Contents · demande aux animateurs des jardins botaniques quelle est la convention qu’ils mettent...

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Editors: Julia Willison, Sarah Kneebone and Brian Johnson

Cover Photo: Trustees RBG Kew, Dr Fiona Hay from theMillennium Seed Bank Project

Design: John Morgan, SeascapeEmail: [email protected]

Forthcoming IssuesVolume 2 Number 2 – Master planning for educationLast submission date June 20, 2005Volume 3 Number 1 – Access for all – problems andsolutions. Last submission date January 20 2006

Roots is produced by Botanic Gardens ConservationInternational (BGCI). It is published twice a year and issent to all BGCI members. Membership is open to allinterested individuals, institutions and organisations thatsupport the aims of BGCI (see inside back cover formembership application form)

Further details available from:• Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Descanso

House, 199 Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3BW UK. Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5953, Fax: +44 (0)20 8332 5956 email [email protected], www.bgci.org

• BGCI-Russia, c/o Main Botanical Gardens, Botanicheskaya st., 4, Moscow 127276, Russia. Tel: +7 (095) 219 6160 / 5377, Fax: +7 (095) 218 0525, E-mail: [email protected], www.bgci.ru

• BGCI (U.S.) Inc., c/o Dan Shepherd, Director, 1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11225-1099, U.S.A. Tel: +1 718 623 7200, Fax: +1 718 857 2430, E-mail: [email protected] www.bgci.org/us

• BGCI-Netherlands, c/o Utrecht University Botanic Gardens, P.O. Box 80162, NL-3508 TD, Netherlands. Tel: +31 30 253 2876, Fax: +31 30 253 5177, E-mail: [email protected], www.bi.uu.nl/botgard

• BGCI-Canarias, c/o Jardín Botánico Canario Viera yClavijo, Apartado de Correos 14, Tafira Alta 35017, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain. Tel: +34 928 21 95 80/82/83, Fax: +34 928 21 95 81, E-mail: [email protected]

• BGCI-China and South East Asia, c/o Registry,Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore259569. Email: [email protected], Email: [email protected], www.bgci.org/china

• BGCI-Colombia , c/o Jardín Botánico de Bogotá, Jose Celestino Mutis, Av. No. 61-13 – A.A. 59887, SantaFe de Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. Tel: +57 630 0949, Fax: +57 630 5075, E-mail: [email protected],www.humboldt.org.co/jardinesdecolombia/html/la_red.htm

• BGCI-Deutschland, c/o Botanische Gärten der Universität Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 171, 53115 Bonn,Germany. Tel: +49 2 2873 9055, Fax: +49 2 28731690, E-mail: [email protected]

BGCI is a worldwide membership organization establishedin 1987. Its mission is to build a global network for plantconservation. BGCI is an independent organizationregistered in the United Kingdom as a charity (CharityReg No 1098834) and a company limited by guarantee,No 4673175. BGCI is a tax-exempt (501(c)(3) non-profitorganization in the USA and in Russia.

Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarilyreflect the views of the Boards or staff of BGCI or of itsmembers

Editorial: International agendas: botanic gardens take thelaw into their own handsJulia Willison, Botanic Gardens Conservation International

International agendas: implications for botanic gardeneducationDaniella Tilbury & Susana Calvo, IUCN Commission on Education andCommunication.

From paper to practice: botanic gardens and theConvention on Biological DiversityBGCI members and supporters

Working together – projects bridging conventions!Convention to Combat DesertificationGail Bromley, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, U.K.

Education as a tool for the conservation of wetlands – the Ramsar Convention on WetlandsBarrie Cooper, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, U.K.

Biodiversity education at a natural world heritage site –Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. World Heritage ConventionDonavan Fullard, National Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch, South Africa

A vital role for botanic garden educators in plantconservation: the Global Strategy for Plant Conservationand you! Sarah Kneebone, Botanic Gardens Conservation International

ResourcesEducational resources for botanic gardens

Roots • Vol 2 (1) 01

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For the Spanish Section:

Maricela Rodriguez Acosta – Herbario y Jardín Botánico de la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma dePuebla, MéxicoVeronica Franco – Centro de Investigación Cientifica de Yucatán, A.C. (CICY) MexicoAntonio J. Lopez-Quintana – Euskal Herriko Univertsitatea, Universidad del Pais Vasco, Bilbao, SpainLourdes Rico-Arce – Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, U.K.John Cortez – Gibraltar Botanic Gardens, Gibraltar

For the French Section:

