This year marks the 75th anniversary of the creation of the United Nations and ushers in the Decade of Action to deliver the Global Goals by 2030. For the achievement of ambitious goals, South-South and triangular cooperation has been further strengthened by developing countries in sharing ideas, knowledge, skills and experience in order to address common challenges and build shared future for all, leaving no one behind. Countries and development partners are increasingly embracing South-South and triangular cooperation as integral part of their inclusive global partnership to tackle development issues and to realize the global development agendas.

The BAPA+40 Outcome Document acknowledged the importance of sharing of knowledge, experiences and best practices, particularly homegrown development approaches, on South-South and triangular cooperation in the attainment of sustainable development and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development. It invited all relevant stakeholders be it State or non-State actors to do so in order to intensify efforts towards the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions through South-South and triangular cooperation.

Built on the first volume of this series of the “Good Practices in South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable Development” launched in 2016 and the second volume in 2018, this year the third volume continues to showcase and expand on how South-South and triangular cooperation is being leveraged to support the efforts of countries to accelerate the progress towards the attainment of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This volume features 195 good practices, nearly doubling the size of the previous volume, presented by 77 partners including Member States, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), United Nations entities, and other development partners. This collection of good practices demonstrates the spirit of solidarity, peerto-peer learning and collective efforts among countries and partners in order to address development challenges that would be difficult to tackle independently; and inspires how concrete solutions can be adapted and replicated in a wider geography.

In the presentation of the good practices, highlights are given to innovative initiatives that have led to the cross-country transfer of knowledge and experience between countries of the South for overcoming common challenges and for their mutual benefits; characterized of environmental, economic and social sustainability; tested technical feasibility; and their potential of replication to achieve impact at scale.
More than ever before, global solidarity and strengthened cooperation, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, are required to overcome development-related challenges. Actionable solutions and concerted efforts made systematically and strategically by all development partners are key to a brighter development landscape.

Initiative on Sustainability, Stability and Security (3S) Improving stability and reducing incentives for irregular migration by promoting sustainable land management and providing economic opportunities in rural areas ( see page 317)
Within five years of implementation, the Initiative aims to commit the financial resources necessary to restore 10 million hectares of degraded lands, primarily in the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa, through investment, policy reforms and technical and financial innovation. Achieving this goal will have an economic impact, as it will help to sustain and create 2 million land-based jobs. This includes existing jobs at risk of being lost due to climate change and new jobs that will be created as a result of reversing land degradation. The final outcome of the Initiative will be reduced migration, as people choose to remain on their lands rather than moving away for economic reasons or falling prey to radicalized groups.

To achieve these goals, the Initiative is designed to provide vital rural investment in land restoration and sustainable land management in the most fragile areas and communities experiencing desertification and drought. Second, it will address the required economic policy changes, including the development of policies and measures to strengthen access to land through temporary land usage rights and permanent land tenure in rural and fragile areas, with a focus on vulnerable groups such as women, indigenous people and youth. Policies must also be developed to facilitate private investment in agriculture and forestry. Finally, it will promote innovative technical and financial solutions. In land restoration, new cost-effective technologies involve carbon sequestration, biodiversity protection, the use of windbreaks and water resource conservation. These innovations are deployed on a pilot basis and scaled up when proven effective, thereby contributing to their commercialization and market acceptance by investors in agriculture and forestry in Africa.