot public opinion as to the national priorities for SD and to assess the degree to which people consider that Cyprus is making progress in terms of welfare and development. The results were taken into account for Cyprus’s Voluntary National Review (VNR) to the HLPF in July 2017.
    • National policies on SD have been guided by and linked to the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy.

    Role of civil society

    Involvement in implementation of Sustainable Development Goals
    • Stakeholders were involved in the general consultation process for the preparation of the NSDS. In addition to taking part in public inquiry meetings, stakeholders could submit written comments to the draft strategy, which were, when possible, incorporated in the final NSDS.
    • Environmental NGOs are encouraged to get involved in the environmental and SD policy formulation process; some are already members of the Council for the Environment.
    • During the second semester of 2017, local civil society organisations (CSOs) have been awarded EU projects specifically targeting the promotion of awareness raising on SDGs. Currently, they have an active role in drafting, communicating and implementing the initiatives for raising awareness concerning the SDGs among local citizens.
    • Engagement with the private sector is mainly undertaken by the Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development, in the context of promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility and in cooperation with many other stakeholders.
    • On the occasion of the European Year for Development 2015 (EYD2015), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Cypriot platform of non-governmental development organisations (CYINDEP), shaped and implemented activities, which aimed at creating citizens’ awareness of global issues with a special emphasis on youth.
    • Cypriot CSOs also act as multipliers through a pool of expert trainers that contribute to raise awareness on the SDGs among the general public and civil society organisations.
    Civil society platform for 2030

    CYINDEP: Cyprus NGO Platform "Development" is composed of Cypriot NGOs promoting the development of a just and sustainable global society.

    CSO participation in Cyprus’s Voluntary National Review is indicative of the good cooperation and of the Government’s will to act in synergy with CSOs in implementing Agenda 2030.

    Monitoring & Evaluation

    Performance

    UN SDSN SDG Index Country Profile

    Cyprus ranks 61st in the SDG global index ranking of 2019

    In 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated the process of evaluating Agenda 2030 in Cyprus in order to identify areas where Cyprus needed to focus its short, medium and long-term planning.

    Indicators

    The Cypriot Statistical Service gathered all indicators available for the VNR (2017)

    Remaining indicators will be selected in collaboration with the Statistical Service, and benchmarks and targets will be set by the competent authorities.

    Voluntary National Report
    • Best practices include the provision of free and easily accessible education to everyone at all education levels, without discrimination, addressing the challenge of Cyprus’s limited water resources and supplying excellent quality drinking water to consumers, as well as the efforts towards combating human trafficking, by effectively enforcing new legislation and expanding the role and competences of the Police Anti-Trafficking Bureau.
    • The main challenges for Cyprus include addressing a high public debt and a relatively high unemployment rate after the economic crisis, the low contribution of the agricultural sector to GDP, energy dependency on imported sources, under-representation of women in political and public life, the need for a sustainable consumption policy, a high percentage of non-attainment in mathematics, science and reading and the need to increase Official Development Assistance to reach the desired level.
    • The assignment of the Administrative Reform Unit (in the office of the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus) as coordinator for the implementation of Agenda 2030 at domestic level, with the competency to overview future strategies and ensure incorporation of the SDGs in relevant policy spheres, marks a very significant step towards timely and effective implementation of the SDGs.
    • Cyprus's Voluntary National Review can be accessed here.