Loïc Ruellan – Conservatoire Botanique de Brest, FranceAnne Lindsey – Jardins du Monde, FranceAllison Marshall – Planète Sciences Méditerranée, FranceFrançoise Brenckmann – Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, FranceThierry Helminger – Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle, Arboretum Kirchberg,Luxembourg

BGCI would like to thank the co-editors for their work in the production of Roots:

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Agendas Internationaux : les jardins botaniques s’emparent de la loi

Agendas Internacionales: los jardines botánicos toman la ley en sus manos

Editorial - English

Concern about the state of ourenvironment is reflected in the variousinternational conventions and agendasaimed at safeguarding our naturalresources. How successful we are, ofcourse, depends on how effectively theseconventions are put into practice. Yetwhen you ask many botanic gardeneducators which of these conventions arebeing implemented by them, theresponse is usually non-committal.

The targets of these conventions areencompassed within the eight MillenniumDevelopment Goals (www.un.org/millenniumgoals/), which the memberstates of the United Nations aim toachieve by 2015. At international level itis well recognised that the MDGs cannotbe achieved without education. Botanicgardens need to position themselvescentrally in this process.

Editorial - Français

L’inquiétude au sujet de l’état de notreenvironnement se reflète dans lesdifférentes conventions et agendasinternationaux qui visent à sauvegardernos ressources naturelles. Notre réussitedépendra, bien sûr, de la façon dont nousmettrons concrètement en œuvre cesconventions. Cependant, lorsque l’ondemande aux animateurs des jardinsbotaniques quelle est la convention qu’ilsmettent en application, la réponse est engénéral très évasive et réservée.

Les objectifs de ces conventions sontenglobés dans le huit « MillenniumDevelopment Goals » (MDGs)(www.un.org/french/millenniumgoals) queles Etats-membres des Nations Uniesveulent atteindre en 2015. Au niveauinternational il est entièrement reconnuque le MDGs ne peut pas être réalisésans l’éducation. Les jardins botaniquessont extrêmement bien placés pour jouerun rôle central dans ce processus.

Ce numéro de Roots détaille lesprincipales conventions qui touchent lesjardins botaniques du point de vueéducatif et examine comment ellespeuvent être mises en œuvre. Notre butest de mettre l’accent sur le rôle clef queles services éducatifs des jardinsbotaniques ont à jouer dans la réalisationdes objectifs des différents agendas. Pouraider les jardins botaniques dans ce rôle,nous sommes heureux de vous offrir aveccette revue un exemplaire de notrenouveau CD-Rom « Plantes pour laplanète : ressources éducatives pour lesjardins botaniques ». Ce disque contientles anciens numéros de Roots, une copiedes agendas internationaux clefs pour les

Editorial - Español

Nuestra preocupación por el medioambiente se refleja en la cantidad deconvenciones y agendas internacionalesque tienen como meta el cuidar denuestros recursos naturales. Qué tantoéxito tenemos, depende por supuesto, deesas convenciones y como se llevan acabo efectivamente en la practica. Auncuando se pregunte a muchoseducadores en jardines botánicos cualesson esas convenciones y como se estánimplementado por ellos, la respuesta noes resumida.

Los objetivos de estas convenciones seenmarcan en las 8 ‘Metas del Desarrollodel Milenio (MDGs) (www.un.org/spanish/millenniumgoals) las que los miembros deestado de las Naciones Unidas planeanllevar a cabo antes del año 2015. Esreconocido a un nivel internacional quelas MDGs no pueden lograr sus metas sinla educación. Los jardines botánicos sonexcelentes lugares, además de un puntocentral para llevar a cabo este proceso.

En este numero de Roots se observacomo el principio de las convencionesafecta la educación en los jardinesbotánicos; se examina el comoimplementarlas. Nuestra meta es hacerénfasis en el papel fundamental quejuegan estas instituciones para lograr lasmetas de varias agendas. Es nuestropropósito el apoyar a los jardinesbotánicos y nos complace de tal maneraque estamos incluyendo una copia delnuestra nueva publicación electrónica, unCD-Rom, ‘Plantas para el planeta:Recursos para la educación en jardinesbotánicos ’. El CD-R contiene losnúmeros anteriores de Roots, copia de

Roots • Vol 2 (1) • 02-0402

Internationalagendas botanic gardens take

the law into their own hands

Julia Willison

Above:

Seed collecting

for ex-situ

conservation

(Photo: Trustees

RBG Kew)

In this issue of Roots we look at theprinciple conventions affecting botanicgardens from an educational standpointand examine how they are beingimplemented. Our aim is to emphasisethe pivotal role botanic garden educationhas to play in achieving the targets of thevarious agendas. To support botanicgardens in this role, we are delighted toinclude in this review a complimentarycopy of our new CD-R ‘Plants for thePlanet: Resource Pack for BotanicGardens’. The disc contains back issuesof Roots, copies of key botanic gardeninternational agendas and educationcongress proceedings. We hope you findit useful.

