Tackling Climate Action
at the Local Level:
Education for Sustainable
Development Projects fromthe Global RCE Network

Editors:
Philip Vaughter
Nancy Pham
SUPPORTED BY:

Table of Contents

Foreword  2
Featured RCE Climate Action Projects  4
Editorial  6Technical editing and coordination:
Nancy Pham, Senior Communications Associate, UNU-IAS

Territorial Responsible Research andInnovation Fostering Innovative
Climate Action: The Belarusian Experience
RCE Belarus  44

Chapter Africa
Solid Waste Management Options
for Food Security, Energy &Climate Change Mitigation
RCE North Rift  30

Design and layout:
martinbrombacher.de© The United Nations University 2021
Published by:United Nations University, Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS)
5-53-70, Jingumae, Shibuya
Tokyo 150-8925, Japan

Managing Biodiversity in a Changing
Climate in the Albertine Rift Countries
RCE Dar es Salaam  34

Email: rceservicecentre@unu.edu
Web: www.rcenetwork.org/portal

Stakeholder Engagement for Promoting
Community Resilience to Climate Change
RCE Greater Eastern Uganda  38

Noah Silliman | unsplash

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the publication do not
imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNU-IAS concerning the legal
status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers orboundaries.

2

Let's Tackle Global Warming!
Virtual Museum of Science Experience
RCE Okayama  16

Sub-National Actions for Climate
Resilient Sustainable Developmentin Punjab, India
RCE Chandigarh  24

Editing:
Dr. Philip Vaughter, Research Fellow, UNU-IAS

Print ISBN: 978-92-808-4648-5
e-ISBN: 978-92-808-4598-3

Chapter Europe

Awareness and Education on
Climate Change: A Day for Climate
RCE Penang  20

This document should be cited as:
Tackling Climate Action at the Local Level: Education for Sustainable Development Projects
from the Global RCE Network
UNU-IAS, Tokyo, Japan, 2021

The contributing authors are responsible for the choice and presentation of the facts containedin this document and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of
UNU or UNU-IAS and do not commit either the University or the Institute.

Chapter Asia-PacificIntegrating SDGs in the MSc for Climate
Change, Sustainable Agriculture, andFood Security (CCSAFS) Program
RCE Crete  48
Vocational Training in Wood as an Elementof Sustainable Construction Methods
RCE Denmark  52

Chapter Americas
How Urban Youth Can Be an Engine to
Achieve Low-Carbon Sustainable Lifestyles:
Beginning in Bogota
RCE Bogota  58
Landslide Risk Assessment in St. Vincent
and the Grenadines
RCE Grand Rapids  62
The Girasoles Project
RCE Greater Atlanta  66
Next Steps  70
List of Abbreviations  74
GAP Priority Action Areas  74
References  75
Authors  771

Foreword

Climate Education
The solutions to climate change impacts also
provide the paths to a safer, healthier, cleaner andmore just future for all. However, for such a future
to become a reality, citizens in all countries, acrossall sectors of government, society and enterprise,need to understand the urgency and get involved.
Recognising this, national governments aroundthe world have agreed to increase their efforts to
educate, empower and engage all stakeholders tofind and implement solutions for climate change(UNESCO and UNFCCC 2016, 2).

Over the last three decades, many governments
and other stakeholders have been carryingout various impactful and innovative climatechange educational initiatives. To accelerate
progress, governments and non-State actors canenhance action, including when designing andimplementing climate policies such as nationallydetermined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris
Agreement, by for example (UNESCO 2020, 6):

William Bossen | unsplash

Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT.

• promoting, facilitating, developing andimplementing formal, non-formal and informal
Known collectively as Action for Climate
climate education programmes that encourage
Empowerment (ACE), Article 6 of the United
climate-friendly behaviour, focusing on both
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
mitigation and adaptation;(UNFCCC) and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement• including climate change at all levels and acrossencourage people to take the lead and cooperatedisciplines in both school and higher educationin climate change education, training, publiccurricula, as well as in technical and vocationalawareness, public participation, public accesseducation and training (TVET) and adultto information and international cooperation in
education, targeting the entire population;these matters, with youth as a cross-cutting focus.
• developing pedagogical resources/materials that
Among others, climate education, and more broadly
take into account different knowledge systems,
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), canincluding indigenous knowledge, as well as local
empower learners to transform themselves andlanguages; andtheir societies by developing knowledge, skills,• implementing quality pre-service and in-service
attitudes, competencies and values required forteacher training focused on climate change.
addressing the climate crisis.

ACE also emphasises the need to foster subregional,
regional, sectoral and international cooperation inundertaking activities within the scope of ACE toenhance the collective ability of governments andother stakeholders to implement the Convention
and the Paris Agreement. All actors are also
encouraged to document and share knowledge
regarding experiences, lessons learned, goodpractices, challenges and recommendations for
implementing ACE, as well as to promote peerlearning (ibid., 9).
We live in a time when those that are born today
will spend their entire lives in a world that is already2

1-degree Celsius warmer than is safe for all. Climate
education, along with training, public awareness,
and access to information, is foundational insecuring inclusive and informed participation, andensuring that the generations entering a labour
market shaped by low-emission, climate-resilient
societies have the knowledge and skills to thrive.

Ms. Fleur Newman and Mr. Hyunjin Chang
Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) Team,
United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
February 2021
3

RCE Belarus
RCE Denmark
RCE Chandigarh
RCE Grand Rapids
RCE Okayama

RCE Greater Atlanta
RCE Greater Eastern Uganda

Featured RCE
Climate Action Projects

RCE Penang
RCE North Rift
RCE Bogota

A Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) is a network of existing formal,
non-formal and informal organisations that facilitate education forsustainable development (ESD) in local and regional communities. RCEs
bring together institutions at the regional/local level to jointly promote
ESD. They aspire to use education as a mechanism to translate global
objectives for sustainable development into the context of the local
communities in which they operate.

RCE Dar es Salaam

RCEs build innovative platforms to share information and experiences
and to promote dialogue among regional/local stakeholders throughpartnerships for sustainable development. An RCE can involve local school
systems, higher education institutions, environmental NGOs, museums,
zoos, botanical gardens, local governments, local enterprises, volunteer
groups, media, civic associations and/or individuals who work in thespheres of sustainable development such as economic growth, social
development, and environmental protection.

RCE Crete

RCEs Worldwide

As of December 2020, 179 RCEs have officially been acknowledged by the United Nations University worldwide.

Africa & Middle East
Cameroon:• BueaEgypt:• CairoEswatini:• Eswatini
Ghana:• Ghana
Jordan:• JordanKenya:• Central Kenya• Greater Nairobi• Greater Pwani• Kakamega-Western
Kenya• Mau Ecosystem
Complex• Mount Kenya• North Rift

• Nyanza• South Rift
Lesotho:• Lesotho
Malawi:• ZombaMozambique:• Maputo
Namibia:• Khomas-Erongo
Nigeria:• Greater Yenagoa• Ilorin• Kano• Lagos• Minna• Ogun• Port Harcourt• Zaria

EuropeSenegal:• Senegal
South Africa:• Gauteng• KwaZulu-Natal• Makana andRural Eastern Cape
Tanzania:• Dar es Salaam
Uganda:• Greater Eastern
Uganda• Greater Kampala• Greater Masaka• Greater Mbarara
Zambia:• Lusaka
Zimbabwe:• Harare• MutareAlbania:• Middle Albania
Austria:• Graz-Styria• Vienna
Belarus:• Belarus
Czech Republic:• Czechia
Denmark:• DenmarkFinland:• Helsinki Metropolitan
France:• Bordeaux Aquitaine• Brittany• Paris Seine
Germany:• Hamburg• Munich• Nuremberg• Oldenburger
Münsterland• Ostwürttemberg

The Americas• Ruhr• Southern Black Forest• Stettiner Haff
Greece:• Central Macedonia• CreteIreland:• Dublin
Italy:• Euroregion Tyrol
Lithuania:• Vilnius
Netherlands:• Fryslân
Poland:• Warsaw Metropolitan
Portugal:• Açores• Creias-Oeste• Porto Metropolitan
Area
Regional:• Rhine Meuse

Russia:• Nizhny Novgorod• Samara
Serbia:• Vojvodina
Spain:• Galicia
Sweden:• North Sweden• Skane• Uppsala-Gotland• West Sweden
United Kingdom:• East Midlands• Greater Manchester• London• North East
• Scotland• Severn• Wales• Yorkshire & Humberside

Argentina:• Chaco• Cuenca del Plata
Brazil:• Curitiba-Parana• Rio de Janeiro• Sao Paulo
Canada:• British Columbia• Greater Sudbury• Mauricie/Centredu-Quebec• Peel• PeterboroughKawarthaHaliburton• Saskatchewan• Tantramar
Colombia:• Bogota
Guatemala:• Guatemala

Asia-Pacific
Mexico:• Borderlands
Mexico-USA• Western Jalisco
Peru:• Lima-Callao
Puerto Rico:• Puerto Rico
United Statesof America:• Georgetown• Grand Rapids• Greater Atlanta• Greater Burlington• Greater Phoenix• Greater Portland• North Texas• Salisbury• Shenandoah Valley
Venezuela:• Gran Caracas

Australia:• Gippsland• Greater Western
Sydney• Murray-Darling• Tasmania• Western Australia
Bangladesh:• Greater Dhaka• Sundarbans
Cambodia:• Greater Phnom
Penh
China:• Anji• Beijing• Greater Shangri-la• Hangzhou• Hohhot• Kunming• Qingdao• Tianjin

India:• Bengaluru• Chandigarh• Chennai• Delhi• East Arunachal
Pradesh• Goa• Guwahati• Jammu• Kodagu• Kozhikode• Lucknow• Mumbai• Pune• Srinagar• Thiruvananthapuram• Tirupati
Indonesia:• Bogor• East Kalimantan• Yogyakarta

Japan:• Chubu• Greater Sendai• Hokkaido Central• Hyogo-Kobe• Kitakyushu• Okayama• Omuta• Yokohama
Kyrgyzstan:• Kyrgyzstan
Malaysia:• Central
Semenanjung• Greater Gombak• Iskandar• Kuching• Melaka• Penang
New Zealand:• Otago• WaikatoPhilippines:• Bohol• Cebu• Ilocos• Northern Mindanao
Regional:• Pacific Island
Countries
Republic of Korea:• Changwon• Dobong-gu• Incheon• Inje• Tongyeong• UljuThailand:• Cha-am• Maha Sarakham• Sakon Nakhon• Trang
Vietnam:• Southern Vietnam

5

Editorial

Innovating for Action: Addressing
Climate Change through Education

Annie Sprat | unsplash

Dr. Philip Vaughter, Research Fellow, UNU-IAS

6

Climate change is a complex problem. The
anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions thatare driving climate change are produced througha huge variety of human activities, including
electricity generation, transit, and land use change.
Unlike the depletion of ozone layer that was driven
by the emissions in a few specialised industries
and addressed through the implementation of
the Montreal Protocol, the emissions causing
climate change span nearly all modern societies’
enterprises. Indeed, many of these activities are
so embedded within the structures of humansocieties around the world, it is hard to imagine
what our societies would look like without them.
Not only do a variety of activities contributeto the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, buteach of these given activities has a number of
proposed ways to mitigate their emissions. For
those willing to look beyond the structural forcesthat embed greenhouse gas emissions into thedaily lives of billions of people around the world,
the number of proposed mitigation measures
can lead to analysis paralysis – a situation where
decision-making becomes paralysed and nocourse of action is decided on. With so manycauses to a given problem, and in turn so many

proposed solutions, however are we to decide
which ones are the most effective for us to take?
With an environmental crisis as global in nature asclimate change, it might be tempting to lean intoa narrative that offers a blanket set of simple andde-contextualised solutions to the problem acrossthe world. However, to do so underestimates thecomplexity of the Earth’s climate system and ourown impacts on it. Planting trees is a great strategy
to lock in carbon when done in landscapes thatwere once woodlands. However, this might leadto more carbon emissions being emitted if donein coastal wetlands, which can be more efficient at
locking in carbon if conserved in their natural state(Rogers et al. 2019). Avoiding air travel is anotheroften touted option for mitigating greenhouse gas
emission, but this solution becomes meaningless
if an individual emits more in a shift to car transit.
And reducing households’ energy consumption
is a great first step, but may matter little if cities
and communities are designed in such a way thattransit makes up the bulk of the average person’s
carbon footprint. The realm of adaptation toclimate change is just as contextualised, with urban
communities in temperate zones facing an array7

of adaptation options that would be completely
different than nomadic communities in arid zones.
After all, adapting to higher temperatures may
be a secondary priority if freshwater becomesscarce. This is not to say that solutions are outof our reach – indeed, many potential solutions
are at our fingertips. However, it does mean thatsolutions to climate change may be more complex
and contextualised than we are used to thinking
about when it comes to problem-solving.

good intentions into concrete results. And while
national action plans can create guidelines for
effective education to mitigate and adapt toclimate change, as previously discussed, the great
diversity of causes (from a variety of emissions
sources) and effects (including more intensestorms and more severe droughts) of a changing
climate means that any ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach
may not be best suited for every city, sector, norcommunity within a given national context.

As with many challenges, education can hold the
key for finding solutions to a problem such as
climate change. Indeed, education has been suchan integral part in proposing solutions to climatechange that it has been a key component of theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) since the Convention’s founding.
Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) is theterm utilised by the UNFCCC to refer to the overarching goal of empowering all people to engage
with climate action via education, training, publicawareness, public participation, public accessto information, and international cooperation(UNFCCC n.d.). Through this platform of ACE, the
UNFCCC works with member states of the United
Nations on dialogues to promote and exchange
good practices related to education for climate
action, workshops to build and strengthen thecapacities of educators and education policy
makers that need to implement educationand training in relation to climate change, andnegotiations to foster the implementation ofclimate education and training policies thatgenerate tangible impacts in responding to climatechange. Indeed, ACE is seen as so critical to thesuccess of any climate treaty that many member
states to the United Nations have designateda National Focal Point for ACE, who is charged
with implementing all of the components of the
ACE platform at the national level. While creating
national policies on climate education is an
important first step in climate action, it is the local
implementation of these policies that translates

So how are we meant to go about finding which
solutions to climate change are the most effective
for ourselves, our households, our workplaces,
and our communities? Educating ourselves andeach other is a critical component, but how can wetailor education and training to our lived realities
in order to make the biggest impact in addressing
climate change? What is offered in the following
pages is a glimpse of how we might do just that,using the Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) modelon Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)in responding to the unfolding climate crisis.

8

RCEs are multi-stakeholder networks of formal
education and non-formal education organisations
that work together to create an integrated agenda
on using education as a mechanism for achieving
sustainable development in a given city or region.
Composed of universities, formal school systems,
local governments, NGOs, museums, zoos, parks,
and private sector partners, RCEs utilise educationand training as a means for communities as a whole
to respond to sustainable development challenges
in their given area. Through their acknowledgementby the United Nations University – Institute for the
Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), RCEs
are a critical component in using education andtraining as a means to translate global goals into
local actions on sustainable development. Linking
global aspirations to local implementation has
been a driving force for RCEs since their inception in
2005, and at the time of this publication, over 170
RCEs exist around the world, working on a variety of

Aaron Katz | unsplash

Editorial

9

Editorial

Francesco Ungaro | unsplash

topics within the field of sustainable development.
While RCEs work across a wide range of sustainable
development challenges, climate change has
been an especially salient topic for this networkof educators around the globe. Since the launchof the United Nations’ Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) in 2015 and during the Global Action
Programme (GAP) on ESD led by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) between 2015 and 2019, RCEs created
and implemented more projects around Climate
Action (Goal 13) than any other of the SDGs.

