New website a collaborative learning platform for sustainable development goals project

A Deakin University-led project which aims to help local communities achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has launched a new website, making its work and initiatives available to a wide audience.

Deakin School of Life and Environmental Sciences researchers Professor Brett Bryan, Professor of Global Change, Environment and Society, and Dr Enayat A. Moallemi, Research Fellow in Human-Natural Systems Modelling, are leading the Local SDGs Project. Collaborators on the project include the Monash Sustainable Development Institute and The Ian Potter Foundation.

The Local SDGs Project was launched in January this year and aims to develop robust pathways towards future-proofing Australian communities, enabling people and nature to prosper and thrive. Currently the project team is working with two local community case study areas in Victoria: the Forrest/Otways and Goulburn-Murray regions.

In Forrest/Otways, the project team is working with the local communities to chart sustainability pathways for the region to increase its capacity to manage climate change, bushfires and tourism. In the Goulburn Murray region, the team and local community are developing sustainability pathways to increase resilience to water variability and to adopt new technologies.

Professor Bryan says the aim of the project is to go beyond the two case studies and ultimately develop a framework that will be generally applicable across rural and regional Australia and assist the UN's 2030 Agenda of achieving its global sustainable development goals.

Visitors to the Local SDGs Project website can find a range of information, including details of the two case studies and information about workshops, meetings and seminars, plus links to publications and resources and to information about the 17 respective SDGs.

‘We are using the website as a collaborative learning platform that enables the communication of recent project developments and outcomes to stakeholders – for example through blogging features and social media,’ Dr Moallemi says.

‘We also want the website to enable further engagement and feedback on our work from a wider group of local communities.’

Visit The Local SDGs Project website to find out more. You can also follow the project on Twitter: @LocalSDGs