Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Perspective: Lessons from the American Episcopal Missions in Sagada, Northern Philippines

Abstract

In September 2015, world leaders adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030. The SDGs were built upon the earlier Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and aim to achieve universal progress without leaving anyone behind. While the SDGs provide a glorious framework for espousing development for all peoples, identifying specific nuances regarding “development” needs to be identified to contextualize the accomplishment of the SDGs, especially in the case of Asia, a multi-ethnic and highly biodiverse region. In understanding these development nuances, this chapter explores an analogy between recent and international development efforts with missionary activities initiated by American Episcopal missionaries in Sagada, northern Philippines , during the early-to-middle twentieth century. As an indigenous community , certain aspects of Sagada culture allow natives to interact harmoniously with their ecosystems in a distinct culture–environment nexus. For instance, indigenous values indicate land and water bodies as places which should be dealt with care if to avoid being a receiver of some sort of paranormal retribution. Undoubtedly, the indigenous religion, cultural, and social arrangements have enabled Sagada folk to sustain their landscapes and natural resources into the modern world amidst culture changing arrangements introduced by American Episcopal missionary works. On the other hand, unfavourable effects have been inevitable and thus need to be emphasized in order to sustain growth beyond SDGs.