Resources
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Sandwatch: adapting to climate change and educating for sustainable development Year of publication: 2010 Author: Gillian Cambers | Paul Diamond Corporate author: UNESCO Sandwatch provides a framework for children, youth and adults, with the help of teachers and local communities, to work together to critically evaluate the problems and conflicts facing their beach environments, and to develop sustainable approaches to address these issues. It also helps beaches become more resilient to climate change. The preliminary chapters of this publication focus on how to get started with Sandwatch activities and examine ways to address climate change impacts. The principle aim of this publication is to document the Sandwatch methodology: monitoring, analysing, sharing and taking action. An activities-orientated approach is used to provide step-by-step instructions to cover monitoring methods and data analysis, including observation and recording, erosion and accretion, beach composition, human activities, beach debris, water quality, waves, longshore currents, plants and animals. The activities are related to (a) sustainable development issues, including: beach ownership, mining beaches for construction material, conflict resolution between different beach users, pollution, conservation of endangered species, and (b) climate change adaptation issues: sea level rise, rising temperatures, ocean acidification and increased extreme events. Ways to share findings and create a Sandwatch network are detailed including methods such as the use of local media, websites, social networking and video production. Finally, ways are discussed to design, plan and implement a Sandwatch project to fulfill one or all of the following criteria: (a) addressing a particular beach-related issue, (b) enhancing the beach, and (c) promoting climate change adaptation. Sandwatch stands as an example of Education for Sustainable Development in action, and is being targeted as one of several flagship projects for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014). As the world confronts the growing threat of climate change, Sandwatch presents an opportunity to help people and ecosystems respond to present and future changes in a practical manner. Beaches are among the ecosystems most at risk from climate change as they face rising sea levels and increased more intense storms. By contributing to ecosystem health and resilience, Sandwatch can help people from all walks of life learn about climate change and how their actions can contribute to the adaptation process.
Address by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of the Seminar on Climate Change and Education at the UN University: Responding to Climate Change Starts with Education; Tokyo, 26 November 2010 Year of publication: 2010 Corporate author: UNESCO. Director-General, 1999-2009 (Matsuura, K.) This document is an address of Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of the Seminar on Climate Change and Education at the UN University “Responding to Climate Change Starts with Education” in Tokyo, 26 November 2010. She highlighted the importance of climate change education for the sustainable future and underlined the importance of several programme such as Sandwatch and YouthXchange which have been lead by the UNESCO.
International implementation scheme for the UN decade of education for sustainable development, 2005-2014 Year of publication: 2005 Corporate author: UNESCO In December 2002, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to put in place a UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, lasting from 2005 to 2014. UNESCO was tasked with leading the Decade and developing an International Implementation Scheme (IIS).
Promotion of a global partnership for the UN decade of education for sustainable development (2005-2014): the international implementation scheme for the decade in brief Year of publication: 2006 Corporate author: UNESCO Through the International Implementation Scheme governments and other partners, especially potential donors, are urged to assess existing ESD resources and needs in countries, reallocate existing resources and find means of mobilizing new resources to ensure that ESD will not be a mere slogan but actual reality.
YouthXchange guidebook series: climate change and lifestyles Year of publication: 2011 Author: Adam Cade | Rob Bowden Corporate author: UNESCO | United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Climate Change and Lifestyles is the first in a series of guidebooks supporting the UNESCO/ UNEP YouthXchange (YXC) Initiative, which was created in 2001 to promote sustainable lifestyles among youth (15-24 years) through education, dialogue, awareness raising and capacity building. The series is being produced for young people and people working with youth, such as educators, teachers, trainers and youth leaders in both developed and developing countries. Almost half of the world’s population is under the age of 25, and nearly 90 per cent of them live in developing countries. Youth is a critical stakeholder in the global economy and will be the main actor and motor for change in the near future. Thus, the energy, motivation and creativity of youth are essential assets to stimulating change. Aims of the YXC Guidebook on Climate Change and Lifestyles: • Explore the links between lifestyles and climate change; • Help young people consider the actions they should take towards more sustainable lifestyles; • Support courses and actions that promote greater understanding of climate change and lifestyles among youth. The guidebook: • Considers the causes and effects of climate change and its human impacts and responses, while connecting them to lifestyle choices and the technical and social infrastructures of a society; • Provides scientific, political, economic, social, ethical and cultural perspectives on climate change; • Explains complex issues in accessible language supported by facts, graphics, images, examples and web links; • Develops the critical skills young people need to make personal choices to address the challenges of climate change.
