In a new white paper, UNDP and partners explain the potential applications of block chain technology.

New York, NY, March 5, 2018 -  UNDP is partnering with Blockchain, the world’s leading software platform for digital assets, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) to explore the use of block chain technology for development.

In a pioneering white paper titled “The Future is Decentralised”, Blockchain and UNDP offer potential solutions to a wide range of issues, including the conservation of natural resources, economic growth, and financial inclusion and security, for the benefit of our common humanity.

The Future is Decentralised provides a first step in helping policy makers, regulators, and UN Member States gain an understanding of block chain technology. Furthermore, Blockchain co-founder Nic Cary has been tapped to help establish the Blockchain Commission for Sustainable Development.

As a Founding Commissioner, Cary will help develop a multi-sectoral framework to support the United Nations— along with Member States, Intergovernmental Organizations, and the private sector and civil society — in utilizing block chain-based technologies to develop local, national, and global solutions for pressing issues of our day.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to work alongside academic and field leaders to consider the transformative applications of block chain technology,” said Nic Cary. “While block chain is still an evolving technology, it represents an incredible opportunity to improve transparency and harden institutions across a wide range of industries.”

Blockchain will continue to work with international partners to survey the opportunity for both national and international institutions to defend the rights of those they represent, and to accelerate progress towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.

Together, Blockchain and the Blockchain Commission for Sustainable Development seek to leverage block chain technology to develop radically creative decentralized solutions for the conservation of natural resources, financial inclusion and security, public health and welfare, civic trust, and protection of the integrity of democratic systems — among others — to improve lives around the world.

"The Future is Decentralized presents an elegant framework for how transparency in government should evolve and how applications built on the block chain can and will change the world as we know it," said Sergio Fernandez de Cordova, Vice-Chair of Blockchain Commission for Sustainable Development.

"The future is now and it is imperative that we engage in a multi-stakeholder approach and develop transparent and replicable policy around solutions that will advance humanity and allow these technologies to drive the Sustainable Development Agenda in ways that are currently unimaginable. We thank Nic Cary and Blockchain for this invaluable contribution to this new narrative."