At the 2015 United Nations General Assembly, 193 UN member states unanimously adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a global development agenda that lays out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. The SDGs, which came into effect in January 2016, are a universal set of goals, targets and indicators that set out quantitative objectives across the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Addressing critical sustainability issues such as poverty, climate change, inequality, economic development, and ecosystem protection, the SDGs will be implemented in all countries, across different territorial scales. Cities and human settlements will be key to achieving the global SDGs. The SDGs come into effect in a world that is increasingly urban, with a little over half the global population now living in cities. Urbanization has thrown up some of the world’s greatest development challenges, but it also has tremendous opportunities for advancing sustainable development. SDG 11 recognizes the central role of urbanization in sustainable development, and calls for ‘mak[ing] cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.’ As one of the 17 SDGs that will shape public policy priorities and guide development finance flows for the next fifteen years, the ‘urban SDG’ provides a tremendous opportunity for cities to build robust partnerships and gain additional resources for advancing sustainable urban development. For mayors and local leaders that are working to improve the quality of life in urban environments, the SDGs provide a roadmap for more balanced and equitable urban development. All cities aim to increase prosperity, promote social inclusion, and enhance resilience and environmental sustainability. In this way the SDGs capture large parts of the existing political agenda in virtually every city. When aligned with existing planning frameworks and development priorities, they can strengthen development outcomes and provide additional resources for local governments.

This publication highlights the role local government associations (LGAs) play in strengthening local governance and ultimately improving quality of life. It presents a series of initiatives that LGAs in Asia have undertaken to enhance their own viability and financial sustainability while improving the services they provide to their member local governments. There are case studies from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia. These services range from policy, advocacy and intergovernmental relations on issues affecting local governments, to training and knowledge dissemination. The publication aims to support knowledge sharing among LGAs, their constituencies and regional and global local governance networks.