While sustainable transport and aviation do not have a stand-alone Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), they are both essential enablers of sustainable development. Aviation offers the most rapid global transportation network ever, connecting people, communities and businesses across the globe. As such, it has transformed into an economic engine allowing global socio-economic prosperity. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a United Nations’ Specialized Agency that sets the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) so that international civil aviation is safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible on a global basis. ICAO is the primary forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 193 Member States. According to various analysis performed before initiation of the project, many States were experiencing challenges with the implementation of SARPS, thus leading to a situation that is far from optimal for durable air transport and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

Achieving worldwide implementation of SARPs is contingent upon the competency of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) managers to implement them in their respective states. To support states in increasing effective implementation rates of ICAO SARPs, it is crucial to provide adequate management and technical training to middle and senior managers of the CAAs who manage and oversee the implementation of SARPs, related to the areas of safety, air navigation, aerodromes, air transport, environment and other core disciplines of the air transport system. To address these challenges, a dedicated project was initiated to develop and deliver training aimed at senior and middle managers of CAAs, funded by the China South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund (SCCAF), to enable them to effectively plan, manage and assess the implementation of ICAO SARPs in their States.  This was the first–ever training of this sort. 

To this aim, a brand-new ICAO Training Package (ITP), the ‘Senior and Middle Managers Training Course: Managing Compliance with ICAO SARPs’ was developed. This new ITP directly supported the goals of ICAO’s ‘No Country Left Behind’ capacity-building initiative and contributed to the achievement of the SDGs. This training package was further translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish, benefitting its global delivery.  

In the project’s implementation phase, 865 nominees from 124 States were awarded scholarships to attend 38 global sessions organized from July 2018 to October 2019. With the exception of New Zealand, all the participants in the training were from developing countries, i.e. 123 out of 124 States Scholarships covered tuition and meals for local participants, as well as accommodations, airfare and ground transportation for participants attending from neighbouring States. The development of the course, its delivery, and provision of scholarships were enabled by the fund provided through China SCCAF.  

Upon completion of the course, participants were able to accomplish the following: (i) work with other CAA managers as a team to plan, manage and assess the implementation of ICAO SARPs; (ii) use relevant ICAO documentation, processes, tools and techniques to implement ICAO SARPs in their States; and (iii) apply their knowledge to assist their national administration in improving implementation of ICAO SARPs. 

The project completed its planned strategies and missions and achieved its objectives. This led to greater aviation capacity building, enhanced civil aviation safety and security oversight capabilities, and met the increasing needs for aviation managers and professionals. The course is now widely accepted by civil aviation regulators, airports, airlines and air navigation service providers, and ICAO has been requested to hold additional deliveries. 

Upon the completion of the project, the developed ITP was incorporated into ICAO’s training course portfolio. It is now available to be hosted by ICAO Member States as well as ICAO’s network of over 100 ICAO-recognized training centres around the world, also known as ‘TPP Members’, which ensures the sustainability of the project and safeguards results achieved.  

In terms of donor relations, the project exceeded all of its three predefined key performance indicators: the number of participants, the number of training sessions, and the number of recipient States. As a result of the strengthened donor relations, China has approved another project for the development and delivery of a new course on Civil Aviation Master Planning. 

The project supported the achievement of a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1 (No poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), by providing more employment opportunities and improving the livelihoods of workers due to safer and more efficient air transport systems. This also greatly contributed to increasing the connectivity and integration of regional markets into international ones by facilitating trade and tourism. The project led to improving the sector’s performance and support of food security by improving accessibility and movement of food and perishable agricultural products, medical supplies and commodities, which are especially important in times of crises, hence supporting SDGs 2 (Zero hunger) and 3 (Good health and well-being). Providing such training to CAAs management also directly supported SDG 4 (Quality education) aiming at the training and empowering of skilled professionals and experts. The project directly contributed to SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) since development projects and improvement of airport and air navigation infrastructure are essential to reach a better implementation of ICAO SARPs. Finally, the project is a good example of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the goals) since it brings together different sectors of the economy in cooperating to achieve the 2030 Agenda.