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About the SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) aim to improve the world’s situation by promoting prosperity, equality, peace and care for the environment. Altogether, the UN has set 17 of these goals with multiple sub targets each, which need to be achieved by 2030. As there are now only 11 years left to reach these goals, we, as teams of iGEM, want to help address these goals more aggressively and promote their fulfilment.

To do so successfully, sustainability, in terms of development which does not impair the coming generations’ ability to meet their needs, is key. According to the UN, the three major factors for such a sustainable development are economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection, therefore we want to make sure that our efforts comply to these requirements.

Would you like to access the graphic material of the SDGs? click hereto access it : )!

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

To end poverty is necessary for any sustainable development. Although poverty worldwide is decreasing, still 783 Million people are living with less than US$1.90 a day, below the internationally defined poverty line. There are many issues which need to be addressed to target poverty, for instance inclusive and sustainable work, social security, equality and support during natural or human made disasters. Accordingly, one of the targets the UN wants to reach by 2030, is the complete eradication of extreme poverty, defined by less than US$1.25 per person per day.

To find more information on the specified targets, the UN has set for the eradication of poverty, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/poverty/.

Goal 2: Zero hunger

The second goal is intertwined with the goal of decreased poverty. This goal targets the maldistribution of food and resources worldwide and aims to allow for sufficient supply for everyone, while protecting the environment from overexploitation. The exploitation of workers and the resources currently results in inhumane living conditions, premature death and environmental deterioration in affected areas, promoting malnutrition, disease, political conflicts and environmental catastrophes. There are, according to the UN, 815 Million people worldwide, who are considered undernourished, with the threat of 2 Billion people who will suffer from hunger by 2050, if there are no changes made to the global food and agriculture system.

For more information about the specific targets proposed by the UN, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/

Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Well-being and health at all ages, with increasing life expectancy and decreasing child and maternal mortality, is one of the major goals of the SDGs. This also includes decreasing the amount of premature deaths caused by non-communicable disease by one third until 2030. Currently, more than 5 Million children die before reaching the age of 5, according to the UN, with education and wealth being determining factors of the probability of an early death.

The goal of health and well-being should be targeted by improving health systems, promoting hygiene, supporting research and the education of medical personnel, in order to increase the access to health care. Additionally, the eradication of threatening diseases like HIV and Malaria and the reduction of tobacco and nutrition associated diseases and traffic accidents are key points of the UN’s strategy.

For further information on Goal 3, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/health/

Goal 4: Quality education

Worldwide, there are 265 Million children out of school, especially in conflict areas, according to the UN. This is fatal, as lack of education hinders sustainable development, as it prohibits the affected people from developing solutions by themselves. There are major advances made in increasing access to education worldwide, however there are still not enough well-trained educators and adequate conditions within schools, requiring investments, scholarships and improvement of infrastructure, to allow for good education at all levels of schooling.

For more information, see: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/

Goal 5: Gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls

Although major progress is made, women and girls worldwide still suffer from gender inequalities and violence, with 750 Million girls being married off before the age of 18 and with 30 countries where female genital mutilation is still carried out in one out of three girls, according to the UN. Additionally, one out of five women suffers from domestic violence through an intimate person and multiple countries have laws which discriminate against women in terms of inheritance law, domestic violence or a law that allows the husband to choose whether a woman can work. Women only represent 23,1% of members of parliament worldwide and only 13% of agricultural land owners, making them underrepresented in the the political and industrial world. All of these facts must be eliminated in order to allow for sustainable development in terms of peace and prosperity, since there cannot be any progress, if half of the world does not benefit from it.

For further information, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/

Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all

As there are currently three out of ten people lacking access to safe drinking water and six out of ten people without access to clean sanitation, health, livelihood and education are negatively affected and cannot develop according to their potential. By the year 2050, 2 Billion people will be threatened by reduced access to freshwater resources, according to the UN, while increasing droughts and floods promote the occurrences of malnutrition, diarrheal disease and death. On top of that, the current situation in the industry and sanitation infrastructure, is harming the ecosystem and its rehabilitation, due to discharge of faeces, chemicals and other pollutants into the scarce water resources. Hence, the pollution, industrial overconsumption and other risk factors must be abolished in order to ensure access to water for all people, while infrastructure and sanitation must be implemented worldwide.

To get more information on this goal, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/

Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy

The access to energy is crucial for progress in education, economy, health and other aspects of development. However, according to the UN there are more than 3 Billion people who cannot access clean cooking solutions or are exposed to air pollution due to the usage of vast amounts of fossil energy sources, while 1 Billion people do not have access to electricity, at all. Luckily, progress is made in the sector of renewable energy and decreased energy consumption, with 17,5% of the used energy originating from wind, water or solar energy. Nonetheless, investment in clean energy sources is needed to provide for sustainable energy for everyone, as energy consumption is the cause for 60% of the worldwide greenhouse gas emissions and a major threat to the environment.

