The constant gardener
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Joanna Langille,
University of Toronto
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), an agency of the United Nations (UN),
promotes human development, understood as expanding human choices and
horizons and enhancing quality of life, not simply fostering economic growth.
Within this broad development framework, UNDP works to encourage democratic
governance, reduce poverty, prevent and recover from crises such as natural
disasters and war, manage energy use and the environment, and address the spread and treatment of disease.
(Photo: Claude Dupuis, IDRC-CRDI)
UNDP strives to achieve its goals through global and regional advocacy and
analysis to raise awareness of development issues. A key task in this respect
is the annual publication of the Human Development Report. This report tracks
and compares levels of development in all countries of the world, drawing
attention to disparities between countries, regions, genders, and ethnic
groups. As the UN's global development network, UNDP has taken up the task of integrating the Millenium Development Goals (articulated at the UN Millenium Summit in September 2000) into all aspects of the UN system's work at the country level.
The UNDP considers globalization to be both a source of challenge and possibility. Two key challenges are tensions between market-driven globalizing processes and human development, and the rapid spread of global crime, disease, and financial volatility. The globalization of markets, technology, and ideas also has the potential to enhance human development. In this context, the UNDP defines its task as promoting globalization with a "human face," ensuring that the benefits of increasing interdependence are shared more equitably. More recently, the UNDP has expanded its notion of sustainable development to include culture, emphasizing the value of cultural diversity, and thus autonomy, in the face of market globalization. The organization, however, has limited resources of its own and has long encountered difficulties encouraging compliance with its agenda.
