Prague, July 18 (CTK) – One-third of Czechs know the U.N. goals in sustainable development, such as access to drinking water, according to a poll conducted by the Ipsos agency along with the Association of Social Responsibility and released in Lidove noviny (LN) today.
All U.N. member states, including the Czech Republic, adopted the 17-point commitment in September 2015 and want to fulfil the goals by 2030. They include fighting extreme poverty, securing access to education, health care and drinking water for all and restricting corruption.
The poll conducted on 1000 respondents shows that 35 percent of Czechs know the sustainable development goals and they have noticed that their government adopted this commitment of a fair approach to the planet.
In the group of young people aged 18-24 years, even 50 percent are aware of the goals. Moreover, the awareness of them has increased in the group aged 35-44 years from 18 to 31 percent since last year, Association for Social Responsibility head Lucie Madlova said.
Sixty-six percent of respondents say it is primarily up to the government to see to sustainable development, while 49 percent would mainly leave this effort to international organisations.
People with higher education rely on the government more than other respondents. On the contrary, young people under 24 stress that individuals must be involved in sustainable development, LN writes.
It also says that more and more Czechs realise that drinking wanter cannot be taken for granted, which was influenced by frequent dry seasons. One-third of Czechs are convinced that special attention must be paid to the equal access to drinking water.
“I view the increasing public interest in sustainable development in our society as a positive signal. It is also clear that the three-year lasting drought that we have faced in the Czech Republic is behind the rising awareness of drinking water sources as well as the climate change issue,” Environment Minister Richard Brabec (ANO) told LN.
He will speak up at the U.N. political forum on behalf of the Czech Republic today to present the country’s contribution to sustainable development.
Brabec is accompanied by Czech Miss World 2006 Tatana Gregor Kucharova and Robin Dufek, from the JRK BioWaste Management firm, dealing with efficient waste processing, LN writes.
The Czech delegation is to show that a healthy access to the world can work only if various segments of society cooperate. The involvement of a celebrity, such as Gregor Kucharova, can raise Czechs’ awareness of sustainable development challenges. Besides, she has long been active in charity. Since 2008, she has headed the Beauty of Help foundation focused on a better and more sensitive integration of the elderly into society, LN writes.
Czechs consider health and high-quality life, respectful work and economic growth as well as responsible water sources management the most significant U.N. goals.
The poll also shows that Czechs tend to underestimate their country’s effort in this field.
Yet the world index of the U.N. sustainable development goals that has been published these days places the Czech Republic fifth in a successful fulfilment of the better world vision. Only Nordic countries, traditional leaders in environment protection, fared better. The Czech Republic was particularly praised for its access to drinking water, LN writes.
However, representatives of the SocialWatch organisation do not agree with such a positive view of the country. They plan to present its annual report in New York today to accompany an official assessment of the sustainable development goals fulfilment in the Czech Republic, prepared by the government, LN writes.