10

The reasons for this focus on climate change
education and action within the RCE community
are as diverse as the causes and effects of climatechange themselves. Many RCEs during the first five
years of the SDGs (2015 to 2019) began to create
curriculum linking climate change to a number ofother issues within the sustainable development
agenda, including other SDGs. While before
2015 climate change education projects among
RCEs were more siloed from other sustainable
development challenges, at the advent of Agenda
2030 and the launch of the SDGs, intersections
between climate change and other sustainable
development challenges become more manifest
in the education projects addressing climatechange. The links between climate action andfood security and nutrition (Goal 2 – Zero Hunger)
became a predominant theme within West Africanand Southern European RCEs’ climate education
projects during this time, with many RCEs fromthese regions reporting unstable weather patterns
making food supply chains more perilous,indicating a growing need for education andinnovation around local food sources in relation toclimate. Climate Action and its links to Clean Waterand Sanitation (Goal 6) are prevalent in many of the
RCE projects conducted in India during the sametime period, with many RCEs within the country
designing numerous education modules on how to
train citizens to conserve water effectively during
droughts and sanitise water during flood events.

On the other hand, climate change education
projects emanating out of East African RCEs during
this time tend to focus on the interconnectedness
between climate change and biodiversity
conservation (Goal 15 – Life on Land), with many
RCE projects from the region stressing the need toconsider safeguarding native forests and wildlife
habitats while responding to climate change.
The means and motivations for why RCEs have
utilised education as a means for addressing
climate change are diverse, however, the projects
showcased in this publication tend to share some
important characteristics in common to theirapproach to education on climate change.
For one thing, many of the RCE projects featured
here were careful to create education programmesthat took into account where greenhouse gas
emissions in their given communities were being
emitted from. Often times, curriculum and othereducational resources created using a top-down,‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to mitigating climatechange fail to take into account that different
countries, cities, and communities throughout
the world can have radically different emissions
profiles. This can result in a top-down approach
not making as much of an impact in reducing
greenhouse gas emissions in a given local setting
compared to a climate action plan that can be
tailored to have a localised approach that takes
local sources (and sinks) into consideration forgreenhouse gas mitigation measures. Because RCEs
include both universities that carry out researchwithin given localities, local governments that areoften responsible for tracking and reporting on
issues such as waste, energy use, and zoning, as
well as civil society organisations connected tomany different communities within their region,
they are ideally positioned to know where theirlocal emissions are coming from. Because RCEs
are able to identify the primary sources for theirgiven region’s emissions, they are also ideally
positioned to create or tailor education and
11

Editorial

training programmes on reducing these typesof emissions. This kind of localised educational
approach to stem greenhouse gases can be seenin RCE North Rift's project addressing waste
emissions, which made up the bulk of emissions
in a rural community. It is also seen in the groundup approach taken by RCE Belarus in carefully
identifying and mapping where emissions werecoming from in the Minsk metropolitan area so
as to design actions to target the largest emission
sources. This approach to localising educationand public awareness around local sources forgreenhouse gas emissions can also be synergisedwith national or sub-national climate education
policies. Often times climate education policies
emanating from a higher level of government canbe implemented through successful localisationin curriculum and training, as shown in the
projects from RCE Bogota which works closely with
Colombia’s Ministry of the Environment and RCE
Chandigarh which works closely with the Climate
Change Knowledge Centre of Punjab State in India.

RCE Dar es Salaam’s projects. Both of these RCEs
were faced with communities that were heavily
dependent on adjacent forest ecosystems, andthe realisation that these forests were alreadyexperiencing stresses due to impacts from climatechange. Through a combination of conservation
training and training in new livelihoods, both RCEs
were able to teach the surrounding communities
to better safeguard the local forest, resulting in
workforces more resilient to shocks from supply
shortages as well as a forest better able to store
carbon – a win-win for adaptation and mitigation.
RCE Greater Atlanta builds its project not aroundassessing vulnerability in a local ecosystem, butrather in a local labour force, in this case agricultural
workers. While agricultural workers are vital to
the world’s food supply chain, the sector is often
informal with limited educational outreach on how
workers should protect themselves in a hotter andmore humid climate. The educational intervention
designed attempts to fill this gap by providing
training on how the work force must adapt toprotect worker’s safety. An especially encouraging
Also, many of the RCE projects featured here takeaspect of localised vulnerability assessments built
note of which communities or ecosystems within
into these ESD projects is that they can be geared
their region were especially vulnerable to the effects towards helping not only one’s own community,of climate change. The effects of climate change can but to help other communities as well. RCE Grandplay out very differently across different ecosystems, Rapids took their own experience and expertise insectors of the economy, or communities of people.
working with land slide modeling and worked with
Safeguarding against disasters caused by climate
a community in Saint Vincent and the Grenadineschange often means careful risk assessment as toto assess risk and vulnerability within their own
what as well as who in a region may be especiallyregion. Similarly, RCE Crete took its own experiencevulnerable. Here again, RCEs’ connections toin developing agricultural extension services
local researchers, government, and civil society
on diversifying crops and conserving water in aorganisations are a strength in reducing risk on
drought prone environment to assist communities
the ground. Through their expertise, RCEs arein Egypt and Jordan facing these same challenges.
able to translate the specific risks to their region
from global climate change, and in so doing can
Additionally, the RCE projects within thiseducate local public, private, and civil sectors on
publication are designed to reach audiences
how to adapt to and minimise these types of risks.
through both formal and non-formal education
Examples of this type of local risk assessment
modalities. While creating an integrated ESD
built into climate education programmes areprogramme across both formal school systems andmanifest in both RCE Greater Eastern Uganda’s and non-formal community education and workforce

12

training programmes is a core element of all RCEs,
it is especially relevant for projects dealing with theissue of climate change where youth are a criticalaudience, but not a driving force of emissions.
While many of the RCE projects featured here
get their start in school curriculums, students inschool systems are never the final target audience.
Rather, youth within schools are empowered toact as educators to the general public, and go on
to educate about the realities of climate change
in addition to effective mitigation and adaptation
measures that can be taken within a community.
The climate education projects from RCE Okayama
and RCE Penang may start in classrooms, but they
do not end there. Rather, school students are thefirst recipient of an educator’s intervention toteach about climate change mitigation, but thesestudents then themselves teach the surrounding
community, either through online websites as with
RCE Okayama, or through in-person symposiums
as with RCE Penang. RCE Denmark’s end goal is
not to simply create students who can ace a final
construction project for graduation, but to createchange within the workforce training programmesof the country’s building industry by having aworkforce educated in school to de-carbonise thebuilding industry once they are in the workforce.
This linking of formal and non-formal education
throughout these projects is critical for not only
bridging different sectors of society, but different
generations within society. In a world where
there is an ever-growing number of years lived bymost of us after graduation from a formal school
system, it is becoming increasingly necessary
to realise that learning does not stop when weleave the classroom, especially as we learn more
about how our lives impact the world around us.
The projects presented here on climate change
education are not a definitive listing of all of thework done by RCEs on the topic of climate change.
Nor are they a definitive listing of the modalities
that climate change education can take. Rather,

these cases are the starting point for a conversation– one that all of us must start having within our own
communities and societies. This conversation willneed to involve systemic thinking, critical reflection,and careful planning on how we can each move
forward on taking effective action to respond toclimate change in order for all of us to move forwardwith addressing the climate crisis. Education canhelp inform and empower us about which actions
are the most meaningful for us to take within
our given context as citizens. However, action
competence and actions themselves are the mostcritical outcomes from any educational endeavour.
It is this need for education to link to meaningfulactions in response to climate change that unifies
all of the RCE projects presented in this publication.
Rather than setting the boundary for education
as sharing knowledge, the educators from theseprojects emphasise actions – whether to mitigate
or adapt to climate change – as the desired goalsof these curriculums. Facing the realities of achanging climate requires a lot out of humansocieties, including knowledge, perseverance,
resilience, and hope. But as climate activist Greta
Thunberg states, we need action, not only mental
fortitude, to respond to climate change – “Insteadof looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only
then, hope will come” (Thunberg 2018). The projects
presented here are to serve as a starting placefor educators, policy-makers, and communities
to begin creating and implementing their own
actions to respond to the climate crisis througheducation. While the contexts and challenges facedby the RCEs are varied, each presents an insight
into how educators can innovate for action within
a localised context to address climate change. Thisset of stories will educate and inspire, but mostimportantly, it will encourage the reader to takeinformed action on addressing climate change.

13

Chapter

Asia-PacificLet's Tackle Global Warming!
Virtual Museum of Science Experience
RCE Okayama  16

RCE Okayama

Awareness and Education on
Climate Change: A Day for Climate
RCE Penang  20

RCE Penang

Elaine Casap | unsplash

RCE Chandigarh

Sub-National Actions for Climate
Resilient Sustainable Developmentin Punjab, India
RCE Chandigarh  24

15

Impact
Increasingly, natural disasters such as torrential rains andfloods are linked to climate change. The torrential rains that
hit Okayama in 2018 is just one such example, showing thatmitigating climate change is both a global as well as a local
challenge. In response, Okayama City has revised its Action
Plan for addressing climate change, with a goal to reducegreenhouse gas emissions by 26% by 2030 from 2013 levels(Okayama City 2019). Awareness-raising and promoting
climate action by citizens to reduce their carbon footprints
is a critical aspect of this plan. In this regard, environmental
education and education for sustainable development (ESD)
are significantly important measures.

co2sosResponses/Actions Taken
The projects described here intend to inspire elementaryand middle school students to become involved in actions
for a low-carbon and sustainable society by using learning
methods which utilise information technology (IT), including
virtual reality (VR). To understand and tackle complex issues,science and technology can play a crucial role.

Lecture at the Virtual Museum of Science Experience using a virtual space.

The Virtual Museum of Science Experience allows for learners
to obtain knowledge on global issues such as climatechange from specialists. In addition, online learningmaterials to attract their interests are provided, which areaccessible through IT devices such as smartphones. Using
IT is one of the fastest ways to raise interest and obtainknowledge and skills on a topic. Also, the visual nature ofChapter Asia-PacificLet's Tackle Global Warming!
Virtual Museum of Science Experience
RCE Okayama

Lecture using CO2 data in a local science museum.

Situation
Okayama Prefecture in Japan is rich in natural
beauty, with farmland, mountains, rivers, andpeople that have lived in harmony with naturefor generations. The rapid economic growth after
1960 in Japan made people’s lives in Okayama
more convenient, though it has also had negative
impacts on the natural environment. One acute

RCE Okayama

Region:Asia-Pacific		Country:

Japan
13
17

SDG(s):
Climate Action,
Partnerships for the Goals
Theme(s):Curriculum Development,
Forests/Trees, Waste
Target audience(s):Primary, Youth (Informal)
Ecosystem(s):Urban/Peri-Urban
GAP Priority Action Area(s):2, 3, 4
Language(s) of project:
Japanese
Contributing organisation(s):• co2sos (Non-Profit Organisation)• Sci-Pia Lifelong Learning Center• Okayama City
• Okayama University• Notre Dame Seishin University• Fukuyama University• Japan Agency for MarineEarth Science and Technology(JAMSTEC)• Seishin Junior High School• Palau International Coral Reef
Centerenvironmental problem to the region is climatechange that has resulted from the release ofgreenhouse gases from human economic activity.
Therefore, it is important that every person becomeaware of the urgency and relevance for addressing
the challenge of climate change within the region.

Year submitted/completed:2019

co2sos16

ASIA-PACIFIC RCE Okayama // Let's Tackle Global Warming! Virtual Museum of Science Experiencethe learning material helps participants understandthe complex global issue of climate change throughreal-time much easier than via conventional
lectures. While students still take lectures online, thelearning environment allows for more interaction
between participants and the lecturer, and VR or
virtual spaces allow students to cultivate a better
understanding of climate change using their avatars
and smartphones.
CO2 measuring equipment was set up in some areasof Japan, including Okayama, as well as abroad,to monitor CO2 concentration and reports fromthis equipment has been opened to the public inreal-time. Under the guidance of local university
students, participants shared what they found fromthe CO2 concentration dynamics, and learned thereasons for CO2 sources, sinks, and movement.

Tips to Tackle Climate Action

Results
In a questionnaire distributed to participants, thestudents revealed they had a deepened sense ofownership in addressing climate change issues,
as well as an increased understanding of climate
science and IT. Furthermore, RCE Okayama
encouraged students who participated in the
project to conduct their own research on CO2emissions. Their research won four prizes forscientific research at a contest at the University ofTsukuba (Ka and Inada 2014), and the results havebeen exhibited at the science museum in Okayama
City to help visitors understand and reaffirm theimportance of global warming countermeasures.
RCE Okayama are applying the knowledge andexperience of the project to complete a learning
program for global warming using scientific data
and IT, and aim to expand this program at home
and abroad.

What You Can Do:
Real-time scientific data can be utilised as alearning material for participants. Specifically,
RCE Okayama mostly use the graphs of CO2
concentrations in their project across different
places.
They place CO2 sensors to monitor the dynamics
in each spot, and the collected data gives
students opportunities via IT to consider thereason for the change of CO2 concentrations
and how our lives or natural processes such as
photosynthesis contribute to these changes.

Why It Matters:
The material enables participants to recognise
the effects that their own way of lives/
human activities have on global warming andencourages participants to raise awareness andchange their behaviour in their daily lives. Not
only that, their actions can influence their family,classmates, or even local communities.
In addition, scientific thinking using data
improves students’ problem-solving skills andco2sosPrize ceremony of a research contest at the University of Tsukuba.

helps participants to become better practitioners
for ESD.
As mentioned earlier, some of the participants
have done their own research related to climatechange. The learning material should arouse theirinterests in science and global issues, including
climate change.

18

Who to Involve:
The following stakeholders might greatly contributetowards achieving success in this type of project:• University students can join the project aspractitioners. The participants communicate withthem and subsequently learn from them andbecome practitioners of ESD in the future.
• Scientific experts can improve the learningmaterial and give the participants opportunities
to learn something specific and sophisticated as
lecturers or advisors.
• Coordinators, who engage in activities to mitigate
climate change, such as an NGO or NPO, canmanage the project, oversee the situation, andplan what to do next.
• Organisations can provide a venue to host thelectures, which is essential. Sometimes a local
science museum can do this, or sometimes aschool can fill this function. They will also play
an important role in advertising the project,encouraging students to join, and disseminating
information to the general public.

		 More Information:		
ESD Okayama Award 2018: Encouragement 		
Award Winning Project – Activity Introductionof Non-Profit Organisation co2sos		Current Status Survey in Republic of Palau 		
for the Purpose of Introducing Environmental 		
Learning to Private Hotels
		Current Status Survey in Republic of Palau 		
for the Purpose of Introducing Environmental 		
Learning to Private Hotels (Follow-up Report)

19

RCE Penang

Region:Asia-PacificImpactClimate change is now affecting every country on
every continent. It is disrupting national economics
and affecting lives – costing people, communities,
and nation states dearly today and even more in
the future. Climate change is not just a long-term
issue, but rather is happening daily. Climate change
increases the cost of development in the poorest
countries in the world between 25 and 30 percent,with a US$700 billion gap in financing between
what is available and what is needed for climate
resilient infrastructure (OECD 2018). The insufficient
response of policy makers often means that thepoorest and most vulnerable are the most affected.
At the same time, humanity has never had betterknow-how of solutions available to avert thiscrisis and create opportunities for a better life forpeople all over the world. Universities grant thehighest degrees in education systems, and in thisway, help shape economic and political leadersand managers of tomorrow. With this in mind, RCE
Penang seeks to capitalise on learning as a way tosolve the climate crisis, both locally and globally.

