Specifics of the EECCA Sub-region with Regard to ESD Implementation: Good Practices, Needs and Possibilities

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Specifics of the EECCA Sub-region with Regard to
ESD ImplementationGood Practices, Needs and
Possibilities

• Victoria Elias, ECO-Accord (Russia)/
• European-ECO-Forum

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ESD conceptual background (theory)

• ESD includes
• Environmental education
• Economic background of SD
• Social aspects and ethical values (integration
  into coltural, ethical background and ideology of
  modern society)
• Continuinity of education and awareness and
  education for all ages
• Establishing a model of responsible behavior
  aimed at SD in all spheres of life
• Broad public raising on SD

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Some specific characteristics of educational
systems in EECCA (from ESD point of view)

• ltgt
• High scientific, methodological and
  organisational level
• Centralised approach, state educational standards
• Reach experience and high qualification of
  teachers
• Established system of basis curricula
• Traditions
• Obligatory secondary education for all
• Big experience in informal and non-formal
  education
• Integration of citizens education, high
  commitment and readiness of all interested groups
  of the society to interaction and cooperation
• lt-gt
• Lack of knowleadge and understanding of SD
• Lack of resources, low salaries of teachers,
  brain drain and outflow of qualified stuff and
  young people from education sector in some
  countries
• Insufficient cooperation of secondary and high
  schools and other sectors
• Lack of motivation of teachers under the pressure
  of a bifg volume of required palns, reports, etc.
  
• Difficulty of access to modern data
• Problem of training and re-training

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Development of formal ESD in EECCA (Practice)

• General approach Environmental Education for
  Sustainable Development
• Pre-School
• Rare authors teaching programmes on EE
• No ESD (an attempt to develop Local Agenda 21 for
  Kindergartens in Russia)
• Secondary
• EE is included in curricula as a part of a number
  of subjects in all countries. ESD only in
  authors programmes.
• In informal education EE everywhere, ESD
  widely, but financial barriers remain
• Secondary professional
• EE- much less, ESD practically abscent
• Higher
• EE - in all countries for environmentally
  profiles specialities
• ESD in selected universities mostly as a part
  of original authors programmes or in connection
  to EE
• Students and pupils research
• EE up to 5,
• ESD less then 0.5 in general, but in a number
  of universities and schools more (Institute for
  Problems of SD of Russian Chemical-Technological
  Univ., Yerevan State Univ., Moscow State Univ.,
  Bishkek, etc.)

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Awareness systems and non-formal ESD in EECCA

• Various national materials, rich traditions and
  experience in environmental awareness raising,
  but not ESD .
• Main focus nature conservation (biodiversity,
  pollution). In a majority of countries Aarhus
  Centres (environmental information) or
  Information Centres of Ministries of the
  Environment
• At local level recourse centres are mostly
  established and supported by NGOs in the
  conditions of constant continuous fundraising
• SD a lot of information, but no offical
  portals-catalogues. Problem to assess the quality
  of materials (printed and available on the web in
  EECCA)
• Insufficient coverage of SD problems by mass media

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Legislative Support of ESD in EECCA countries

• Mostly EE is reflected in laws on environmental
  protection adopted in 1990ies
• 2 countries Armenia and Azerbaijan laws on
  EE
• Georgia (2005) Parliament considers a
  possibility of a law on ESD
• Mainly EE Ministries of the Environment (in
  Russia and Ukraine passed to Ministries of
  Education completely)
• In national programmes and plans most often EE
  (Kazakhstan EE Concept Armenia NEAP,
  Turkmenistan Programme of biodiversity
  conservation, etc.)
• There is no special progammes to support ESD
• EE and ESD are declared to be conceptually
  separated only in Belarus
• (according to European ECO-Forum Review of EECCA
  Strategy Implementation, October 2006)

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EE and ESD in international agreements of the
EECCA sub-region

• UNECE Strategy on ESD (March 2005) provided for
  conditions at national levels
• EECCA Environmental Strategy Strategic Goal 6.3
  (May 2003) inclusion of ESD in educational
  systems
• Interstate programmes on EE and ESD in Central
  Asia
• Perspectives Environment and Security, SCP
  initiatives, sub-regional initiatives, etc.
• ???- other sectors ?

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Multistakeholder cooperation on ESD in EECCA

• Formally
• Since March 2005 Multistakeholder bodies
  (councils, commissions) on ESD were established
  (f/ex. in Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine)
• Interagency Commission on Implementation of the
  UN Decade on ESD was established in Armenia
• Central Asian Working Group (CAWG) on ESD
  (cooperation of Ministries of Education and the
  Environment, academia, NGOs)
• Hearings, meetings, consultations on ESD
  (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine)
• NGO progects are mostly supported by foundations
  and donor countries (partly by states
  Armenia, Russia, Ukraine)
• Really
• Cooperation is only at a starting point
• Private sector, business /CSR - ???