Our keynote article comes from DaniellaTilbury (Chair of SustainableDevelopment) and Susana Calvo (Chair inCEPA Conventions) from the IUCNCommission on Education andCommunication. They propose thateducators use the UN Decade ofEducation for Sustainable Developmentas a framework for implementing theinternational environmental agendas andthe MDG. Daniella and Susana underlinethe importance of botanic gardeneducation in not only raising awarenessabout plant ecology or ecosystemmanagement, but empowering people inbuilding skills for making change.

Looking at the specific conventions,Donovan Fullard, Deputy Director forEducation at Kirstenbosch NationalBotanical Garden, South Africa, explainshow their education programme workswith disadvantaged local communities toresolve environmental problems. In sodoing, it aims to contribute to theimplementation of the World HeritageConvention. Gail Bromley, EducationDevelopment Manager & InternationalConsultant for Biodiversity Education,RBG Kew, UK, describes a groundbreaking project in Argentina. Theorganisation she works with, ‘LosAlgarrobos’, acts as a UN focal point forthe Convention to CombatDesertification. The project has involveddeveloping a distance learning course forprimary teachers, delivered by radio. Theprogrammes look at local issues andencourage teachers to develop teachingprogrammes to explain and explore theseproblems with schoolchildren. BarrieCooper, International Education Managerof the Royal Society for the Protection ofBirds (RSPB), describes the RSPB’s

jardins botaniques et les actes descongrès sur l’éducation. Nous espéronsqu’il vous sera utile.

Notre article principal est écrit parDaniella Tilbury (Directrice duDéveloppement Durable) et Susana Calvo(Chair in CEPA Conventions) de leCommission sur l’Education et laCommunication de l’UICN. Ellesproposent que les animateurs tirent partide la décennie des Nations Unies surl’Education pour le DéveloppementDurable comme une trame pour mettreen œuvre les agendas internationaux surl’environnement et le MDGs. Daniella etSusana soulignent l’importance desservices éducatifs des jardins botaniquesnon seulement concernant lasensibilisation du public à l’écologie desplantes et la gestion des écosystèmes,mais aussi en fournissant aux gens lesclefs nécessaires afin de les inciter àparticiper au changement.

Face à ces conventions spécifiques,Donavan Fullard, Directeur pourl’Education au Kirstenbosch NationalBotanical Garden, en Afrique du Sudexplique comment leurs programmeséducatifs intègrent des communautéslocales défavorisées afin de résoudre desproblèmes environnementaux. Ainsi, ilsvisent à contribuer à la concrétisation dela Convention sur le Patrimoine Mondial.Gail Bromley, qui est Directrice du ServiceDéveloppement de l’Education etConsultante Internationale pourl’Education à la Biodiversité à Kew, auRoyaume Uni, rapporte le cas d’un projetde restauration de terrain en Argentine.L’organisation avec laquelle elle travaille « Los Algarrobos » est un centre d’intérêtpour les Nations Unies dans le cadre de laConvention sur la lutte Contre laDésertification. Le projet implique dedévelopper des cours de formation àdistance pour les professeurs des écolesprimaires par l’intermédiaire de la radio.Les cours portent sur des problématiqueslocales et encouragent les instituteurs àdévelopper des programmesd’enseignement pour expliquer etapprofondir ces problèmes avec lesélèves. Barrie Cooper, Responsable del’Education International à la RoyalSociety for Protection of Birds (RSPB),décrit l’approche de la RSPB pour faire del’éducation dans les zones humides afinde donner un sens concret à laConvention Ramsar sur les ZonesHumides. Il soutient que les zones

las agendas internacionales y congresoso reuniones en educación. Esperamoséste le sea útil.

La idea central de nuestro articulo vienede Daniella Tilbury (Jefa de desarrollosustentable y Susana Calvo (Chair enCEPA Conventions) de la comisión IUCNen educación y comunicación. Ambasproponen que los educadores usen comomarco de trabajo el programa de lasNaciones Unidas de ‘Una década en laeducación para el desarrollo sostenible’para implementar las agendasinternacionales del medio ambiente y laMDG. Daniella y Susana subrayan laimportancia de los jardines botánicos nosolo en la concienciación de la ecologíavegetal o manejo del ecosistema, sinotambién, autorizando a la gente en adquirirla destreza para llevar a cabo estas tareas.