Country:

Malaysia

RCE Sejahtera Youth (RSY)

7 12 SDG(s):Affordable and Clean Energy,
13 14 Responsible Consumption
and Production, Climate Action,
15 17Life Below Water, Life on Land,
Partnerships for the Goals
Theme(s):Agriculture, Forests/Trees,
Plants and Animals, Waste
Target audience(s):Primary, Secondary, Higher
Education, Teacher Education,
Community, Youth (Informal)
Ecosystem(s):Agricultural, Coastal, Forest,
Fresh Water, Urban/Peri-Urban,
Wetlands
GAP Priority Action Area(s):4, 5Language(s) of project:English

University students and the public attend the docu-movie screening together.

Chapter Asia-Pacific

Awareness and Education
on Climate Change:
A Day for Climate
RCE Penang

Participants show solidarity in fossil fuel issues.

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

RCE Penang
RCE Sejahtera Youth (RSY)
Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP)
Penang Green Council (PGC)
Consumers Association of Penang (CAP)
Third World Network (TWN)
Bike Commute
The Artivist Network
Malaysian Primatological Society (MPS)
Pesticide Action Network Asia-Pacific(PAN-AP)
Bakau Hijau – Merbok
Pertubuhan Alam Sekitar Sejahtera
Malaysia (GRASS)Green Animal Shelter and Society
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)
Gibbon Conservation Society (GCS)
Laman Karya Lumut
Persatuan Aktivis Sahabat Alam (KUASA)
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
Pop & Chee Urban Education
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)Klimate Action Malaysia (KAMY)• Klimate Action Utara Malaysia (KAUM)

Year submitted/completed:2019

Situation
RCE Penang’s secretariat Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
conceptualised the University in a Garden concept in 2001
to depict the close affinity between the role and function ofa university as an institution of higher learning and as part ofnature in a global ecological setting. The flora, fauna, aquatic
elements, and other natural elements are dynamically linked tothe exploration of knowledge on the campus. The concept is
an invitation for all who attend and visit to value, preserve, andnurture as part of efforts to create and sustain an intellectuallyconducive setting which enkindles the practice of symbiotic
co-existence between humanity and nature.

RCE Sejahtera Youth (RSY)

Contributing organisation(s):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Responses/Actions Taken
The “A Day for Climate” programme supports
the campaign #ClimateJusticeForAll and aims to
improve education, awareness-raising, and bothindividual and institutional capacity-building
for action on climate change mitigation andadaptation. The project was organised andparticipated in by RCE Sejahtera Youth (RSY)
under the auspices of RCE Penang. Through thisprogramme, RCE Penang can give both university
students and the surrounding community exposure
to actions they can take on climate change. Part ofthe challenge with addressing climate change isthat the phenomenon often feels neither immediate
nor personal. This programme is designed toincrease participants’ awareness of the seriousnessof climate change and educate them on ways toovercome it. Activities utilised included exhibitionbooths by NGOs working on climate issues, quizzes
and games to help participants gain knowledge,
pledges for university students on climate action,
documentary screenings, and discussion sessions.

21

ASIA-PACIFIC RCE Penang // Awareness and Education on Climate Change: A Day for Climate

multitude of ways climate change is changing
the planet allows students to innovate on the
different types of mitigation and adaptation
measures needed to address the issue. Participantslearned that local actions have global impacts,
and that in order to address global problems, aplethora of iterative local solutions is required.
Learning and practicing these local solutions waswhat ‘A Day for Climate’ wanted to emphasise. By
engaging with non-formal education, university
students were able to learn about the impact that
education can have on the behaviour of entire
communities, not just university campuses. Overall,participants walked out of this programme withan enormous level of knowledge and awarenesson climate change, as well as competence inactions to take in mitigating its impacts.

RCE Sejahtera Youth (RSY)

Results
The project ended up being a great success, withthe cooperation and commitment of all the partners
and participants bringing awareness on climatechange to university students and community
members. Exhibitions from the different NGOs to alargely academic audience were a great opportunity
for university students to explore the seriousnessof climate change from organisations working
with applied solutions to the problem. Learningfrom local NGOs allowed students to gain action
competence in a number of skills that reducegreenhouse gas emissions within the context
of daily life in Penang. Documentary screenings
helped participants gain an understanding of thesuffering climate change causes globally. This is
critical as climate change manifests itself differently
in different locations, and so understanding the

A docu-movie screening and discussion on climate change attracted a large crowd.

Tips to Tackle Climate Action
What You Can Do:

RCE Sejahtera Youth (RSY)Collaborators hosting an exhibition booth to help promote various issues related to climate change.

22

A project committee should be formed to delegatetasks and to prepare a proposal and detailed
programme itinerary. Following this, identify andinvite collaborators such as government agencies
and NGOs working on diverse causes that also
support climate change issues. Next, together withcollaborators, devise diverse sets of interesting
activities such as exhibitions, games, docu-movies,
and discussion topics to educate and connect
participants on climate change. Carry out active
publicity on various platforms - including social
media – to promote the program. The bottom line
is to make sure that every aspect of the projectworks towards spreading awareness and literacy
on climate change issues during the events.
In this project, the project committee contacted
participants directly via emails and calls –organisations agreed to participate from theinitial contact. The program should be organised
at a venue that can attract a large number ofpeople and the program itinerary should be welldesigned, involving a variety of different activities.
These could have been the determining factors
for getting the attention of stakeholders. For
publicity purposes, RCE and RSY members helpedin disseminating information via social media
platforms amongst their networks, including email
blasts via the university mailing list. All participatingorganisations were also requested to do thesame with publicity materials provided by RSY.

Why It Matters:
Low awareness levels on climate change amongst
their peers propelled RSY to take action on climate
education and literacy. RSY felt that local youths
should be more engaged on issues surrounding
climate change. The message of the project is thatclimate change will affect everyone everywhere,that it has a local-to-global impact. RSY believethat climate change can be mitigated that way too.
Having diverse NGOs taking part in the exhibition,
discussion sessions and screenings, etc, exposed
not only their peers but also the wider public in
Penang, to various issues and stakeholders that canbe impacted at the individual or institutional level.

Who to Involve:
In addition to RSY under the auspices of RCE
Penang, this project involved two government
agencies (local councils), 17 NGOs, and manyother individuals and volunteers. Others included
university lecturers and students, the wider
university community, and the general public.
Most of the collaborators invited came from thenorthern region of Peninsular Malaysia so as toreduce the carbon footprint for those attending.
The collaboration from various organisations
will help your project be even more impactful
and known because they will help disseminate
information about your project across their
network which will eventually help achieve theaim of raising awareness, which is the core
mission of the project.
23

Punjab State Council for Science & Technology

RCE Chandigarh

Children visit the Science Express Train on Climate Change.

Chapter Asia-Pacific

Sub-National Actions for Climate
Resilient Sustainable Developmentin Punjab, India
RCE Chandigarh

Situation
RCE Chandigarh is located in Chandigarh citywhich is the capital of Punjab and Haryana statesin northwest India. Punjab, the activity area of RCE
Chandigarh is one of the smallest states covering
1.53% (50,362 square kilometres) of the total
geographical area of India. It is located between
29’30’’ N to 32’32’’ N latitude and 73’55” E to 76’50” Elongitude. It is bordered with Pakistan on the west,
Jammu & Kashmir on the north, Himachal Pradeshon the north-east, and Haryana & Rajasthan on
the south. The major part of the state lies in the
alluvial plains which include four major rivers (theSutlej, Beas, Ravi and Ghaggar Rivers) that flow in asouth-westerly direction, as well as numerous smalland seasonal tributaries (choes) and an extensive

24

canal network in the region. The north-eastern partof the state has undulating hills (shivaliks at thefoot of the Himalayas) whereas the south-westernlandscape is semi-arid, merging into the Thar Desert.
The geography and subtropical latitudinal location of
Punjab leads to large variations in temperature frommonth to month and the region has four seasons:winter, spring, summer, and monsoon. Punjab isdivided into five agro-climatic zones on the basisof features such as homogeneity, rainfall pattern
distribution, soil texture and cropping patterns. The
agro-climatic zones are sub-mountainous undulating
zone, undulating plain, central plain, western plain
and western.

The Punjab region had a predominately agricultural
economy for decades, but is now slowly advancing towards
industrial development. Assessment of quality of life inurban Punjab highlights that Punjab performs better incomparison to other states (with similar per-capita income)in access to basic services. However, the agriculture sector
remains the source of livelihood for 26% of the working
population (Punjab Economic Survey 2019–2020).

Region:Asia-Pacific		Country:

India
3

ImpactClimate change is currently the most significant challengein achieving sustainable development, both globally andfor the region in particular. The vulnerable soils and water
sources in the region are going to be more vulnerable
by changes in weather patterns brought on by climatechange. People within the region must not only adapt tothis new reality, but also change their behaviour to help
mitigate climate change and its effects both at the regionaland global level.
Responses/Actions Taken
RCE Chandigarh is engaged with a multi-pronged learning
approach to address the challenges and implications ofclimate change in the region by teaching about sustainable
adaptation initiatives through ESD. The goal of the project
was to enhance understanding about climate change
and its impacts of the communities in the region throughpublic awareness campaigns and capacity-building
programmes. In order to accomplish this, an information
kit on climate change in Punjab was developed, along withbrochures and newsletters on climate change to assist in
public awareness. For capacity building, 30 programmes fortraining on behavioural change and up-skilling in regards
to climate change were designed by the RCE (targeting
officials, teachers, and students), including capacitybuilding programmes on climate resilient livestock,energy auditing and conservation, climate adaptation inrural areas, and waste heat recovery for improved energy
efficiency. In addition, eco-clubs of 5,500 schools (covered
under National Green Corps Programme) from the formal
school system built awareness and action competence instudents in responding to climate change.

6

13 15

SDG(s):
Good Health and Well-Being,
Clean Water and Sanitation,
Climate Action, Life on Land
Theme(s):Agriculture, Forests/Trees,
Plants & Animals
Target audience(s):Primary, Secondary, Higher
Education, TVET, Teacher 		
Education, Community,
Youth (Informal)
Ecosystem(s):Agricultural, Forest,
Fresh Water, Wetlands
GAP Priority Action Area(s):2, 3, 4, 5
Language(s) of project:EnglishContributing organisation(s):• Punjab State Council for Scienceand Technology• Punjab State Climate Change
Knowledge Centre• Consultancy Cell on Pollution
Control and Energy Conservation• Punjab ENVIS Hub• Regional educational institutions• Govt Departments• GIZ• Centre for Media Studies andCentre for Environment Education

Linkages to education and/or sustainable development
policies:• India National Action Planon Climate Change• Punjab State Action Planon Climate ChangeYear submitted/completed:
2018

ASIA-PACIFIC RCE Chandigarh // Sub-National Actions for Climate Resilient Sustainable Development in Punjab, India

Capacity-building of rural and urban communities.

Paddy straw management by developing pellets.

in the collection, compilation, and analysis ofstate-specific climate data, provided technology
demonstration sites to raise awareness on
de-carbonising agriculture, promoted energy
conservation through mentoring the auditingof 74 buildings in the region, and createdcapacity-building programmes to identify
suitable climate-resilient practices andtechnologies for the region.

Results
As a result of this ESD project, over 1,100 officials
from both the public and private sectors weretrained, and over half a million students were
given public awareness material and trained fortaking appropriate actions on climate change inschools and universities in the region. Further, morethan 10,000 individuals received climate change
information from the material created by the RCE.
Furthermore, the Project also trained state officials
26

What You Can Do:
Taking a multi-sectoral approach with different
target groups is critical for a climate education
project of this scale. Another important action
is to take into account the national and subnational policies around climate change andclimate change education, as well as taking stockof climate change risks and opportunities in theregions the project will be conducted in.

Capacity-building of rural and urban communities.

Why It Matters:
Punjab State Council for Science & Technology (5)Capacity-building of rural and urban communities.

Tips to Tackle Climate Action

Adopting a multi-sectoral approach helps
in understanding and analysing issues andproviding solutions for different sectors andtarget groups, which is critical as mitigation andadaptation measures to climate change are often
dependent on a given sector’s activities. Taking
stock of existing plans and policies in regards toclimate change and climate change educationin particular is important for integrating withexisting frameworks and upscaling, rather thanduplicating, existing initiatives.

Paddy straw management by developing pellets.

Who to Involve:
For a multi-sectoral project such as this, itis necessary to involve local government
departments that work with public awarenessand outreach on climate change, formal education
actors (including both students and teachers),
different local economic sectors (agricultural,industrial, service, etc.), as well as grassroots-level
organisations to reach the public within theregion.
27

Chapter

AfricaSolid Waste Management Options
for Food Security, Energy &Climate Change Mitigation
RCE North Rift  30

RCE North Rift

Managing Biodiversity in a Changing
Climate in the Albertine Rift Countries
RCE Dar es Salaam  34

RCE Dar es Salaam

Stakeholder Engagement for Promoting
Community Resilience to Climate Change
RCE Greater Eastern Uganda  38

Franesco Ungaro | unsplash

RCE Greater Eastern Uganda

29

PLANET // RCE Award Winners Projects Publication

challenges as the agricultural community tries
to adapt to the higher temperatures and lesspredictable weather patterns. These samechallenges can be seen mirrored in many otheragricultural communities within Kenya.

RCE North Rift

Dajopen Waste Management library

Region:AfricaCountry:

Kenya
5

Theme(s):Traditional Knowledge, 		Agriculture, Ecotourism,
Forests/Trees, Plants and 		
Animals, Waste
Target audience(s):Primary, Secondary, Higher
Education, Community
Ecosystem(s):Agricultural, Forest,
Urban/Peri-Urban

The youths sieving the organic fertiliser.

Chapter Africa

Solid Waste Management
Options for Food Security,
Energy & Climate Change
Mitigation
RCE North Rift

GAP Priority Action Area(s):3, 4, 5
Language(s) of project:EnglishContributing organisation(s):• University of Eldoret – Kenya• Dajopen Waste Management• National Environment
Management Authority(NEMA)
Year submitted/completed:2019

Responses/Actions Taken
RCE North Rift, which is based in the University
of Eldoret in Kenya worked with an RCE
member Dajopen Waste Management - a
community-based organisation. Dajopen
Waste Management is a non-governmentalorganisation which educates the residentsof Kitale town on collecting and recycling
waste in a more environmentally friendly
manner. The project was implemented
through training stakeholders within the
town on alternative livelihood opportunities,
including the collection and sorting of wastematerials, production of recycled items, andMembers of Dajopen Waste Management sorting the bio degradable waste from inert waste.

Dajopen Waste Management library

SDG(s):
Zero Hunger, Gender
7 8 Equality, Affordable andClean Energy, Decent Work
11 13
and Economic Growth, 		Sustainable Cities and 		Communities, Climate Action
2

ImpactTo compound the issue of a changing climate,
the population of the region is increasing, andcreating more waste from the industrialisationof agriculture. This not only pollutes the soil andwater, but also emits greenhouse gases as they
break down, further contributing to climatechange. The solid waste produced also increases
the presence of vermin, contaminates the soil,
and pollutes and clogs streams and rivers – which
can both cause flooding and create fire hazards.
The increasing amount of waste generated
from industrialised agricultural practices is ofparticular concern, as the breakdown of organic
matter from farming and food waste produces
a great deal of methane through anaerobic
decomposition when solid waste is taken to
dump sites. As methane is a greenhouse gasthat is much more potent in trapping infrared

radiation than carbon dioxide, the breakdownof organic waste is a critical consideration in
mitigating climate change. A comprehensive
waste management system is needed toprotect people’s health, safeguard ecosystems,
and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions
from the increasing amount of waste that
contributes to climate change. In order to do
this, the local community needs to be educatedabout responsible waste management options.