Climate change education for sustainable development in small island developing states: report and recommendations Year of publication: 2012 Corporate author: UNESCO This report summarizes the key outcomes of a three-day meeting of around one hundred climate change education (CCE) experts, primarily from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean, the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, representing a multi-disciplinary and diverse group of stakeholders. The meeting discussed and reflected on the challenges that climate change poses to education systems in SIDS, and on the role that education must play in adaptation to climate change. It was held from 21 to 23 September 2011 in Nassau, with the support of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Government of Denmark and the Government of Japan. SIDS in the Caribbean Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean are among the most vulnerable countries with regard to climate change. SIDS are already confronted with the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and changes in weather and climate extremes such as droughts, floods and tropical cyclones/hurricanes. With current and future impacts of climate change representing a real danger to SIDS communities and livelihoods – whether based on agriculture, fisheries, forestry, tourism or trade – the need for SIDS to reduce their vulnerability to climate change by strengthening their adaptive capacity is a matter of urgency. Moving further along the path to sustainable development and achieving sustainable development objectives will depend on the ability of SIDS to strengthen this adaptive capacity. Adaptation to climate change requires individuals to be aware of potential changes in the climate and to understand the implications of changes for their lives. It requires them to assess the risks such changes hold for their identity and future, and to make informed decisions on how to adapt their livelihoods, homes and communities. Education plays an essential role in increasing the adaptative capacity of communities and nations by enabling individuals to make informed decisions. In particular, the education of girls and women has proven to have a significant impact on the capacity of communities to adapt to climate change and develop sustainably. Quality education designed for the purpose of empowering people to address climate change and live sustainably improves the adaptation capacity at the community level. This implies educational programmes that explicitly prepare communities for natural disasters. Climate change education for sustainable development (CCESD) needs also to incorporate indigenous knowledge, and promote sustainable lifestyles in which the importance of heritage is recognised as an integral part of community identity and a key asset that can help build resilience. Finally, CCESD should stress the unique cultural and natural heritage of SIDS, which plays a major role in the building of community resilience.
Education for sustainable development: good practices in addressing climate change Year of publication: 2012 Corporate author: UNESCO Since the beginning of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-2014), the DESD Secretariat at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris has received numerous requests for case studies and descriptions of good practices in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). These requests have increasingly included issues of providing an educational response to climate change. The increasing number of requests is only one indicator that climate change education is increasingly recognized in the broader education community as an essential part of ESD and life-long learning. ESD is a complex and evolving subject, and how it is applied and implemented is a challenge for all countries. The Decade aims to see ESD implemented in thousands of local situations on the ground, involving its integration into a multitude of different learning situations. These initiatives can be catalysts for action and contribute to the goals and objectives of the Decade. In such ways, organizations, local communities and individuals can be actors within the global movement for sustainable development. To support the growing interest in climate change issues and ESD, UNESCO is publishing this volume containing 17 examples of programmes addressing climate change in ESD settings and practices. These good practices and shared experiences, which were provided by a range of different stakeholders, are concrete examples of successful implementation of ESD in different fields and sectors, from the political to the school level, and including formal, nonformal and informal learning situations.
Mudança climática em sala de aula: curso da UNESCO para professores secundários (fundamental II e ensino médio) sobre educação em mudança climática e desenvolvimento sustentável (EMCDS) Year of publication: 2014 Author: David Selby | Fumiyo Kagawa Corporate author: UNESCO Brasilia This course has been created with the goal of bringing climate change education outside the science classroom into the many other subject areas upon which climate change now has an impact, or will impact in the future, such as ethics, social studies, economics, political science, among others. The course materials are organized into four parts: 1. Course Framework and Overview, 2. Teachers’ Education Course daily materials, 3. Regional Resource Packs, 4. Daily Classroom Materials for teachers. These materials are all described in more detail and can be accessed from the Start Menu found on the following pages. This course is designed to enable teachers at the secondary level from diverse subject areas to introduce climate change education for sustainable development (CCESD) across the curriculum. UNESCO has identified the professional development of teachers in education for sustainable development as the top priority in recognition of the transformative role that teachers and teacher educators need to play in re-orienting education to help realize a sustainable future (UNESCO, 2005, p. 19). But good intentions for the professional development of teachers have fallen short in practice. Although taken up by enthusiasts, teacher education for sustainable development has rarely been mainstreamed, and, where there are courses, is often approached within a disciplinary as opposed to an interdisciplinary frame (Wals, A., 2009). If professional development in education for sustainable development is at an adolescent stage, teacher education in climate change education for sustainable development is in its infancy. For instance, according to a 2009 international comparative study on climate change education and sustainable development in ten countries, climate change education has peripheral status in educational research and practice, and when it is addressed it is only within science education (Læssøe,J. Schnack, K., Breiting, S. & Rolls, S., 2009). There is a clear and present need to respond to climate change challenges through systematic teacher education programmes that are not restricted to a single subject area. This teacher education course is an attempt to fill the current gap and is in line with one of UNESCO’s key objectives for climate change education for sustainable development, that is, to support teacher training on climate change for sustainable development (UNESCO, 2010, p. 9). The programme has four distinctive features: 1. It helps teachers to understand the causes, dynamics and impacts of climate change through a holistic approach. 2. Teachers are exposed to, and experience, a range of pedagogical approaches and techniques, that they can use in their own school environment. This includes engagement of themselves and their students in whole school and school-in-community approaches. 3. Teachers will develop their capacities to facilitate students’ community based learning. 4. Teachers will develop future-oriented and transformative capacities in facilitating climate change mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction learning. 