For more information, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/energy/

Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all

As there are still about half of the world’s population living of US$2 a day, with 5.6% of worldwide unemployment and 61% percent of all employments being in an informal setting in 2016. The lack of decent work and investment into sustainable growth-bringing industry, as well as the unequal distribution of the wealth provided by progress, currently do not allow for adequate eradication of poverty. Hence, the UN wants to support quality jobs that do not harm the environment, support GDP growth per year by 7% until 2030 and increase the investment by private people. The promotion of good infrastructure, agricultural investments, efficient use of resources and decent working conditions are among the necessary targets of the UN for sustainable development.

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/economic-growth/

Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

According to the UN, there are 16% of people worldwide without access to mobile networks and areas in developing countries with bad infrastructure that inhibits productivity by 40%. This lack of infrastructure makes it hard for countries to promote sustainable development in terms of industrialization and innovation, as the necessary efficiency and productivity cannot be reached. As production in an industrialized manner is highly important for the economic growth, founding of companies and general well-being of countries, new structures must be provided to drive progress. In accordance with that, innovation and the development of new technologies, which allow for effective and sustainable production, that yields goods for the local and international market, are necessary.

For further information, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/infrastructure-industrialization/

Goal 10: Reduce inequalities within and among countries

Statistics show, that economically weak children are three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday, people with disabilities are five times more likely to be victim of exorbitant healthcare costs, women in rural areas are three times more likely to die during childbirth and women are more likely to be below the 50 per cent median income, according to the UN. These inequalities prohibit vulnerable people from escaping poverty and getting access to health care, education and other assets. As economic growth needs social inclusion and sustainable use of the environmental resources, new strategies must be implemented to reduce the worldwide inequality, also on a trade-based level between developing and industrialized countries. For example the implementation of universal principles, international law or the promotion of the developing countries within the international community, would support their position worldwide and can be a foundation of sustainable economic growth.

Please go to the following page to get further information: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/inequality/

Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

More than half of the world’s population will live in cities by the year 2030. However, the cost of living is way higher and economically weak people are forced to live in inhumane conditions within slums, where poverty and crime prohibit any development or progress. As the urbanization is a challenge for resources like water, sanitation, rising pollution and scarce food supply, new strategies must be implemented.

For further information, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/

Goal 12: Sustainable consumption and production patterns

Our planet does not have endless resources, in order to live sustainable, changes to our behaviour must take place. This is even more important, since the global population constantly rises and will reach 9.6 Billion by 2050 and, for example, only 0.5% of the water in the world is fresh water which is available for human use and there are 1 Billion people worldwide without access to fresh water. On top of that, carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced in order to reduce the extreme acceleration of climate change, and the switch to renewable resources, which only make up 17.5% of the current energy sources, must be fulfilled. In terms of food, the consumption must be reduced, as well, as many products, which are worth $1 Trillion, are tossed per annum and people worldwide are suffering from increasing cases of obesity and overconsumption induced sickness. This is even more alarming, since the production of food is in no way sustainable and currently makes up 22% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/

Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Climate change is real and it is affecting every single country in the world. People’s lives, safety, the countries’ economies, nature, infrastructure and resources are disrupted by it. As temperatures are rising, big ice masses are melting and sea levels rise, there are rapid changes in patterns of climate and if the carbon dioxide emissions remain like they are currently, global temperature will have risen by 1.5% within this century. Although there are multiple highly alarming consequences to all of these effects of climate change, there are still countries that do not ratify the Paris Agreement or even deny climate change.

As a consequence, national policies must be implemented to reduce the carbon dioxide emission, the unsustainable use of resources and the pollution of the planet.

For more information please find the following page: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change/

Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources

More than 3 Billion people worldwide depend on the use of the water resources of the earth. But we cannot forget that they are also home for more than 200 000 known species and store 30% of carbon dioxide emitted. However, overfishing, pollution and eutrophication threaten the homeostasis of the water resources and will in one way lead to the system’s collapse. Consequently, regulations that protect the worldwide water resources must be implemented, to protect the environment and the species living in the water from the exploitation of humans.

For further information, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/

Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss

Forests are the foundation of the livelihood of 1.6 Billion people and the home to 80% of all terrestrial species worldwide, according to the UN. However, deforestation threatens the forests and species depending on them, as well as the climate as they are necessary for the absorption of carbon dioxide from the environment. Without the protection, there is illegal trade and species will become extinct, and biodiversity will be lost do to over-breeding and replacement of non-cultured species. Additionally, the desertification and soil degradation promoted by intensive agricultural use, cause land loss, draught and economic loss.