Situation
Kitale is an agricultural town in the North Rift Valley of western
Kenya, located between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills.
Historically, the region has had a temperate oceanic climate
typical of Africa’s east coast, with a relatively narrow temperature
range. However, climate change has begun to push temperatureshigher, impacting agriculture and forestry practices in thearea. Because of a changing climate, Kitale and its surroundingarea faces a plethora of environmental, social, and economic
31

AFRICARCE North Rift // Solid Waste Management Options for Food Security, Energy & Climate Change Mitigation

organic farming techniques. Capacity-building
programmes on waste recycling were heldin order to train community members on theproper sorting and handling of different kindsof waste, including organic, paper, and plastic
wastes. These capacity-building programmes
were paired with public awareness campaigns
that focused on educating the community
members on the benefits of using recycled
products. These benefits included decreased
households’ expenditures on goods, increased
efficiency for waste sorting and collection, anda cleaner community as waste was increasingly
recycled rather than disposed of. By working withthe community to safeguard the environmental
systems of the region, RCE North Rift members
also help to tackle socio-economic issues,
especially for vulnerable groups, such as women,
youth, homeless families, and small-scale farmers,
who are able to find livelihood opportunities
though training in waste management while

simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The trainings were supplemented with awarenessraising activities to the public at large on reducing,reusing, and recycling of waste.

and sorting, as they were able to generate moreincome from waste collection and sorting andthereby improve their household’s infrastructure.
The project also yielded greater household wealthfor all participants who were trained in reducing
and recycling waste. The community was alsoable to utilise some of the food and agricultural
waste to create bio-fuel, further decreasing theirexpenditures and time spent on collecting firewood from outside the village. The added benefitof this practice was that by using waste to create

Results
The results from the trainings initiated during the
project include increased crop yield of small-scale
farmers using organic fertiliser they learned how
to make from agricultural and food waste. By
composting organic waste for fertiliser aerobically,
community members reduced the amount ofmethane their waste produced had it gone to alandfill. The increased crop yields also led to more
food security for both individual households andthe community as a whole. This was especially
important for small-scale farmers who relied onsustenance farming to feed their households inaddition to production of cash crops to sell at market.
The project also resulted in better housing for slum
inhabitants who had trained in waste collection

Tips to Tackle Climate Action
What You Can Do:

Dajopen Waste Management library

Mr. David Ngige, RCE North Rift at the Dajopen Waste Management site showing the interns from Nairobi University School ofEnvironmental Studies how to record the waste disposed and supplied by the County Government of Trans-Nzoia Kenya.

32

bio-fuel, it protected the surrounding forests, as
community members had less need to harvest
wood for fuel from them. In addition, by diverting
waste from rivers and streams, the community wasbetter able to safeguard local flora and fauna within
the region. Furthermore, because of the increased
household wealth, the local government has beenable to collect enough tax revenue from the local
community to create a formal waste collection andrecycling service.

RCE North Rift and the Dajopen Waste
Management Project aims at tackling the socioeconomic and environmental conditions ofvulnerable communities through a communitybased waste management strategy. Such a
strategy is implemented through collectionof waste materials for production of recycled
items and the training of other self-help groups
and actors regarding alternative livelihood
opportunities, waste management, and organic
farming. A key component of such an initiative isto train community members on how to recycle
urban and peri-urban waste.

Why It Matters:
Teaching the public how to properly handle
urban/peri-urban waste matters not only inefforts to mitigate climate change, but because
handling and disposal of waste relates to so many
critical public health issues, such as unregulated
waste disposal sites becoming breading zones
for flies, mosquitoes, and rodents. The above
causes outbreaks of cholera, malaria, andrabies. Recycling waste for bio-fuel also has thebenefit of protecting local bio-diversity, as thecommunity has a ready supply of fuel for cooking

and heating without needing to harvest fromnearby forests.

Who to Involve:
Researchers and the benefitting communities
both have to be involved. RCE North Rift covers
the six counties of Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Trans Nzoia,
West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo county,
and was thus able to tailor waste management
strategies to specific community needs across eachcounty. Other waste recycling projects include
an e-waste collection centre at Eldoret National
Polytechnic and a bio-fuel briquette making
from waste materials such as saw dust by one
community-based organisation (CBO) in Eldorettown. Linking waste management to other projects
such as climate action and biodiversity conservation
through promotion of activities like tree planting
is recommended, but this means linking withstakeholders in these types of projects early on in
the implementation phase.

More Information:
Video: Dajopen Waste Management Project:
Kenya organic fertilizer
Dajopen Waste Management33

RCE Dar es Salaam

Harvey Barrison, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

citizens' livelihoods and which is also highly climatesensitive, climate change imperils the functioningof its environmental, social, and economic systems.
Therefore, capacity-building on creating publicawareness around how to manage both the country’s
and the region’s biodiversity in a changing climate is avital imperative.
Responses/Actions Taken
The overall objective of the ESD project was to use
hands-on training to support graduate students in
Africa as well as early to mid-career conservation
researchers and professionals on how climate change
impacts biodiversity in the region. This was doneby developing and implementing an educationand training programme on climate change andits impacts on biodiversity at the Institute ofResource Assessment at the University of Dar es
Salaam. The project focused on not only creating
in-class lecture material, but included extensive

Chapter Africa

Managing Biodiversity in a Changing
Climate in the Albertine Rift Countries
RCE Dar es Salaam

34

Lake Manyara National Park, Arusha, Tanzania.

Tanzania
13

14 15
17

SDG(s):No Poverty, Climate Action,
Life Below Water, Life on
Land, Partnerships for the
Goals
Theme(s):Disaster Risk Reduction,
Traditional Knowledge,
Agriculture, Curriculum
Development, Ecotourism,
Forests/Trees, Plants &Animals, Waste
Target audience(s):Higher Education, Community
Ecosystem(s):Agricultural, Coastal,
Dryland, Fresh Water, 		Grassland, Mountain,
Urban/Peri-Urban, Wetlands
GAP Priority Action Area(s):1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Language(s) of project:EnglishContributing organisation(s):• Institute of Resource
Assessment – Universityof Dar es Salaam• Ministry of Natural Resources
and Tourism, Tanzania

William, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Impact
The changing climate is contributing to theloss of biodiversity across the globe, with theloss of biodiversity felt the most acutely by therural poor in Least Developed Countries such as
Tanzania. Changing average temperatures meanthat species’ habitat zones and migration routes
are both shrinking and shifting as temperatures
increase and precipitation patterns change. The
loss of biodiversity imperils the world as a whole
by reducing the resiliency of natural ecosystems
on which all life is dependent. The breaking downof ecosystems also impacts social and economic
systems, which impact many different economic
sectors such as nature-based ecotourism, which
Tanzania is especially dependent on. For countries
like Tanzania which depend on biodiversity for its

Country:1

Lake Manyara National Park, Arusha, Tanzania.

Situation
The Albertine Rift countries of East and Central
Africa are characterised by both high levelsof biodiversity and high levels of poverty. The
majority of the rural poor in countries like
Tanzania are dependent on biodiversity and theecosystem services it provides for their livelihood.
Furthermore, the growing tourism industry in the
country is increasingly being structured aroundnature-based ecotourism, with the majority of
tourists coming to the country to experience its
unique landscapes and fauna. Understanding thechallenges posed by climate change and learning
how to manage both the country's and the wider
region’s biodiversity in a changing climate is
crucial for ensuring sustainable development
for communities and that protects wildlife andecosystems as the ecotourism sector grows.

Region:AfricaLinkages to education and/or sustainable development
policies:• Protected Areas Management
Plans• Single Species Action Plans
Year submitted/completed:
2018

AFRICARCE Dar es Salaam // Managing Biodiversity in a Changing Climate in the Albertine Rift Countries

Tips to Tackle Climate Action
Ray Ryi, unsplash

What You Can Do:

Lake Manyara National Park, Arusha, Tanzania.

field visits to biodiversity sites within Tanzania
and the supervision of a number of individual
conservation projects in various protected areas
to better understand how climate change impacts
biodiversity conservation. While in the field,
participants learnt about challenges and strategies
to support conservation in a changing climate(e.g. protection of wildlife migratory corridors,
supporting community-based conservation
activities, supporting conservation-friendly
income generating activities which minimise
human-wildlife conflicts). The participants also
had extensive training on the SLOSS concept(Single Large Or Several Small) used in protectedarea planning and its relevance in biodiversity
conservation in a changing climate, so they could
contribute to habitat design for given species andecosystems.
36

Results
This training enhanced capacity of participants tocontribute to national efforts that aim to mainstream
mitigation and adaption to climate change in revised
biodiversity management plans and strategies intheir countries (Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda,
and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The
mainstreaming of climate change was necessary inmost revised Protected Areas Management Plans
and/or Single Species Action Plans, and this training
gave the conservation researchers and professionals
the added know-how on how to do this. Whilemost education initiatives on climate change
focus on aspects of mitigation, it is also critical toengage with education on appropriate adaptation
measures, especially in relation to projects involving
conservation planning and ecotourism. This
educational approach allows for projects that willprotect both species and ecosystems now and in the
future under a changing climate.

Trainings that aim to mainstream climate change
adaptation strategies into national policies, plans,
programs, strategies and projects should be moretargeted and focused in terms of the trainers andthe training participants. Experienced trainers
from within a region are highly recommended toshare their practical experiences on what works
better under business-as-usual scenarios and in thechanging climate. Trainers from other regions fromacross the globe can be invited to share lessons
learnt in the implementation of various climatechange-biodiversity conservation projects in theirown regions/countries. The training should givepriority to practitioners and/or managers working
in different protected areas, as different ecosystems
and species require different management andconservation responses in the face of climatechange.

institution to support them. Generally, engaging
the practitioners guarantees sustained knowledge
and practice in the conservation practices thatwill be implemented. It also better prepares thosetrained to take an adaptive approach to managing
biodiversity, taking into account both a changing
climate and localised contexts. Since most
biodiversity management practices were createdunder a paradigm of a stable climate, it is crucial
to stress this adaptative approach in trainings for
effective conservation projects.

Who to Involve:

To make more of an impact, the training program
should not be restricted to participants working
for national governments only. The training should
also involve the private sector (including privatelyowned conservation areas and local ecotourism
companies), the communities (community-based
Why It Matters:
conservation initiatives) and non-governmental
It is much easier for participants to design a
conservation organisations (including local,
conservation project that aims to mainstream
national, and international conservation
climate change action into a particular area they are organisations that are operating in a given region).
familiar with. Participants outside of conservation
While experts in conservation should be the target
circles have a difficult time in conceptualising a
audience, these experts do not just come from one
practical project to implement in their own
sector.
country or locality and often struggle to get a host37

RCE Greater Eastern Uganda

PLANET // RCE Award Winners Projects Publication

Biology Research teams from Busitema University at West
Bugwe Central Forest Reserve.

satellite imagery in 2015, the Ministry of Water andEnvironment identified the West Bugwe Central
Forest Reserve (CFR) – which covers a total areaof 3,867 hectares (38.671 km2) – as one of the 10
restoration hotspots in Uganda for biodiversity
integrity, since it has experienced high rates ofdeforestation between 1990 and 2015 (FSC 2018).
The World Bank (1993) listed it among one of the
Ecologically Sensitive Sites in Africa. However,Eastern Uganda is seeing much of its land continue
to shift towards agricultural production, with anincreasing number of farm holdings producing
cash crops such as coffee, cotton, bananas,
potatoes, millet, and sorghum. If this continues,
many landscapes will be transformed from carbon
sequestration sites into sources for greenhouse gas
emissions from agricultural activities.

Chapter Africa

Impact
The forest has been highly degraded by agricultural
encroachment, illegal timber harvesting, andRegion:AfricaCountry:

UgandaSDG(s):
Good Health and Well-Being,
5 6 Quality Education, Gender
7 13 Equality, Clean Water andSanitation, Affordable and15
Clean Energy, Climate Action,
Life on Land
4

Target audience(s):Primary, Secondary, Higher
Education, TVET, Community,
Youth (Informal)
Ecosystem(s):Agricultural, Forest, Fresh
Water, Grassland, Mountain,
Urban/Peri-Urban
GAP Priority Action Area(s):1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Stakeholder Engagement
for Promoting Community
Resilience to Climate Change
RCE Greater Eastern Uganda

Responses/Actions Taken
Institutional engagement for forest managementfrom local actors was needed, including strong
support from public sector actors such as Busitema
University and the Busia Local Government, as
well as from the local private sector, conservation
agencies, and the local community itself. This
involved strengthening the capacity of the

Visits to neighbouring school for conservation education programme.
Oyege Ivan

Theme(s):Disaster Risk Reduction,
Traditional Knowledge,
Agriculture, Curriculum
Development, Ecotourism,
Forests/Trees

Ngobi Julius

3

charcoal burning, among other causes. This has
severely impacted its ability to sequester carbon,
and has impacted its ability to provide habitat
for native biodiversity. West Bugwe CFR supports
two endemic species of trees (Maesa welwitschii
and Phyllanthus reticulatus) and one endemic
butterfly (Belenois rubrosignata kongwana) notfound elsewhere in Uganda’s protected areasystem. Activities such as agricultural expansion,
intensification, and de-vegetation are the leading
causes of loss of carbon stock, species loss, anddepletion of natural vegetation.

Language(s) of project:EnglishContributing organisation(s):• Busitema University• Nature Uganda• Busia District Local Government• Tororo District Local Government
Linkages to education and/or sustainable development
policies:• The National Community
Development Policy of 2015
• The National Environment
Management Policy of 2014
Year submitted/completed:2019

Situation
Uganda’s forests are an important natural asset, locking in
carbon, preventing soil erosion, and contributing about 8.7% to
the national economy based on conservative estimates (NEMA2011). Sustainably managed forests give environmental benefits,
including benefits towards mitigating climate change, as wellas sustainable economic development and improving thequality of life of people across the country. Based on analysis of39

AFRICA RCE Greater Eastern Uganda // Stakeholder Engagement for Promoting Community Resilience to Climate Change

40

share experiences and learn about successful
implementation strategies in forest restoration andthe sustainable use of forest resources from eachother.
Results
Throughout the project, RCE Greater Eastern
Uganda was able to develop instruments forcollaboration and management among the different
stakeholders, which enabled their training andsensitisation to promote practices for sustainable
forest management. Some of the critical practices
community members needed training in included
reforestation techniques involving appropriate
planting and care of local tree seedlings, as well
as AIGAs to shift their economic activity towards
more sustainable production and consumption
practices. Key priority areas for intervention forpeoples’ behaviours and attitudes were identified
in relation to specific deforestation practices suchas harvesting fire wood or clearing the forest for
agricultural land, and community sensitisation
education was used as an entry-point to train andre-skill community members to practice sustainablebehaviour in relation to co-existing with the forest.
This enabled better protection for the forest, thelife within it, and the many ecosystem services it
provides. A better protected forest means more
resilience in the face of climate change for both
local ecosystems and the communities adjacentto them. Through this project, RCE Greater
Eastern Uganda has signed a Memorandumof Understanding with the National Forestry
Authority of Uganda and the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to promote theconservation of biodiversity as a public good.

Andama Edward

stakeholders for effective management of theforest through stakeholder sensitisation, trainingof forestry staff, and deployment of research
and administrative capacities to both monitor
the forest and implement conservation actions.
Training and capacity development programmes
started at wildlife/ecotourism centres on how
to effectively use office and field equipment tomonitor the forest. The staff were trained in theuse of global positioning system (GPS) and remotesensing technology to map resources and to
track the location of activities and events such as
charcoal making, forest fires, and human-wildlife
conflicts. The next step was promoting collaborative
management, firstly through sensitisation of thecommunity through training, and then mobilisingcommunity-based institutions to aid in monitoringand management of the forest. This was to promoteownership of the initiative and buy-in by the local
stakeholders in actively conserving the forest’s
resources. Next, training and mobilisation for forest
restoration activities took place, through raisingseedlings in nurseries, preparing planting sites,
and training the community to implement soil andwater conservation measures around the forest.
Finally, the community was trained in Alternative
Income Generating Activities (AIGAs), and received
start-up finance and value chain support forincome generation activities, which supplemented
household income while reducing their impact on
the forest and its constituent ecosystems. Someof the many successful AIGAs include establishingfruit orchards, mushroom cultivation, bee keeping,and seedling/nursery development. The successof the project has led to the creation of a learning
dialogue with a neighbouring RCE in Kenya –RCE Kakamega – which allows for both RCEs toBird-watching team visit to West Bugwe Forest.

