SDG Localization Work for Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Indonesia and the Philippines

In South-East Asia, the COVID-19 pandemic has further slackened and reversed the progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets, such as those related to the environment, employment, and economic growth. While efforts to recover from the pandemic must go hand in hand with SDG localization efforts, they require solutions across various policies and governance domains. This chapter looks at the local efforts in coordinating and aligning multiple policies to recover and achieve the SDGs. It draws from qualitative and quantitative surveys targeting local governments in Indonesia and the Philippines. The findings demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified a vast array of existing challenges, from socioeconomic to institutional issues, leading local governments to highly prioritize economic and health recovery at the cost of social and environmental goals (e.g., gender, climate action). Efforts are needed to synergize local recovery strategies with SDG localization to mitigate SDG deceleration, address the climate crisis, and tackle inequality. The chapter contributes to the literature on SDG localization in two ways. First, it highlights local governments’ actions in overcoming the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 and keeping with SDG localization progress. Second, it offers recommendations on how the SDG can guide local governments to support their attempted actions toward recovery and beyond. Overall, this study brings a nuanced understanding of issues facing local governments in a subregion within the Asia-Pacific to discuss synergizing SDG local implementation with COVID-19 recovery.