BY: Francisca Mutapi —
The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) has embarked on a major public consultation on how to build a robust and resilient society in Scotland following the Covid-19 pandemic. The focus of the RSE consultation includes defining what a resilient nation looks like, identifying key threats and challenges and explore how resilience against these risks can be built up.
The Post-Covid-19 Futures Commission could do worse than look to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for action.
The outcome of the consultation will feed into the country’s resilience strategy. This strategy would include preparedness and action plans to mitigate and recover from a wide range of risks including climate-related disasters, economic shrinkage, epidemics, conflict and terrorism. All these areas are addressed by the SDGs and an effective resilience strategy would ensure that progress towards meeting the SDG targets is maintained.
The SDGs, formulated in 2015, are a global blueprint for ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring that all people enjoy health, peace and prosperity by 2030. They are often mistaken as pertaining to poor countries, but this is not the case. They can also provide a realistic approach for rich countries like Scotland to navigate through and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.