Tips to Tackle Climate Action
What You Can Do:
RCEs can play a significant role in sustainable
development by becoming a dynamic hub
for lifelong learning and on-going practice incontributing to sustainable development. In
order to achieve this, it is essential to engage key
stakeholders in a consultative manner, and link
their activities to the existing local, national, orinternational climate change policy. Memorandumsof Understanding or Cooperation on key activities
are encouraged to codify any agreed actions.

Why It Matters:
Because social acceptance and stakeholder
ownership is a prerequisite for any change inbehaviour and success in the project, it is criticalto engage with key stakeholders on a consultative
vs. a top-down approach. The goal of any project
should be to create a plan that protects theforest and provides for local communities in a
win-win manner for conservation and community
development. Therefore, policies addressing
learning for adult stakeholders regarding
behaviour change around climate change must be
responsive to changes occurring in both the naturalenvironment and society.

Who to Involve:
This project focused specifically on the role ofcollective stakeholders in building community
resilience in response to climate change in regards
to using a common resource. Working specificallyon ESD projects at the intersection of sustainable
forestry and climate change, RCE Greater Eastern
Uganda recommends engagement with any
national forest authority to synergise with any
existing policies or education resources, local
government and councils for mobilising community
engagement, local workforces and/or communities
using forest resources (keeping in mind a different
engagement strategy may be needed for each),
and any development agencies or private investors
that can leverage resources for tree planting
and education materials. It is especially criticalto involve community members with local andtraditional ecological knowledge, as they can offer
critical insights into the nature and history of thesurrounding ecosystems and the species within
them.

More Information:
Education for Sustainable Development Uganda
Implementation Strategy
41

ChapterEuropeTerritorial Responsible Research andInnovation Fostering Innovative
Climate Action: The Belarusian Experience
RCE Belarus  44

RCE Belarus

Integrating SDGs in the MSc for Climate
Change, Sustainable Agriculture, andFood Security (CCSAFS) Program
RCE Crete  48
RCE Crete

Sean Paul Kinnear | unsplash

Vocational Training in Wood as an Elementof Sustainable Construction Methods
RCE Denmark  52

RCE Denmark

43

Kate Sposab, ESD Association

Climate Workshops: the first meeting with future multipliers of climate awareness.

Chapter Europe

Territorial Responsible Researchand Innovation Fostering Innovative
Climate Action: The Belarusian Experience
RCE Belarus

Situation
Minsk is one of the most populated cities in Europe
and the capital city of Belarus, serving as the
economic, industrial, and transport hub for thenation. With around two million residents in theurban area as of 2017, Minsk has a high densityof emissions of harmful substances – including
greenhouse gases – per unit area. These emissions
create polluted ‘grey zones’ – primarily around44

districts, where automobile and machinery
manufacturers and transport hubs are located.
There are around 20 parks and green zones in
Minsk, but many new neighbourhoods still lacksubstantial tree cover and green spaces. In addition,
urban growth has had a negative impact on
habitats and biodiversity.

ImpactThe urban design of the city was meant to provide for thecirculation of fresh air throughout the main avenues, but theintense unsustainable urban development has increased
the vulnerability of the city dwellers to the various impactsof climate change. The Territorial Responsible Researchand Innovation Fostering Innovative Climate Action(TeRRIFICA) project* in Minsk aims to raise awareness to
the local communities about climate change, its effects,
and possible solutions for adaptation to these effects.
The project activities are focused on public engagement
and stakeholders’ involvement in co-creation of resilient
solutions for urban challenges. However, to foster diverse
public engagement, stakeholders within the city needcapacity-building in order to make informed decisions andrecommendations for effective climate change mitigation
and adaptation activities that also empower everyone in thecity.
Responses/Actions Taken
The aim of RCE Belarus’ project is to develop guidelines
and educational practices to engage diverse stakeholders
and local communities’ members throughout the city inthe development of the climate mitigation and adaptation
agenda in the city of Minsk. Engagement with communities
and their respective stakeholders has been ensured
through the implementation of three project phases. First, a
Knowledge Phase was designed to provide stakeholders withbasic information on climate change and urban solutions
to address climate change to encourage them to learn
and participate in discussions from an informed position(this included reflexive workshops, online conferences,and stakeholder mapping). Next, a Capacity Building Phase
enabled stakeholders to co-design and co-create a future
vision for a climate friendly city using ideas from living labs
activities (this included stakeholder meetings, customised
ESD workshops, discussion climate clubs, and local summer
schools). Finally, an Action Phase, based on the results of thecrowd-mapping of ‘climate hotspots’ within the city, bestpractices, and tools in climate mitigation and adaptation,collected by all pilot regions, provided a series of climate
workshops as trainings for trainers of community members
and living lab projects across the city.
* TeRRIFICA has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 		2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement
No. 824489.

RCE Belarus

Region:Europe		Country:

Belarus
4

11

12 13

SDG(s):
Quality Education,
Sustainable Cities andCommunities,
Responsible Consumption
and Production,
Climate Action
Theme(s):Curriculum Development,
Waste, Forests/Trees
Target audience(s):Secondary, Higher Education,
Teacher Education,
Community, Youth (Informal)
Ecosystem(s):Urban/Peri-Urban
GAP Priority Action Area(s):3, 4, 5

Language(s) of project:EnglishContributing organisation(s):• Education for Sustainable
Development Association• Center for Environmental Solutions• EcoPartnership• Belarusian Geographical Society• Gymnasium #19 – Minsk• National Research Institute for
Urban Planning• Belarusian State PedagogicalMaxim-Tank-University• International TeRRIFICA
Project Consortium

Linkages to education and/or sustainable development
policies:• National Strategy for Sustainable
Socio-Economic Development of the
Republic of Belarus until 2030
• Governmental Program on Mitigation
Measures for Climate Change
2013–2020

Year submitted/completed:2019EUROPE RCE Belarus // Territorial Responsible Research and Innovation Fostering Innovative Climate Action:
The Belarusian Experience“The EU funded project TeRRIFICA(Territorial Responsible Researchand Innovation Fostering Innovative
Climate Action) with its network
partners in six regions of Europe
seeks best practices and identifies theapproaches that are already in place
to adapt to climate change effects.
The project is developing solutions toaddress climate change –along with civil society, science,administrators, and policymakers.”

Iryna Ponedelnik, ESD Association

Results
The main instrument for public engagement piloted
in the project – the crowd-mapping tool – enabled
the citizens to mark the positive and negative effects
of climate change or climate policies in the city andprovide their opinions for better solutions on ‘climate
hotspots’. Based on the collected data, a numberof living labs’ pilot projects have been developed
and adapted to disseminate educational tools andresources for changing behaviour patterns andattitudes towards climate action. Thus, the project’s
activities have led to recommendations, tools, andmethodologies that are appropriate for different
communities within the urban area for learning
about and taking action on climate change as it
affects urban life. Due to its success in community
engagement, RCE Belarus will now be responsible fordisseminating educational tools for climate action
throughout the region in Russian.

Meeting with various experts from NGOs, academia, and local authorities on mapping local climate issues.

Tips to Tackle Climate Action
What You Can Do:

TeRRIFICA Leaflet• Raise awareness: organise local climate groups
and explore the main global and local climate
challenges, best practices and case-studies.
• Map stakeholders: find out what opinions
and activities exist on climate change in thearea regarding science, education, civil society,business and government.
• Discuss and co-create: organise events (sciencecafes, summer schools, round tables, climate
clubs, field trips, etc.), where climate change
can be brought up from different sectors’
perspectives, and the main challenges for theregion are identified.
• Engage and empower for action: find theproper tool (climate strike, mobile app, survey,
guided tour etc.) to develop solutions for
identified problems and implement local actions.

The co-creation meeting of students and stakeholders on local climate challenges.

Kate Sposab, ESD Association

Why It Matters:

46

Nowadays climate change is a global issue, which
affects almost all areas of human life (United
Nations Climate Change n.d.). We have to takemeasures to mitigate the consequences of global
warming and at the same time adapt ourselves toalready changed conditions in agriculture, tourism,

and urban life. Today, 55% of the world population
lives in urban areas (UN DESA 2019) and their healthand recreation possibilities are endangered byclimate change effects. City residents are exposedto the negative effects of heat waves, floods, andinvasive species. Therefore the solutions have to be
developed at local levels by all affected parties ina co-creative decision-making process on how to
respond to climate change effectively.

Who to Involve:
Peers to involve in a project such as this include
climate activists, as well as stakeholders fromscience, education, business, government, and civilsociety organisations. Local community members
should also be involved for any project working inan urban environment, especially those affected byeffects of climate change.

More Information:
		 Crowdmapping tool in English or Russian
		 International TeRRIFICA website
		 Pilot region Minsk in TeRRIFICA project
Facebook: @TerrificaProject, @TerrificaBelarus

47

RCE Crete

Country:

GreeceSDG(s):No Poverty, Zero Hunger,
4 6 Quality Education, Clean Water
13 15 and Sanitation, Climate Action,
Life on Land, Peace, Justice16
and Strong Institutions
1

2

Theme(s):Traditional Knowledge,
Agriculture, Curriculum
Development, Forests/Trees,
Plants and Animals, Waste

Chapter Europe

Integrating SDGs in the
MSc for Climate Change,
Sustainable Agriculture,and Food Security (CCSAFS)
Program
RCE Crete

CCSAFS Team, including RCE Cairo and RCE Crete staff.

Target audience(s):Higher Education
Ecosystem(s):Agricultural, Coastal, Dryland,
Fresh Water, Grassland,
Wetlands
GAP Priority Action Area(s):1, 2, 3, 5
Language(s) of project:English & Arabic
Contributing organisation(s):• University of Crete, Greece• UNESCO Chair in ICT in ESD• Frederick University, Cyprus• RCE Cairo• Suez Canal University, Egypt• Heliopolis University, Egypt• Aswan University, Egypt• Al Azhar University, Egypt• SEKEM Foundation, Egypt• Ministry of Education, Egypt• Jerash University, Jordan• University of Jordan, Jordan• Jordan University for Science& Technology, Jordan• Mutah University, Jordan• Ministry of Education, Jordan
Year submitted/completed:2018

CCSAFS Consortium

Region:EuropeSituation
The impetus for integrating the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) into an MSc for Climate Change, Sustainable Agriculture,and Food Security (CCSAFS) programme (Makrakis and KostoulasMakrakis 2020) comes from the environmental and socio-economic
characteristics of the Southern Mediterranean countries where
it has been implemented. The objective of the project was torespond to the needs of an inter-disciplinary programme that will
promote the entirety of the Sustainable Development Agenda,
not just part of it. Students in the region need skills and tools fordeveloping agricultural practices, policies, and measures to address
the challenges that climate change poses to agriculture and foodsecurity in the region, without sacrificing progress on other SDGrelated targets.
ImpactClimate change projections for the Southern Mediterranean region
indicate warmer and drier conditions with increased frequency ofnatural disasters. Food insecurity under a changing climate is oneof the major challenges of the region. Agriculture is one of the mostvulnerable sectors to climate change, largely due to the limited
availability of water and land resources for agricultural activities– especially in countries such as Egypt and Jordan. The added
stressors of increased urbanisation eating up more agriculturalland in Egypt and forced migration of refugees into Jordan adds

additional challenges for food security in a region
already threatened by a changing climate. The
demand for scientists with expertise in agriculture
will therefore increase in the next decade within
the region. There are already skill shortages in theregion for expertise on plant and crop breeding, plant
physiology, soil science, and horticulture. There is alsoa need within the region to bridge the gap between
researchers, policy-makers, and farmers as well as
to make climate change-related information moreaccessible to local actors.
Responses/Actions Taken
The project started by carrying out multi-stakeholder
needs analysis and capacity-building for the staff
at partner institutions who would be teaching the
new MSc programme, working closely with RCECrete partners and using the RCE model to help the
Egyptian and Jordanian universities work with theirown local stakeholders. The partner universities
in Egypt and Jordan worked with RCE Crete and
RCE Cairo to identify relevant local actors, such as
NGOs active on food security, local members of
the agricultural/food sector, government agencies,
and other higher education partners with relevant
expertise. This allowed for a platform of blended
learning in the given university and with local
partners to be developed and supplemented with
in-field laboratories.

Results
The CCSAFS MSc programme launched in
October 2018 with 45 graduate students
enrolled in the programme at the two partner
universities, namely, Suez Canal University (Egypt)
and Jerash University (Jordan) used as hub
universities, with hundreds of additional students
enrolled in the Massive Open Online Courses(MOOCs) offered for the course. Diagnostic,
formative, and summative assessment of allactivities relating to the programme design,development, and implementation have been
carried out, leading to iterative changes needed
to make the programme even more successful.
Formative and summative evaluations showedthat the MSc in CCSAFS had a positive impact
on students’ skills and abilities as well as theirself-esteem and confidence. Students wereable to practice concepts related to addressing
climate change, sustainable agriculture andfood security. Additionally, students were able
to give clear feedback about their knowledge
regarding concepts related to sustainable ways of
producing agricultural products in light of climatechange and food security. The establishmentof the blended learning environment and theintegrated tools added value to students’ learningon climate change, sustainable agriculture andfood security.
49

Practicing sustainable agriculture.

CCSAFS Consortium

CCSAFS Consortium

EUROPE RCE Crete // Integrating SDGs in the MSc for Climate Change, Sustainable Agriculture,and Food Security (CCSAFS) Program

CCSAFS MSc students doing field work.

Tips to Tackle Climate Action
What You Can Do:
Developing an MSc programme dealing withclimate change, sustainable agriculture and foodsecurity (CCSAFS) is a challenging endeavour. It
starts with a situation analysis, involving various
stakeholders from academia and society, identifying
the barriers and drivers of stakeholders’ inputs,
carrying out a stakeholder survey for identifying
CCSAFS competences, organising colloquia andtraining sessions for strengthening stakeholders’
inputs, developing course syllabi and course
modules that reflect stakeholders’ inputs, and thenproceeding to course curriculum development.
Validation and accreditation using internal andexternal peer-reviewing and piloting is also
necessary, as is developing the appropriate humanand technical infrastructure for monitoring quality
assurance and long-term sustainability of thecourse.
50

Why It Matters:
The above steps reflect a participatory approach
to curriculum development. Usually, curriculum
development is expert-driven leaving those whoare concerned with implementation of the practices
without any involvement. Thus, participation rarely
extends beyond the delivery of the courses. Much
greater benefits can be achieved by encouraging
active participation throughout the entire
curriculum development process. Our experiences
throughout the CCSAFS project show that itgives us greater opportunities for discussion andreflection with different stakeholders. This makes
all involved learn, work more effectively, share andco-construct knowledge, resulting in the study
programme becoming more relevant to real needs
and the local context.

Who to Involve:
Besides partner universities and RCEs, bothinternal (academia) and external stakeholders(society) were involved. Internally, theproject involved students, teaching staff, andadministrators at various levels. Externally, it
involved key experts from local NGOs, civic
societies, governmental authorities, andprofessionals in the field of CCSAFS. The methods
used for eliciting stakeholders’ inputs included
SWOT analysis, quantitative surveys, world cafe
techniques, and individual and focus groupinterviews. Through this process the stakeholders’capacity-building for getting involved andeliciting inputs was strengthened. Capacitybuilding and dissemination were enhanced
through the development and use of an online
community of practice and a blended learningand training environment.