For more information, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/biodiversity/

Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies

Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion threaten the stability of societies and leave space for violence against children, human trafficking, sexual violence and discrimination. There must be more transparency in society and governments, better regulations and the protection of the individual rights, to make sure justice and peace can manifest themselves in all countries, without the exclusion of groups of people.

For more information, please use the following link: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/peace-justice/

Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

To make sure sustainable development can occur, the countries, groups and projects must cooperate. Trade deals that favor industrialized countries over developing countries have to be adjusted to contribute to a fair situation for all parties. The collaboration of the world will have more power, if countries and people share the same vision of sustainable development. There is the need for long-term investment in infrastructure and industry in developing countries, the foundation of alliances, the sharing of technical know-how and the implementation of fair and productive regulations. Without a cooperation, promoted by the world’s community, sustainable development cannot take place or be efficient enough to target the world’s problems.

For more information, please go to the following site: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/globalpartnerships/

About iGEM

iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) is an international competition in the field of synthetic biology, which was initiated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. The competition aims to inspire the development of innovative and intelligent solutions for relevant and recent problems, through genetic modifications. This setup invites students all around the world to explore the opportunities and boundaries of synthetic biology.

Overall, the projects arising from the iGEM competition aim to improve people’s lives, not only through the direct contact with the project, but also indirectly through the team’s human practice work, which is an essential part of each iGEM project. Human practice addresses how a project can impact the society and stakeholders. It promotes communication within the communities, education, biosafety, evaluation of the environmental impact and multiple other aspects, indicating the responsibilities a scientist has towards the scientific community and the public.

About iGEMxSDGs

As the participation in the iGEM competition supports a great exposure to each team’s community, it presents a good platform for the promotion of the SDGs in the public and the iGEM community. As each team in iGEM targets at least one of the SDGs through their project and probably multiple others through their human practice work and potential outlook, we are confident that a promotion and increased awareness of the SDGs can make an impact on their fulfilment.

Generally, we believe that the promotion of the SDGs is very important, as they target issues which can only be addressed globally, and we as iGEM teams, who are supported by multiple institutions and companies worldwide, see ourselves responsible to participate in the change proposed by the SDGs.

Therefore we, the iGEM teams of TAS_Taipei (Taiwan), Costa Rica and Tuebingen (Germany) want to introduce a new challenge to the iGEM competition: iGEMxSDGs.

iGEMxSDGs is a challenge which invites all teams of iGEM to match their project to the respective SDGs targeted by their teams. Afterwards, the team will post and promote their match on their social media channels, spreading the SDG challenge within the iGEM community, like it was done with the ice bucket challenge. This will, on the one hand, promote the SDGs within the iGEM community and the public, and on the other hand highlight the importance of the SDGs to the teams themselves. Also, iGEMxSDGs will inspire new projects within iGEM, as it raises awareness to global issues which need to be solved.

As the SDGs want to introduce sustainable development, we need to make sure that our efforts are sustainable as well. That’s why we do not only want this challenge to be part of iGEM 2019, but want to let it enter the following years’ competitions, as well. To allow for this sustainability, we have designed this website, which is not only an information platform, but also a database of the efforts each team went into, to target the SDGs. After all, this gives each iGEM team the opportunity to grasp the impact of the iGEM competition and their work and how each team can make a difference.

To introduce the SDGs further, iGEM Team Taipei will host an online video conference in early september, with a discussion centered around the SDGs, as part of a MUN (Model United Nations) project. This will also give iGEM teams the opportunity to align their projects to the SDGs and cooperate with other teams targeting the same aspects.

Applications to the video conference are open until July 15th under the following link: https://forms.gle/xtoeMHuAMpDHeaCc9.

Collaboration

The iGEMxSDGs challenge arose from a collaboration of three iGEM Teams of 2019: TAS_Taipei (Taiwan), Team Costa Rica and Team Tuebingen (Germany). With a contribution of each team in different parts of the iGEMxSDGs, we want to show how a global collaboration can open doors to change and sustainable development. After all, we are collaborating between three continents and different time zones. Together, we want to start the iGEMxSDGs challenge, which should be carried out each year to support the SDGs, build a website and SDG mapping database and host an online video conference discussing the SDGs within a global setup.

Contact

For further information about the iGEMxSDGs challenge, the online video conference or ideas and suggestions, please contact us:

Online video conference: igemtas@gmail.com

iGEMxSDGs challenge, ideas, suggestions: igemxsdgs@gmail.com

Team:Costa Rica/SDG-Challenge