Mirando mas detalladamente a lasconvenciones especificas, DonovanFullard, director adjunto de educación enel Jardín Botánico Nacional deKirstenbosch, Sudáfrica, explica comosus programas educativos trabajan conlas comunidades locales con carenciaspara resolver programas ambientales.Haciendo esto, sus metas soncontribuciones a la implementación de laConvención de Patrimonio Mundial.

Gail Bromley, encargada de desarrolloeducativo y asesora internacional para labiodiversidad en educación, Kew, ReinoUnido, describe un proyecto innovadoren la Argentina. ‘Los Algarrobos’organización con la que ella trabaja,funciona como un centro de acción de laConvención de lucha Contra laDesertificación, que forma parte de losprogramas de las Naciones Unidas. Elproyecto consiste en series educativaspor la radio; aprendizaje a larga distancia.Los programas se enfocan en asuntoslocales y animan a los maestros adesarrollar temas para explicar y explorarlos asuntos relevantes con chicos deescuelas. Barrie Cooper, oficial deeducación de la Real Sociedad para laProtección de las Aves(RSPB), describecomo esta sociedad apoya la ConvenciónRamsar sobre los Humedales. En sudiscusión, trata de como los pantanos ylos jardines botánicos pueden dar a lagente un punto de inicio importante paracomenzar su entendimiento, apoyo yacción en la conservación de labiodiversidad.


approach to education in wetlands tosupport the Ramsar Convention onWetlands. He argues that wetlands andbotanic gardens can provide an importantstarting point for people to begin thejourney of understanding, support andaction for the conservation of biodiversity.

This issue would not be complete withoutlooking at the Convention on BiologicalDiversity. Because so many of theConvention’s articles impact on the workof botanic gardens, we have invitedcontributors to describe how theirgardens’ education programmes areimplementing particular articles. Theshort pieces are inspiring. Following thisarticle, Sarah Kneebone, BGCI’sEducation Officer, looks at a cross-cuttingprogramme of the CBD, the GlobalStrategy for Plant Conservation. Sarahintroduces the GSPC and looks in detailat Target 14, which is specificallyconcerned with mainstreaming plant-based education. She also argues thateducation needs to be incorporated inevery target of the GSPC and suggeststhat botanic garden educators need tobecome more involved in the process. It is fitting to mention here that one of themain architects of the GSPC, Dr PeterWyse Jackson, stepped down as BGCI’sSecretary General in March. Peter, whois now the Director of the NationalBotanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Ireland, willcontinue to play a major role in BGCI overthe coming years. We also look forwardto hearing more about the educationprogramme run at the Gardens.

This issue of Roots demonstrates thatbotanic gardens can contribute to a widerange of international conventions andagendas. In September 2006, BGCI willbe holding its 6th International Congresson Education in Botanic Gardens (seeback page). Hosted by the University ofOxford Botanic Garden in collaborationwith Kew and BGEN, the congress willprovide an opportunity for us to meet anddiscuss ways in which botanic gardenscan contribute to the various conventionsand MDGs. Do visit the Congresswebsite and register your interest(www.bgci.org/educationcongress). We warmly invite your participation.

humides et les jardins botaniques peuventapporter un important point de départpour le grand public à unecompréhension, une aide et une action enfaveur de la conservation de labiodiversité.

Ce numéro ne serait pas complet sans unregard sur la Convention sur la DiversitéBiologique. Etant donné que denombreux articles de cette conventionont un impact sur le travail des jardinsbotaniques nous avons invité descontributeurs à décrire comment lesprogrammes éducatifs de leurs jardinsconcrétisent certains des articles enparticulier. Ces courts compte-rendusprêtent à l’inspiration. A la suite de cetarticle, Sarah Kneebone, responsable duService Educatif au BGCI, se penche surun programme transversal de la CDB : laStratégie Mondiale pour la Conservationdes Plantes. Sarah présente la SMCP etanalyse l’Objectif 14, qui estspécifiquement dédié à généraliserl’éducation liée aux plantes. Elle affirmeégalement que l’éducation devrait êtreintégrée dans chaque objectif de laSMCP et suggère aux animateurs desJardins Botaniques de s’investir plusdans ce processus. Il vient à propos designaler ici que l’un des principauxarchitectes de la SMCP, le Dr Peter WyseJackson, quitte son poste de SecrétaireGénéral du BGCI en mars prochain.Peter, qui est maintenant Directeur duNational Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin enIrlande, continuera à jouer un rôle majeurdans le BGCI au cours des années àvenir. Nous suivrons aussi avec beaucoupd’intérêt les programmes éducatifs de ceJardin.