Acknowledgement
The MSc in Climate Change, Sustainable
Agriculture and Food Security has beendeveloped through funding from theEuropean Commission ERASMUS plus (No.
573881-EPP-1-2016-1-EL-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP),coordinated by Prof. Dr. Vassilios Makrakis.
The content of the paper reflects the viewsof the authors, and the Commission cannot
be held responsible for any use which may
be made of the information contained
therein.

51

RCE Denmark

Chapter Europe

Vocational Training in Wood as an Elementof Sustainable Construction Methods
RCE Denmark

Situation
In the Northern European region, there is a solid
sustainable forestry tradition. When building withwood as the building material, carbon emissions
are lower than building with conventionalbuilding materials. A cubic metre of conventionalbuilding material involves emissions of 1.2 to 1.5
tonnes of CO2 during production. On the other
hand, a cubic metre of wood as building material
can store 0.7 to 1.0 tonnes of CO2 (Træ Informationn.d.). In other words, there is a great potential fora green transformation of the construction andbuilding industry if wood is used as a sustainablebuilding material. This transformation starts inthe educational system by developing teachingmaterials on building methods using wood inorder to reduce carbon emissions.

David Rangan“When I finish my education as a carpenter, I’ll start my own
business offering sustainable building methods”.
– Apprentice Emil Brogaard.

52

ImpactIn 2015, global carbon emissions from the constructionindustry accounted for nearly 39% of total emissions(Aalborg University 2020); half of these emissions
come from the way we are building (production andtransportation of building materials), and the otherhalf comes from our planning of energy application
within buildings. This makes the construction industry
one of the largest single sources of carbon emissions(Christensen 2019). By changing our building methods
and materials, we could have an enormous impact on
mitigating climate change.
Responses/Actions Taken
RCE Denmark has signed a contract of cooperation
with NEXT Education in Copenhagen on a four-year
innovative project (the project detailed here), wheremost carpentry apprentices in the metropolitan areaof Copenhagen are given the opportunity to receive a
certificate of sustainable building construction together
with their apprenticeship. The goal is – by 2024 – tohave the first graduates being able to do sustainable
construction based on the newest knowledge andresearch available. The title of the project is ‘The woodconstruction industry for sustainability’.
The project is initiated and driven by the carpentry
apprentices themselves, their teachers, and the school’s
management, in cooperation with all partners in RCE
Denmark. This first phase of the project (completed
in February 2021) was seen as a test pilot for the fullproject which is expected to run from August 2021
until 2024. In the main project the wood worker
apprentices and their teachers are also participating.

The apprentices gain knowledge on and practise with sustainable
construction materials (wood fibre both as isolation material
and panels) and new construction methods (constructing walls(interior and exterior) and roofs (outer and inner) all while having
the least amount of impact on the environment as possible.
Additionally, the apprentices are introduced to the SDGs,
balancing the three dimensions of sustainable development;
economic, social, and environmental, with specific examples in
the curriculum on:• Life cycle assessment in building construction;• Recycling and waste sorting;• Equality between the sexes and ethnic groups;• Social benefits with a well-functioning tax system; and,• Acknowledgement of the right to organise unions.
Results
The preliminary results are already very promising:• More and more apprentices are getting involved with the project
and want to achieve the learning and competencies needed fora green transition of the building and construction industry.
• Both carpentry education and business are very maledominated industries, but the focus on sustainability seems
to attract women, and there are more women among theapprentices studying sustainable building construction,compared to apprentices in other carpentry programmes. A
positive consequence of that is also more debate about equality,
the different conditions of the sexes and how to ensure young
women’s well-being.
• The apprentices become ambassadors in the companies andinspire their master carpenters, who themselves start looking
for training and how to restructure their business in a moresustainable way.
• The project has experienced great support and curiosity fromthe entire value chain in the building construction industry, fromother educational institutions, the Danish National Commission
for UNESCO, as well as from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs(due to its connection to the SDGs).
It is also very interesting to learn how the collaborativeenvironment between apprentices and teachers is empowered
and leveraged, as they all are in the same boat together so to
speak. A very important notion here is that everyone participates
voluntarily in this ESD project.

Region:Europe		Country:

Denmark
SDG(s):
Quality Education,
11 12 Gender Equality,
Sustainable Cities and
13 17
Communities,
Responsible Consumption
and Production, Climate Action,
Partnerships for the Goals
4

5

Theme(s):Curriculum Development,
Vocational Education, Forestry,
Whole Institution Approach
Target audience(s):TVET
Ecosystem(s):Forest, Urban/Peri-Urban
GAP Priority Action Area(s):2, 4, 5
Language(s) of project:
Danish & English
Contributing organisation(s):Educational institutions: • 2030skoler• Next-Education• Danish National
Copenhagen
Commission for
UNESCO
Research institutes:• Aalborg University
Manufacturers:• Træ Information• Træfiber Danmark• EPUC (Vocational• HornGroup
Pedagogic
Building companies:
Development Centre)• Jakon• Ungdomsbyen (National • MTHøjgaard
Coordinator for the Danish • Juul Nielsen
National Commission for • Combibyg
UNESCO's SDG Schools)
Finance:
Unions and NGOs:• Tuborg Fondet• 3F (Union)• Johannes Fog Fond
• DEG (Danish Vocational• BoschSchools and High Schools) • Merkur CooperativeBank

Linkages to education and/or
sustainable development
policies:•
Strategy for UNESCO –		 Danish priorities 2019–2022•
Denmark’s Integrated 				 National Energy and		 Climate Plan 2020
Year submitted/completed:2019 (test pilot project still inprocess)

1. To develop
existing
and new
curriculum+ newdescriptionsofcompetencies
needed

2. To trainteachers
to handle
teaching insustainable
construction

Ongoing research anddevelopment of newmaterials, methods andknowledge

Group of teachers in a workshop about sustainable building methods.

NEXT Education is an institution,
driven on sustainable principles(Whole institution approach)

3. To train
examiners
to handle
the practicalexaminationof theapprenticeshipin sustainable
construction

A strong organisation –Management andstakeholders

4. Paralleldevelopmentin further
training ofmastercarpenters /companies

5. NEXT
Education as
an institution
transforms tosustainable
operation

Why It Matters:

2024

Objectives
Foundation

2020

NEXT Education educate
their apprentices to be change
agents for sustainable construction

David Rangan

PurposeIn 2024 the first apprentices (carpenters and wood workers)
from NEXT Education will receive an apprenticeship together witha certificate in sustainable building construction

MissionThe Danish Government wants to reduce emissions of CO2
by 70% by 20301. ’The wood construction industry for sustainability’takes responsibility to do their part of the transformation needed.

VisionEUROPE RCE Denmark // Vocational Training in Wood as an Element of Sustainable Construction Methods

Ongoingcommunication ofknowledge and results

Figure 1: ‘Overview of the strategic plan for the project’© RCE Denmark/NEXT Education¹ (Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities 2019)

Tips to Tackle Climate Action
What You Can Do:
An educational institution who wants to develop thecrafting industry in a sustainable direction needs to
do a lot of research on sustainable methods, since itwill probably be a frontrunner of a new movement.
The methods used in this project specifically arebased on sustainable forestry.
The two organisations involved in the project madea lot effort to make sure that the building methods
were buildable solutions, meaning that all materials
54

needed were part of an all-in-one solution to
local needs and resources, and fit in with national
regulation (relating to security, fire, and moisture).
This project is based on a combination of the formal
educational system, effective collaboration withthe private sector, and voluntary participationfrom apprentices, teachers and stakeholders. This
combination has given an enormous driving force
and sense of empowerment.

The global population will keep increasing.
Luckily the world has been successful in reducing
hunger and poverty. But the resulting increase intotal number of people, will mean an enormous
need of new housing to come. Our buildings andconstructions are responsible globally for 39% of thetotal CO2 emissions. There is a big potential in finding
sustainable solutions fulfilling the need of housing
and urban construction while avoiding putting ahuge strain on the environment.
In Denmark the government has a goal of 70%
reduction of the CO2 emissions by 2030, but the
government has been unclear regarding how thisgoal should be reached. Contrary to this, the concern
about future climate changes makes companies,
NGOs, research institutions etc. take action
themselves, which make them a very important
driving force in the highly needed sustainabletransition process. Our experience has been thatwhen we act, others are inspired and follow. Civil
activism and empowerment are very importantdrivers right now for such a project.

Who to Involve:• Research institutions and companies working
with sustainable building methods and materials.
• Teachers who are curious on learning about newsustainable building methods.
• Apprentices wanting to make a difference intheir early careers.
• Private funds from financing projects involving
education, sustainable development, civil activism.

"I have spoken with mymaster and he'll start
using the sustainable
methods I have learned."
Apprentice David Dylan Ringtved-Petersen

NEXT Education Copenhagen is the largest
vocational school in Denmark offering awide palette of youth education andfurther training:• 43 vocational educations• 17 combined vocational andhigh school educations• 4 high school educations• 5 different directions of 10th gradeof primary school• 200 different courses of training• 6.891 students per year
• 854 employees

For additional information on
this project, please contact:
David Rangan, Teacher and Sustainable
Coordinator, NEXT Education, memberof board RCE-Denmark, dara@nextkbh.dk
Trine Alette Panton, Head of Secretariat,
RCE Denmark, trine@rce-denmark.dk
55

Chapter

Americas
How Urban Youth Can Be an Engine to
Achieve Low-Carbon Sustainable Lifestyles:
Beginning in Bogota
RCE Bogota  58

RCE Bogota

Landslide Risk Assessment in St. Vincent
and the Grenadines
RCE Grand Rapids  62
RCE Grand Rapids

The Girasoles Project
RCE Greater Atlanta  66

Taylor Siebert | unsplash

RCE Greater Atlanta

57

Country:

Daniela Murcia Rojas

Colombia
11 12 SDG(s):Sustainable Cities and
13
Communities, Responsible
Consumption and
Production, Climate Action

Target audience(s):Primary, Secondary, Higher
Education, Teacher Education,
Community, Youth (Informal)
Ecosystem(s):Urban/Peri-urban
GAP Priority Action Area(s):2, 4, 5
Language(s) of project:
SpanishContributing organisation(s):• El Bosque University• Colombian Ministry ofEnvironment and Sustainable
Development• Environment Office of theMunicipality of Bogota• UN Environment
Linkages to education and/or
sustainable development
policies:• National Sustainable
Consumption and Production
Policy• National Environmental
Education Policy• National Climate Change
PolicyYear submitted/completed:
2019

Mobility Fair.

of innovative projects to address the sustainable
use and consumption of its resources. This project
has sought to involve urban youth as catalysts forchange, by helping them to gain knowledge inorder to empower them in the search for a moresustainable city by addressing the consumptionof resources within the city.

Theme(s):Agriculture, Plants and 		
Animals, Waste

Environmental Fair.

Chapter Americas

How Urban Youth Can
Be an Engine to Achieve
Low-Carbon Sustainable
Lifestyles: Beginning in
BogotaRCE Bogota

Situation
Bogota is the capital and the largest city in Colombia, withapproximately eight million citizens. Set within a mountain
range with an abundance of freshwater, the city is in need

Daniela Murcia Rojas

Daniela Murcia Rojas

Region:Americas

Daniela Murcia Rojas

RCE Bogota

ImpactDue to consumption patterns associated withpeople in urban and peri-urban areas such as
Bogota, the challenges in mitigating climatechange and achieving sustainable development
are growing. Traffic congestion, poor waste
management, and other sources of pollution havenegatively impacted the region’s multiple streams
and rivers, air quality, and soil. As the number ofurban and middle-class consumers increase in theworld’s cities, their consumption choices, especiallythose of the young, will define the sustainabilityof development for coming generations. These
citizens need to understand that they have thepower to change their patterns of consumption,by moderating their daily actions and habits,
and that this will not only have an impact on theenvironment, but also on their own lives andhealth. It is therefore imperative that young people
in cities like Bogota understand the appropriate
concepts of sustainable consumption, which allow
them to reduce their carbon footprints through theparticipatory identification of priority actions to takein a local context and the definition of replication
models.

Responses/Actions Taken
The project used a number of different strategies toaddress issues relating to sustainable consumption
within Bogota. First, an open call was made for
initiatives from young entrepreneurs to promote
low-carbon lifestyles within the city of Bogota
around five different domains: mobility, food,housing, consumer goods, and leisure. These
initiatives were featured in 25 events that were
held throughout the year by El Bosque University,with the help and participation of RCE Bogota asa partner, to educate the public about the actions
they can take to reduce the carbon footprints of
their consumption patterns. A communication
strategy was also developed through threedifferent social networks as a mechanism to reacha wider audience of young people and link them
to applied learning on low-carbon consumption,
which resulted in the development of two mobile
applications for this purpose.
Results
In the evaluation phase of the project, it was foundthat over 60% of young people had changed theirmode of transit to reduce carbon emissions, andover 60% of young people had decreased theirconsumption of meat to reduce their carbon
footprints. Nearly 76% of young people reportedchanging their purchasing habits after participatingin the RCE project, 78% of young people reported
separating their waste at home, and 95% ofyoung people reported being more aware of theenvironmental impacts of their leisure activities
than in the previous year.
59

AMERICAS RCE Bogota // How Urban Youth Can Be an Engine to Achieve Low-Carbon
Sustainable Lifestyles: Beginning in Bogota

the sustainable lifestyles as key to achieving
sustainable development, which are integral
in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13(Climate Action).

María Alejandra Castro

Who to Involve:

Young leaders.

Tips to Tackle Climate Action
What You Can Do:
The first step is to select a target audience, followedby the development of a diagnostic mechanism
in order to learn about the consumption
patterns, cultural activities, and knowledge ofthe target audience in terms of sustainability
and environmental impacts related to consumption.
The next step is to design a campaign (virtual andface-to-face) that is striking and interesting to thetarget audience. If the target is youth, the campaign
must include short messages, compelling data, andappealing imagery. The campaign should respondto the findings of the diagnosis and fill in the gaps
of information that were found. Following this, thenext step is the implementation of the campaign,
showing key information and messages regarding
sustainable lifestyles through a fun way. The final
step is to measure the impact of the campaign. This
could be done through surveys, focus groups,
60

as well as several other indicators, such as using
carbon footprint or ecological footprint tools tomonitor changed behaviour. The findings must be
documented and communicated in an effective way
to all the actors involved to ensure continuity andreplication.