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ESD in EECCA problems(formal education)

• ESD promotion - educators, scientists, NGOs
  working on EE
• ESD is understood as a green problem, there is
  no conceptual ceparation of EE and ESD
• There is no legislative base for ESD. Low
  priority of ESD in educational programs and in
  national\state priorities
• Support at national level most often by
  Ministries of the Env. Or Ministries of the Env
  and Education (and similar regional and local
  bodies) lack of motivation for cooperation
• Weak multistakeholder cooperation
• Insufficient practical application of SD
  principles (estate management, procurement,
  energy efficiency, responsible consumer behavior)

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ESD in EECCA - problems(formal education / 2)

• Priority is given to translated materials.
  Quality assessment is a problem.
• Outdating handbooks, limited access to modern
  data
• Strong limits of curricula lack of experience,
  materials, skills on interdisciplinary approach
  and use of interactive materials
• Limited circulations of ESD teaching materials
• Limited use of Higher education and research
  institutions opportunities
• Lack of ESD-qualified teachers problem of
  training and re-training , brain drain from
  education sector and from EECCA
• Paid free education problem - limited
  resources and opportunities of education
  institutions (especially schools)
• Insufficient use of NGO capacities problem of
  implementation in formal education, problem of
  getting official recommendation for the materials
  to be used for education purposes
• Lack of private sector support

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ESD in EECCA - problems(non-formal education)

• Insufficient understanding of sense and tasks pf
  SD, limitation of SD to nature conservation and
  pollution prevention
• Minimal coverage of SD in mass media
• ESD does not belong to hot themes
• Absence of TV programs and magazines on SD (only
  EE)
• Decline of national documentaries production
• Insufficient knowledge on SD by journalists
• Social advertisement on EE up to 2 , ESD - no
• The need to systemize the available resources
  and prepare modern awareness materials on SD
• Theory and practice are not connecetd to each
  other (education, management and business)

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Other problems

• Lack of support to ESD at the state/national
  level. No niche for ESD in formal education
  (only EE)
• Issue of stuffing (trained specialists)
• Lack of understanding and interest from
  economists, sociologists, managers, psychologists
  and other non-green specialists
• Gap and unequal opportunities between urban and
  rural areas
• Insufficient interaction on ESD between secondary
  schools and higher education institutions
• Insufficient legal awareness for ESD
• Lack of financial resources
• Other???

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ESD in EECCA NGO opportunities

• High level of motivation and interest to ESD
• Human resources (aslo coming from academia and
  education to NGOs)
• Experience, interest to intersectoral cooperation
• Participation in decision-making process
  (consultative bodieslt multistakeholder groups,
  international cooperation)
• Raising additional resources for ESD projects
• Publishing activities, awareness campaigns on
  national languages
• Opportunities to use different methods and forms
  of work to public
• Support to educators
• Perspectives to use NGO materials in formal
  education if necessary expertise and
  certification organised

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Needs

• Conceptual separation of ESD and EE. Attraction
  of support by economists, sociologists,
  psychologists, etc.
• Legal support to ESD, inclusion of ESD into
  educational standards
• Copperation btw Ministries of Education and
  Ministries of the Environment, other sectors of
  the society
• Training and retraining of specialists for ESD
• Development. Publication and re-publication of
  teaching materials for ESD , catalogisation of
  Internet resources (in Runet)
• Exchange programs on ESD for EECCA
• More active involvement of NGOs
• Cooperation with mass media, using the
  opportunities of social adverticement on TV,
  radio, FM radio, external adverticement, etc.
• Involving private sector in cooperation on ESD
• Attraction of budgetary, extrabudgetary, donor
  financial resources, liberalisation of fiscal
  regime for those who supports ESD

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Suggestions

• Call upon Governments and international
  organisations in the framework of the UNECE
  Strategy on ESD implementation (art. 67)
• To develop (?) a regional Program of support to
  ESD in EECCA, including
• Trainings for national ESD coordinators,
  including multistakeholder cooperation,
  monitoring, assesssment, etc
• Systematization of ESD resources, establishing
  national portals and EECCA portal on ESD
• Sudents and professionals exchanges in EECCA
• Trainings on ESD for decision-makers and
  educators
• Involvement of NGOs in formal education
• Support to research and awareness projects on ESD
• Training for journalists
• Awareness on sustainable consumption and
  production, support to SCP initiatives
• Publishing and re-publishing of national ESD
  materials
• Regular meetings of national ESD coordinators and
  their partners at EECCA level

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Suggestions (2)

• To donors
• Establish a fund to support a Program for ESD in
  EECCA. Invite national govts of EECCA, private
  sector, non-for-profit private foundations to
  participate in the Program. Prioritise ESD in
  international programs and projects in EECCA
• To education governing bodies
• Ensure ESD implementation in formal education,
  re-training, materials development
• To NGOs
• Promote and actively participate in non-formal
  ESD development
• To private sector .
• To other sectors

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• Thank you