The target date for achieving the 2030 UN Agenda [Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)] is fast approaching. The construction sector is critical to achieving many SDGs, including Goal 5. Studies regarding achieving Goal 5 (Gender Equality) in the construction industry, especially women’s consultancy participation in developing countries, are scarce and complexly interrelated. Societal problems and divergence may have contributed to this. Therefore, this study explores issues hindering gender equality and suggests measures to promote more women construction consultants through policy to improve achieving Goal 5 in Nigeria. The research employed face-to-face data collection via a qualitative mechanism to achieve this. The study covered Abuja and Lagos. It accomplished saturation at the 20th participant. The research utilised a thematic method to analyse the collected data from knowledgeable participants. The perceived hindrances facing Nigerian construction consultants’ gender equality were clustered into culture/religion-related, profession-related, and government-related encumbrances. Achieving Goal 5 will be a mirage if these issues are not addressed. Thus, the study recommended measures to motivate women to study construction-related programmes and employment opportunities, including consultancy services slots through programmes and policy mechanisms to achieve Goal 5. As part of the implications, the study suggests that Nigerian construction consultants and other stakeholders need to make feasible improvements to achieve gender equality (Goal 5).

Localization is globally accepted as the strategy towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this article, we put forth the South Indian state of Kerala as a true executor of the localization of SDGs owing to her foundational framework of decentralized governance. We attempt to understand how the course of decentralization acts as a development trajectory and how it has paved the way for the effective assimilation of localization principles post-2015 by reviewing the state documents based on the framework propounded by the United Nations. We theorize that the well-established decentralization mechanism, with delegated institutions and functions thereof, encompasses overlapping mandates with the SDGs. Further, through the tools of development plan formulation, good governance, and community participation at decentralized levels, Kerala could easily adapt to localization, concocting output through innovative measures of convergence, monitoring, and incentivization carried out through the pre-existing platforms and processes. The article proves that constant and concerted efforts undertaken by Kerala through her meticulous and action-oriented decentralized system aided the localization of SDGs and provides an answer to the remarkable feat that the state has achieved through the consecutive four times achievements in the state scores of SDG India Index.

Leisure education has an impact not only on individuals but also on the environment and society. The present study aimed to explore and describe experts’ knowledge and experience about leisure education to develop leadership among youth with physical disabilities. The present study used a qualitative research approach through an exploratory design to answer the research question. Five participants were purposefully recruited and selected based on their expertise in the topic of interest. Participants’ expertise ranged from leisure, recreation, youth and leadership. The participants had experience working in higher education institutions, and community projects, held doctorate qualifications, and have over ten years in this field. Data was collected online using Google Meet software using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. Data was analyzed using a thematic analysis framework and guidelines. The findings of this study suggest that youth with physical disabilities can develop personal capacity through leisure education programmes. Leisure education programmes can be meaningful to youth with physical disabilities and have a developmental impact, including leadership. Youth with physical disabilities’ capacities and abilities should be nurtured and protected to allow growth and independence. The implications are that leisure education programmes for leadership development must be intentional to achieve the intended outcome.

The article examines the modern vectors of implementation of measures to achieve results in the field of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both at the level of national priorities and at the level of Central Asian countries. The purpose of this study is a multidimensional analysis of actions that make it possible to develop solutions to stabilize the environmental situation in Central Asian countries based on global international trends. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the integrated use of thematic modeling methods, as well as sociological surveys used to improve the efficiency of business processes in the field of environmental protection. The methodological basis for conducting a comparative assessment of the impact of environmental policy instruments used on regional development is the concept of sustainable development. In conclusion, conclusions are drawn about the need to develop effective mechanisms for the implementation of environmental policy in the studied countries.

The UN agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015–2030 is a holistic approach. Universities play an important role in dissemination of quality knowledge, developing the skills and attitudes of a large number of youth across the world. Though the emphasis on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) started as early as 1992, yet Universities adopted the concept of Green Campus integrating the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability quite recently. In developing countries including Pakistan, the Green Campus Initiatives (GCI) have not been implemented in the majority of the Universities. Northern Pakistan comprising Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) faces multiple challenges including Climate Impacts at the top. The fragile ecosystem of the region requires more sustainable initiatives at the University and community levels. In this research, the readiness of the seven universities located in Northern Pakistan have been assessed for GCI on the basis scanning of the websites and questionnaire survey of the relevant stakeholders. The results have shown that there is little commitment of resources for sustainability from senior management, lack of awareness in faculty & staff and less research focus on the related themes of green campus. The co-curricular activities in universities are not linked with sustainability and there are no incentives for faculty, staff and students to this end. It has been recommended that Green Campus Framework may be developed for Pakistani Mountain Universities, with commitment from leaders of the universities and allocation of sufficient resources for development of sustainable campuses. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) needs to allocate special funds for promoting GCI across universities in Pakistan.