Why It Matters:
Promoting sustainable lifestyles has proven to
be key to achieving responsible consumption to
reduce carbon emissions among populations.
Informing people of the direct and indirectenvironmental impacts associated with theirconsumption patterns, along with the actions they
can take to tackle them is fundamental to ensure
the adoption of long-term habits. Sustainable
Development Goals 4 (Quality Education) and 12(Responsible Consumption and Production) present
in their targets 4.7 and 12.8 respectively,

This campaign can involve different actors, suchas companies and small businesses that promotesustainable lifestyles through their products andservices, academic institutions to reach students,
government institutions to increase the scope of
the project to other segments of the population,and environmental organisations that promote
events and activities related to sustainable

The project had a first phase in the years
2017–2018, where it worked jointly with UN
Environment. During 2019, the project continued
working with other strategic allies and by
2020, a new phase of the project was being
developed in alliance with the Swiss Embassy in
Colombia (COSUDE in Spanish) and RCE Bogota
on sustainable lifestyles with an emphasis on
water resources. The project has proven to have avery positive reception, through the exponential
increase in followers on its social networks. It has
been possible to build a community of more than
12,000 followers on Facebook and more than 6,000
followers on Instagram. Social networks have been
fundamental in increasing the scope of the projectthat was initially carried out only for the city of
Bogotá, but thanks to these tools, the project has
achieved visibility in different cities around thecountry.
Although the project was destined to end in
2018, thanks to the alliances made with different
institutions, it has been able to continue working
and generating new dissemination strategies.
There is a group of approximately 30 young
leaders (students and professionals) who haveproduction and consumption. These are further
described as follows:• Academic institutions: such as universities andschools.
• Government organisations: such as the
Ministry of Environment or Regional
Environmental Agencies.
• Companies and local businesses that promotesustainable lifestyles through their products
and services.
• Environmental institutions and organisations.
• University networks such as the RCE network.
• NGOs.

been fundamental in the development of the
project, and as multipliers of the information
with their communities. Different pedagogicaltools have been developed, both virtual (throughsocial networks) and face-to-face (with a game
circuit) that have made it possible to carry out theactivities proposed by the project.
Virtual events have proven to be an excellent
platform to promote the campaign. These
events tend to be very far-reaching as people
from all around the country can participate andalso different topics related to the Sustainable
Lifestyles domains are addressed. The contests
have been a platform for interaction with thefollowers of the campaign. Not only do they
promote the call to action because they seekthat the community demonstrate the adoptionof sustainable lifestyles, they are also a visibility
platform for local businesses that allow those
lifestyles to be a long-term habit.
More Information:
Instagram: @modoaccionsostenible
Facebook: @modoaccionsostenible
Twitter: @modosostenible
Project Website: http://enmodoaccion.com/

61

Erik Nordman

droughts. This will increase risks for landslides and reduce
agricultural productivity (Simpson et al. 2012). Warming seas
will lead to coral bleaching events and a significant drop in
fisheries catches (Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations 2013).
Responses/Actions Taken
As a first step, Dr. Erik Nordman of RCE Grand Rapids
collaborated with the Pan American Development Foundation(PADF) to write a curriculum on disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptation for Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines using the risk models the students at RCE Grand
Rapids had generated as part of their course work. Next, 106
young adults from three vulnerable communities within Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines participated in the curriculum
during the autumn semester of the same year. The RCE Grand
Rapids students linked with both the PADF staff as well as thecommunity members from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
via video conferencing so the different stakeholders could
share results and incorporate feedback into updated models
and community disaster plans. Finally, university students fromRCE Grand Rapids in an advanced undergraduate class –Applied Spatial Analysis of Natural Resources – created alandslide risk model for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
using GIS software.

Steep slopes and intense storms create risks for landslides in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Chapter Americas

Landslide Risk Assessment in
St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Workers rebuild a bridge that was destroyed in a storm.

RCE Grand Rapids

RCE Grand Rapids

Region:Americas		
Countries:

United States,
Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines
9
13

11

SDG(s):
Industry, Innovation andInfrastructure, Sustainable
Cities and Communities,
Climate Action
Theme(s):Disaster Risk Reduction,
Curriculum Development
Target audience(s):Higher Education,
Community
Ecosystem(s):Coastal, Mountain,
Urban/Peri-Urban

62

ImpactClimate change has made the risk of landslides all
the greater. The weather is becoming more variable.
Both rainfall and droughts are becoming more
intense. For example, the storm and floods of 24–25
December, 2013 were very destructive. At least nine
Vincentians lost their lives and more than 11,000
people were affected. The flood caused damage
totalling EC$291 million (US$108 million) – 15%of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (Rodrigues
et al. 2014). Experts expect rainfall to become morevariable with intense bursts followed by longer

GAP Priority Action Area(s):5Language(s) of project:EnglishContributing organisation(s):• Grand Valley State University• Pan American Development
Foundation• Nordman Sustainability
Solutions

Erik Nordman

Situation
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a disaster-prone
archipelagic country in the southern Caribbean. The
island of Saint Vincent is volcanic, with steep slopes
and little level ground. Although Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines is located in the Caribbean, its
southerly location protects it from most hurricanes.
However, it is prone to intense storms that hammer
the islands with precipitation and strong winds. The
combination creates a substantial risk for landslides
and erosion along the rugged landscape.

Year submitted/completed:2015

AMERICAS RCE Grand Rapids // Landslide Risk
Assessment in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
A resident explains how flooding from anintense storm damaged her home andscattered debris around her property.

Results
The goals were to:• Develop a corps of informed, skilled, and dedicatedyouth who can reduce risks associated with natural
hazards, including climate change, in their communities;• Empower youth to be active change agents in their lives
and communities; and• Promote sustainable livelihoods that provide
appropriate job opportunities to unemployed youth.
These goals were achieved. More than 100 students
graduated from the training program. The participants
actively made their communities less vulnerable tosevere weather and coastal erosion by planting grass
and trees in targeted areas. They created hazard maps to
identify problem areas, such as sites at risk of landslides
or flooding, and created disaster kits for homes andworkplaces. These graduates are ambassadors for climate
and disaster resilience in their communities.

Tips to Tackle Climate Action
What You Can Do:
Hazard mapping is an engaging activity that can be done
at low cost. Participants can use GPS units or phones tomark the locations of key hazards in their communities,
such as low places prone to flooding, poor infrastructure
like large potholes, or hazardous trees. These can bereported to the appropriate officials for remediation.

Why It Matters:
Removing hazards improves climate resilience. In the shortterm, we can’t stop climate-fueled storms, but we cantrim a tree so a limb does not damage an electrical wire,causing an outage.

Community residents of any age, local authorities,
such as first responders, emergency managers, disastermanagement agencies, meteorological services, and/or
schools.
64

Erik Nordman

Who to Involve:

65Since the early 1990s, the FWAF has addressed
pesticide exposure, field sanitation, and otheragricultural health and safety issues by educating
agricultural workers about occupational exposure
protection measures. The organisation works
across 15 counties in the state, including the target
community for this project that members of RCE
Greater Atlanta undertook.

RCE Greater Atlanta

Region:Americas

United States
SDG(s):
Good Health and Well-Being,
13 16 Decent Work and Economic
Growth, Climate Action, Peace,
Justice and Strong Institutions
8

Theme(s):Agriculture, Curriculum 		
Development
Ecosystem(s):Agricultural

Videographer Tom Laffay, BA, from La Isla Network filming Facing the Sun on site.

GAP Priority Action Area(s):1, 3Language(s) of project:EnglishContributing organisation(s):• Emory University Nell Hodgson
Woodruff School of Nursing• Farmworker Association of
Florida• La Isla Network (Media
Collaborator)
Linkages to education and/or
sustainable development
policies:
This project provides a scientificbasis for future policies for aheat standard for heat illness
prevention training and heat
prevention workplace standards.
Year submitted/completed:2018

Chapter Americas

Research Coordinator for the Farmworker Association of Florida (FWAF), Nezahualcoyotl Xiuhtecutli, MA,
speaking with study participants at a local farm.

The Girasoles Project
RCE Greater Atlanta

Situation
The Farmworker Association of Florida (FWAF) began in 1983
and was incorporated in 1986. It is a state-wide, grassroots
membership organisation of more than 10,000 agricultural
worker families from predominantly Mexican, Haitian,African-American, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadorancommunities. FWAF members work mainly in the fern, foliage,
citrus, vegetable, sod, mushroom, and landscaping industries.

Valerie Mac, PhD, RN, FNP-C, ENP-C

3

ImpactWith successive years of record-breaking Summer
heat, excessive heat is increasingly becoming
a global public health priority. It will be themost vulnerable populations who are the mostadversely affected by this excessive heat, and it isthese populations that have the least amount ofcontrol over their work environments. Within the
United States, heat illness prevention training andworkplace measures to protect workers from heathazards need to be prioritised in light of a changing
climate. To advance sustainable development,interventions and policy are both needed to ensure
safe work environments for agricultural workers.

Valerie Mac, PhD, RN, FNP-C, ENP-C

Country:

Responses/Actions Taken
The objectives for the Girasoles project included:(1) describing heat hazards and associated heatrelated health problems faced by agricultural
workers; (2) translating these research findings
into work-centred heat illness prevention trainings
and interventions, and; (3) disseminating the
research findings to workers, employers, key
stakeholders, and the public to mobilise efforts inthe face of rising temperatures. Members of RCE
Greater Atlanta utilised community-based research,community engagement through promoters,
and physiologic bio-monitoring to carry out the
research. Heat illness prevention trainings werethen developed from the research findings, whichwere then carried out by farmworkers, advocates,
and community health workers. Finally, a shortfilm was created with a media collaborator tofurther disseminate findings to a larger audience.

67

Valerie Mac, PhD, RN, FNP-C, ENP-C

AMERICAS RCE Greater Atlanta // The Girasoles Project

Tips to Tackle Climate Action
What You Can Do:
Take stock of the agricultural sectors in your own
region – determine if associations or industries
are offering training on how to prevent heat
illness in agricultural workforces and workwith partners to create curriculum and healthmonitoring if they are not. In addition, seekout scientific and community partners who
can work together to design and implement
policy that mandates training and heat-adaptive
interventions to protect workers from the heat.

Why It Matters:
Workforce sectors need to adapt to the realities
of a warmer and wetter climate to protect
workers from illness, especially those in the
agricultural and food sectors. Training foradaptation must be paired with education on
mitigation for these sectors.

Who to Involve:
Make sure agricultural workers receive training
in field and are active stakeholders in design
and implementation of heat illness prevention
training. Work with medical experts who canhelp create safety criteria as well as translators
for any written or oral communication that isneeded for different language groups.

Reach out to community supporters like
community-based advocacy organisations as well
as agricultural extension centres and their agentsto bring employers and community organisations
to the table to strategise together. Finally, engage
media experts and visual artists to support
awareness and action for workers facing publichealth threats.

More Information:
Hydration Status, Kidney Function, and Kidney
Injury in Florida Agricultural Workers
Heat Exposure in Central Florida Fernery
Workers: Results of a Feasibility Study
Farmworker Vulnerability to Heat Hazards: A
Conceptual Framework
Novel Analytic Methods Needed for Real-TimeContinuous Core Body Temperature Data
Funding information:
The Girasoles (Sunflower) Study (R01-OH01657)
For further information:
Linda McCauley, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAAOHN
linda.mccauley@emory.edu
Roxana Chicas, PhD, RN
rchicas@emory.edu

Emory University and FWAF staff members Estefani Ignacio Gallegos, BS and Stefka Mentor, MSN, AGNP-BC
analysing participant samples for dehydration.

Results
Participants were monitored using a comprehensive
bio-monitoring protocol for up to three workdays.
It was found that participants exceeded therecommended core body temperature (Tc) over
75% of observed workdays. In an analysis of a subsample of the workers, ~53% were dehydrated preshift, and 81% were dehydrated post-shift, with 33%
68

of the workers having acute kidney injury (AKI)
on at least one workday. The odds of an AKI
increased 47% for each 5-degree C increase in theheat index. These results provided the evidence
for the necessary heat-adaptive interventions toaddress heat hazards faced by agricultural workers
in the changing climate.
69

Shane Rounce | unsplash

Next Steps

Dr. Philip Vaughter, Research Fellow, UNU-IAS
Where do we go from here? The field of climatechange education is still relatively new, and in turn
new pedagogies, curriculums, and modalities oflearning will undoubtedly unfold within it overthe coming years as global society continues toaddress the challenges of climate change. The
projects showcased here represent some of theinnovative approaches communities have taken toaddress action through climate education in lightof their own emissions sources, vulnerabilities,
and partnerships. But these initiatives are just the
beginning – with a problem as complex and multifaceted as climate change, what other avenues ofteaching and learning can play a role in finding
solutions?

70

During the first five years of the United Nations’Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), RCEs
worked on ESD projects that linked a multitudeof the SDGs to climate change education. This
was an important step forward for ESD in general,
but for climate change education in particular. In
the years leading up to the launch of the SDGs,
climate change education projects within the
network tended to take a siloed approach towards
climate action, framing education for climatechange as separate or even competing with othersustainable development challenges. But from2015 onwards, climate education projects begin
emphasising synergy and complementarity withother sustainable development challenges such as
poverty, disaster risk reduction, and public healthamong RCEs.

Since its inception in 2005, a topic in sustainable
development that is increasingly combined withclimate change education among RCE initiatives
is education on biodiversity conservation. The
ongoing climate crisis and extinction crisis no doubt
share similar origins, such as rapid land-use change,
rapid resource consumption, and changing weather
patterns. Increasingly, educators are showing thatthey can also share similar solutions. As showcasedby the project from RCE Greater Eastern Uganda inthis publication, teaching communities to conserve
local biodiversity can also reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Learning how to use natural resources
less intensively and to diversify livelihoods can not
only protect local species, but also locks in morecarbon as plant material in healthy ecosystems.
The role of adaptation will also be a necessarycomponent for education projects that seek tocombine learning for action on climate change andbiodiversity conservation. Learners will need to take
into account the changes already taking place inthe climate in order to enact effective conservation
strategies, as well as the complex interplay between
organic and inorganic material in the global
biogeochemical cycle to more effectively reduce
emissions.
Perhaps the most important next step that isneeded in the merging of education on climatechange and biodiversity conservation is the needfor nuance and contextualised approaches whencreating actions as learning outcomes. Greatenthusiasm has been expressed by policymakers,
private sector actors, and publics about tree
plantings. This is potentially a big win-win scenario
for both addressing climate change and conserving
the natural world, but educational approaches
will need to be crafted carefully to harness thisenthusiasm while instructing these actors which
type of tree species should be planted where.
Rushing headlong into education and training
programmes on plantation forestry will do little tosolve either crisis if the given environment cannot
support the species planted, the species planted

is a non-native species which are insufficient at
absorbing as much carbon as the pre-existinglandscape of native species, or the planation is amonoculture that leaves little in the way of local
biodiversity intact. Any education initiative thatseeks to simultaneously tackle climate change
and biodiversity loss will need to tailor actionableoutcomes to fit within local ecosystems and protect
native species if they are to be successful.
Another way forward for action through climatechange education may be through our meals. The
subject of food security is seen paired with many
RCE projects on climate change education, andoffers a topic for engagement that is both broad
and universal. After all, everyone has to eat, andwhat we eat is not only affected by the climate,
but can indeed shape the climate. As evidenced
by RCE Crete’s project, agricultural systems areunder increasing stress as a changing climate often
means unstable weather patterns and intermittent
water supplies. Agricultural extension services willin turn need to adapt to teach farmers to adapt tothese changes, such as through the introduction ofcrops and livestock or new planting and harvesting
techniques. Additionally, agricultural workers willthemselves need to adapt to changing climaticconditions, as demonstrated in RCE Greater Atlanta’s
project. Furthermore, education linking food andclimate cannot be applied only to the supply sideof the agricultural sector. Both policy makers andconsumer publics will also need to be educatedabout the changing reality of food demand ina changing climate. Policy makers will need tolearn that agricultural subsidies that worked in
the 20th century may be unworkable in the 21st
century. Public appetites for climate-sensitive crops
or for agricultural products that are too carbon
intensive will need to be tempered with publicawareness campaigns and community educationinterventions.
Education initiatives that link climate change
and food security to sustainable consumption
71patterns have a critical role to play in education on
climate action. While many so called ‘food mileage’awareness programmes from the early 2000s were
unsuccessful because these early initiatives failed
to take into account the greenhouse gas emissions
embedded into the production cycle of a given
agricultural product, the idea of linking food to
education initiatives on climate change remains acompelling one. Because food production systems
emit different greenhouse gases at different points
in the production cycle – such as fertiliser usage,land-use change, and transit emissions in bringing
a product to market – more nuanced education
on how to assess food’s contribution to climatechange is needed. It is important consumers learn
how to assess their meals’ total carbon footprint.
Education and public awareness activities havean important role to play in modifying consumer
behaviour over the long term. Clearly the interestin food as it relates to climate change is present
among educators within the RCE network, and new
projects highlighting the synergy between these
two topics are being created every year.

action simultaneously addressing the other topics
integrated into the curriculum. However, RCE
projects on climate change education that integrate
three or more additional topics on sustainable
development into a curriculum tend to have fewer
actionable outcomes, as more of the curriculum isdevoted to raising awareness among the learners
on the other topics as opposed to practicing action
competence on solutions to climate change. This
is not to say raising awareness is unimportant – itis critical. Nor is it to say that curriculum on climatechange that combines multiple topics in sustainable
development cannot result in concrete actions.
Rather, it is offered as a consideration to keep inmind as educators design curriculums, taking
into account learners’ limited time as well as theintention of the education – in this case whether it
is about climate change (awareness-raising) or for
responding to climate change (action competence).

New ways forward for climate change education
may not only involve synergising with a variety ofother sustainable development agendas, but also
re-examining who needs to be educated. All of
While initiatives that combine education on climate the projects within this collection showcase thechange with education on other issues within
RCE model of combining formal and non-formal
sustainable development are certainly a growing
education to reach both students within schools
trend among RCE projects, there may be an upward and community members at large. The need tolimit to how many issues can be added into a
engage with the general public is perhaps especiallycurriculum on climate change before the curriculum salient for education on climate change, as students
forsakes action-oriented outcomes to respondin schools are often not the ones making theto climate change for the sake of the awarenessdecisions that contribute to the most greenhouse
raising necessary to understand a growing number gas emissions. To reach adult learners outside ofof issues added to a curriculum. Any educator willclassrooms through non-formal education, thetell you any given curriculum must contend with
future may be best envisioned by looking towards
breadth vs. depth in its focus. This tension between the past. During the 1970s and 1980s, bothbreadth and depth is also observable among RCEgovernments and civil society organisations aroundprojects on climate change education. RCE projects the world created public awareness campaigns
on climate change education which relate one oraround a variety of environmental issues such as
two other topics on sustainable development toacid rain, deforestation, and ozone depletion. These
climate change by and large cumulate in actionable public awareness campaigns not only informed
outcomes, whereby the learners are taught actions citizens about the nature of the problem, but
to address climate change and implement thesewere usually joined with recommendations foractions, often with the added benefit of theactions that could be undertaken to contribute to72

Mathias Bach Laursen | unsplash

Next Stepsa solution. While many of the environmental issues
dealt with in previous decades were not as complex
as climate change (often with single sources of agiven problem from a few given economic sectors),as has been illustrated by the RCE projects here,
approaches to climate change education can bemade more manageable by taking into accountlocal emissions profiles, which in turn inform
optimal mitigation strategies for given cities,
communities, or sectors of the workforce. With
their multi-stakeholder approach to education,
RCEs are in a prime position to revive theselearning strategies for 21st century modalities.
In addition to engaging with the public at large,
it will be vital for education on climate change
to engage with workforces through iterative
training. Much of what exists in regards to action
competence for climate change education istargeted at the individual or household consumer
level. However, businesses and their constituent
workforces will also need to learn how to operate
in a changing climate, mitigating emissions where
possible and adapting to the changes alreadylocked in from historical emissions. Oftentimes,
workforce training is considered a one-time
investment by an employer into an employee as
they onboard in their new job. However, whenit comes to climate change, workforce trainings
will likely need to be iterative throughout anemployee’s career in a given economic sector,
and as new climatic scenarios unfold and newtechnologies for mitigation and adaptation become
available, training will have to be updated for all
employees regularly. The projects showcased by

RCE Denmark, RCE Dar es Salaam, and RCE Greater
Atlanta all highlight critical reasons for engaging
with workforce training from the beginning ofcareer through retirement, but such initiatives
designed to train workforces are rare within climatechange education. What is needed is more of sucheducation ideas on how to not only make ourhomes more sustainable, but our jobs as well.
Whatever lies ahead in the field of climate change
education, one thing is imminently clear, and that is
the need to move beyond knowledge into actions
that respond to the new reality of climate change.
A student’s ability to list which greenhouse gases
contribute to climate change may be a first step, but
it can hardly be the last if most of a society is awareof the fact but continues to emit the pollutants.
Modern pedagogies for dealing with climate
education should move beyond analysis paralysis,
and make sure to couple knowledge on climatechange with actionable behaviours that be taken
by students, workforces, and communities at large
in responding to the climate crisis. The RCE projects
presented here are a first step towards doing that.
The educators whose projects are featured here had
to step outside of their comfort zone of facilitatingknowledge transfer and into the role of change
agents. The learners who participated in the project
also had to step outside their comfort zones andexamine not only their own knowledge but theirown behaviours. None of this is easy, but all of it isessential if we are to move beyond just the ability
to comprehend a crisis as large scale as the climate
crisis towards actually solving it.

73

List of Abbreviations

References

List of Abbreviations

References

ACE

Action for Climate Empowerment

MPS

Malaysian Primatological Society

AIGA

Alternative Income Generating Activities

MPSP

Seberang Perai Municipal Council

AKI

Acute Kidney Injury

NDC

Nationally Determined Contribution

CAP

Consumers Association of Penang

NEMA

National Environment Management Authority

CBO

Community-Based OrganisationNGO

Non-Governmental Organisation

CCSAFSClimate Change, Sustainable Agriculture,and Food Security

NPO

Non-Profit Organisation

PADF

Pan American Development Foundation

CFR

Central Forest Reserve

PAN-AP

Pesticide Action Network Asia-Pacific

DEG

Danske Erhvervsskoler og – Gymnasier

PGC

Penang Green Council

ENVIS

Environment Information System

RCE

EPUC

Erhvervspædagogisk Udviklingscenter

Regional Centre of Expertise on Educationfor Sustainable Development

ESD

Education for Sustainable Development

RSY

RCE Sejahtera Youth

FSC

Forest Stewardship Council

SAM

Sahabat Alam Malaysia

FWAF

Farmworker Association of Florida

SDGs

Sustainable Development Goals

GAP

Global Action Programme (on Educationfor Sustainable Development)

SLOSS

Single Large Or Several Small

SUARAM

Suara Rakyat Malaysia

GCS

Gibbon Conservation Society

SWOT

GIZ

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit GmbH

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities andThreats

TeRRIFICA

Territorial Responsible Research and Innovation
Fostering Innovative Climate Action

TVET

Technical and Vocational Education andTraining

TWN

Third World Network

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization

GPS

Global Positioning System

GRASS

Pertubuhan Alam Sekitar Sejahtera Malaysia

ICT

Information Communication Technology

IT

Information Technology

IUCN

International Union for Conservation of Nature

JAMSTEC

Japan Agency for Marine-Earth
Science and Technology

UNFCCC

United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change

KAMY

Klimate Action Malaysia

UNU-IAS

United Nations University Institute for
the Advanced Study of Sustainability

KAUM

Klimate Action Utara Malaysia

USM

Universiti Sains Malaysia

KUASA

Persatuan Aktivis Sahabat AlamVR

Virtual Reality

MOOC

Massive Open Online Course

WWF

World Wildlife FundGAP Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 1

Advancing policy

Priority Action Area 2

Transforming learning and training environments

Priority Action Area 3

Building capacities of educators and trainers

Priority Action Area 4

Empowering and mobilizing youth

Priority Action Area 5

Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level

74

FOREWORD

ASIA-PACIFIC

Climate Education (Fleur Newman and Hyunjin Chang,
Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) Team,
United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC))
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) and United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 2016. Action
for Climate Empowerment: Guidelines for accelerating
solutions through education, training and awarenessraising. Retrieved in February 2021 fromhttps://unfccc.int/files/cooperation_and_support/
education_and_outreach/application/pdf/action_for_climate_empowerment_guidelines.pdf

Let’s Tackle Global Warming! Virtual Museumof Science Experience (RCE Okayama)
Ka, Won-iru, and Masaharu Inada. 2014.
大気中の二酸化炭素濃度の動態に関する研究(降雨の影響)[Study on the Dynamics of Carbon Dioxide
Concentration in the Atmosphere (Effects of Rainfall), Buds
of Science Prize, University of Tsukuba]. Retrieved on 14
August, 2020 fromhttps://www.tsukuba.ac.jp/community/kagakunome/
pdf/14/jr/jrhs5.pdf

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO). 2020. Integrating Action for
Climate Empowerment into Nationally Determined
Contributions: A short guide for countries. Retrieved in
February 2021 fromhttps://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Guide_
Integrating%20ACE%20into%20NDCs.pdf

EDITORIAL

Okayama City. 2019. 岡山市環境保全行動計画（第Ⅲ期）【岡山市地球温暖化対策実行計画（事務事業編）】[Okayama City Environmental Conservation
Action Plan (3rd period) (Okayama City Global Warming
Measure Implementation Plan)]. Retrieved on 14 August,2020 fromhttps://www.city.okayama.jp/kurashi/cmsfiles/
contents/0000016/16116/000374720.pdf
Awareness and Education on Climate
Change: A Day for Climate (RCE Penang)OECD. 2018. Climate-resilient Infrastructure –Policy Perspectives. OECD Environment Policy
Paper no. 14.

Innovating for Action: Addressing
Climate Change through Education(Dr. Philip Vaughter, Research Fellow, UNU-IAS)
Rogers, Kerrylee, Jeffrey J. Kelleway, Neil Saintilan, J. Patrick Sub-National Actions for Climate Resilient Sustainable
Megonigal, Janine B. Adams, James R. Holmquist, Meng Lu, Development in Punjab, India (RCE Chandigarh)
Lisa Schile-Beers, Atun Zawadzki, Debashish Mazumder,Punjab Economic Survey. 2019-2020. Economic &and Colin D. Woodroffe. (2019). Wetland Carbon Storage
Statistical Organization, Government of Punjab, India.
Controlled by Millennial-scale Variation in Relative Sealevel Rise. Nature, 567(7746), 91–95.
AFRICA
Stakeholder Engagement for Promoting Community
Thunberg, Greta. 2018. The Disarming Case to Act Right
Resilience to Climate Change (RCE Greater Eastern
Now on Climate Change. Retrieved in October 2020 from
Uganda)https://www.ted.com/talks/greta_thunberg_the_
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). 2018. The FSC National
disarming_case_to_act_right_now_on_climate_change
Stewardship Standard of the Republic of Uganda.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC). (n.d.). Retrieved in October 2020 fromhttps://unfccc.int/topics/education-youth/the-big-picture/what-is-action-for-climate-empowerment#eq-1

National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
2011. Contribution of the Forestry Sub-sector to the
National Economy: The Economic Value of Forest
Resources of Uganda.

References

World Bank. 1993. Ecologically Sensitive Sites in Africa.
Volume II: Eastern Africa. Compiled by the World
Conservation Monitoring Centre for theWorld Bank, Washington, DC, USA.

EUROPE
Territorial Responsible Research and Innovation
Fostering Innovative Climate Action: The Belarusian
Experience (RCE Belarus)
United Nations Climate Change. (n.d.). What Do
Adaptation to Climate Change and Climate Resilience
Mean? Retrieved on 3 October, 2020 fromhttps://unfccc.int/topics/adaptation-and-resilience/thebig-picture/what-do-adaptation-to-climate-change-andclimate-resilience-mean

Authors

Christensen, Malte A. 2019. Vi skal genbruge mere ibyggeriet – for klimaets skyld [We Need to Recycle
More in Construction – For the Sake of the Climate].
Videncentret Bolius. Retrieved fromhttps://www.bolius.dk/vi-skal-genbruge-mere-ibyggeriet-for-klimaets-skyld-89086
Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities. 2019.
Denmark’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan.
Retrieved fromhttps://ens.dk/sites/ens.dk/files/EnergiKlimapolitik/
denmarks_national_energy_and_climate_plan.pdf
Træ Information. (n.d.). Træ og miljø [Wood andEnvironment]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.traeinfo.dk/baeredygtighed/trae-og-miljoe/

United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (UN DESA), Population Division. 2019. World
Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision (ST/ESA/
SER.A/420). New York: United Nations. Retrieved on 2
October, 2020 from Publications on
https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/

Landslide Risk Assessment in Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines (RCE Grand Rapids)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
2013. Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook.

Integrating SDGs into an MSc for Climate Change,
Sustainable Agriculture, and Food Security(RCE Crete)
Makrakis, Vassilios, and Nelly Kostoulas-Makrakis. 2020.
Developing an MSc in Climate Change, Sustainable
Agriculture and Food Security.

Rodrigues, Marco, Gerald Meier, Bishwa Pandey, Justin
Locke, J. and Keren Charles. 2014. Rapid Damage andLoss Assessment (DaLA): December 24-25, 2013 floods– a report by the Government of Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines. The World Bank. 1–24. Retrieved fromhttps://documents.worldbank.org/

http://www.ccsafs.edc.uoc.gr/

en/publication/documents-reports/
documentdetail/213861468302688159/rapid-damageand-loss-assessment-dala-december-24-25-2013-floodsa-report-by-the-government-of-saint-vincent-and-thegrenadines

AMERICAS

Vocational Training in Wood as an Element of
Sustainable Construction Methods (RCE Denmark)Aalborg University. 2020. Ny rapport viser store forskellepå CO2-belastningen ved nybyggeri [New Report Shows
Large Differences in the CO2 Load of New Construction].
Simpson, M. C. et al. 2012. The CARIBSAVE Climate Change
Retrieved from
Risk Atlas (CCCRA) - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/ny-rapport-viserDFID, AusAID and the CARIBSAVE Partnership.
store-forskelle-pa-co2-belastningen-ved-nybyggeri?publisherId=8155951&releaseId=13589935

76

Authors
FOREWORDEUROPE
Climate Education
Territorial Responsible Research and Innovation
Fleur Newman & Hyunjin Chang, ACE Team, UNFCCC Fostering Innovative Climate Action: The
Belarusian Experience (RCE Belarus)
EDITORIAL
Kate Sposab, RCE Belarus
Innovating for Action: Addressing
Integrating SDGs in the MSc for Climate Change,
Climate Change through Education
Sustainable Agriculture, and Food Security
Philip Vaughter, UNU-IAS(CCSAFS) Program (RCE Crete)
Vassilios Makrakis, RCE Crete
ASIA-PACIFIC
Let’s Tackle Global Warming! Virtual Museum ofVocational Training in Wood as an Element of
Science Experience (RCE Okayama)
Sustainable Construction Methods (RCE Denmark)Tomoyo Kurozumi, RCE Okayama
David Rangan & Trine Alette Panton, RCE Denmark
Awareness and Education on Climate Change:
A Day for Climate (RCE Penang)
Nurul Salmi Abdul Latip, Munirah Ghazali,
Mohammad Zohir Ahmad and Wan Sharipahmira
Wan Mohd Zain, RCE Penang
Sub-National Actions for Climate Resilient
Sustainable Development in Punjab, India(RCE Chandigarh)J. K. Arora, S. S. Ladhar & Ravleen Singh,
RCE Chandigarh
AFRICA
Solid Waste Management Options for Food
Security, Energy & Climate Change Mitigation(RCE North Rift)
Muguro David Ngige, RCE North Rift

AMERICASHow Urban Youth Can Be an Engine to Achieve
Low-Carbon Sustainable Lifestyles: Beginningin Bogota (RCE Bogota)
Diana Páez & Marcela Rodriguez Beltran, RCE Bogota
Landslide Risk Assessment in St. Vincent and
the Grenadines (RCE Grand Rapids)
Erik Nordman, RCE Grand Rapids
The Girasoles Project (RCE Greater Atlanta)
Valerie Mac, Daniel Smith, Vicki Hertzberg, andLinda McCauley, RCE Greater Atlanta
NEXT STEPSPhilip Vaughter, UNU-IASManaging Biodiversity in a Changing Climate
in the Albertine Rift Countries (RCE Dar es Salaam)
Elikana Kalumanga, RCE Dar es Salaam
Stakeholder Engagement for Promoting
Community Resilience to Climate Change (RCEGreater Eastern Uganda)
Andama Edward & Oyege Ivan,
RCE Greater Eastern Uganda

For more information about RCEs, the projects within this publication, or how to become a member,please contact the Global RCE Service Centre, Education for Sustainable Development Project,
UNU-IAS, rceservicecentre@unu.edu.

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