Ce numéro de Roots démontre que lesjardins botaniques peuvent contribuer àune grande partie des conventions etagendas internationaux. En septembre2006, le BGCI organisera le 6ème CongrèsInternational sur l’Education dans lesjardins botaniques (voir au dos de la revue).Accueilli par le Jardin Botanique del’Université d’Oxford en collaboration avecle Jardin Royal de Kew et le BGEN, lecongrès sera l’occasion de nous rencontreret de discuter de la façon dont les JardinsBotaniques peuvent contribuer auxdiverses conventions et à la MDGs. Allezvisiter le site Internet du congrès et faites-nous part de votre intérêt (www.bgci.org/educationcongress ). Nous vous invitonschaleureusement à participer.

Este numero de Roots no hubiera sidocompleto si dejamos pasar el Conveniosobre la Diversidad Biológica (CBD).Debido a que muchos de los artículos dela esta convención tienen impacto en eltrabajo de los jardines botánicos, hemosinvitado a colegas a describir como susjardines y programas de educaciónimplementan particularmente esosartículos. Los cuales sirven deinspiración. Siguiendo esto, SarahKneebone, oficial de educación de laBGCI, describe las tareas fundamentalesde la CBD, la Estrategia Mundial para laConservación de Especies Vegetales (laGSPC). Sarah da a conocer la GSPC ymira en detalle el objetivo numero 14,que está específicamente relacionadocon la corriente central, educación conlas ‘plantas-como base’. Ella pone en telade juicio como la educación necesitaincorporarse en cada uno de losobjetivos de la GSPC y propone que loseducadores de los jardines botánicosnecesitan estar mas involucrados en esteproceso.

Cabe mencionar que en marzo, uno delos principales arquitectos de la GSPC, elDr. Peter Wyse Jackson, dejo su puestocomo secretario general de la BGCI.Peter, es ahora director del JardínNacional, Glasnevin, en Irlanda, élcontinuara colaborando con funcionesclave para la BGCI durante algunos añosmas. También esperamos con emociónel conocer mas acerca de los programaseducativos que se llevan a cabo en esejardín.

En este numero de Roots se muestracomo los jardines botánicos puedencontribuir a un amplio rango deconvenciones y agendas. En septiembre2006, la BGCI llevara a cabo el 6ºCongreso Internacional en Educación enJardines Botánicos (léase lacontraportada). La sede es el JardínBotánico de la Universidad de Oxford encolaboración con Kew y BGEN, estecongreso nos dará la oportunidad dereunirnos y discutir en que forma losjardines botánicos pueden contribuir mascon las varias convenciones y la mismaMDGs. Le pedimos a usted e invitamoscordialmente visite nuestra paginaelectrónica y registre su interés particular(www.bgci.org/educationcongress).

Roots • Vol 2 (1)04

An international platform

The years 2005-2014 have beendeclared the UN Decade of Educationfor Sustainable Development. TheDecade’s International ImplementationScheme (UNESCO, 2004) askseducators to link international agendassuch as the environment conventions,Education for All and the MillenniumDevelopment Goals, through education(Pigozzi, 2003).

Education for Sustainable Developmentprovides not just a perfect platform forworking with a range of internationalagendas but also an opportunity to findsynergies between groups of peoplewho have been working towards thesame goal under different labels. Oftenmany educators get caught up withdebates about whether their workshould be identified as ‘EnvironmentalCommunication’, ‘EnvironmentalEducation’ or ‘Education forSustainable Development’. The Decadeprovides a space for educators,including those involved in botanicgardens, to go beyond terminologydifferences and to concern themselveswith how their work contributes toaddressing local needs in the contextof international goals. The drivingforce behind Education for SustainableDevelopment was the internationalcommunity. Unlike most educationmovements, ESD did not begin withthe education community. Its mainthrust came from international politicaland economic forums, such as the UNand the OECD, with IUCN playing an

Agendas internationaux: Implications pour l’education dans les jardins botaniques

Agendas internacionales: Implicaciones para los jardines botánicos y la educación

important role in mainstreaming it asan agenda for the environmentalcommunity.

Although the concept of ‘sustainabledevelopment’ dates back to the 1980s,it was not until 1992 that Education forSustainable Development began toemerge as a concept. It owes much to

Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 and the workof the Commission for SustainableDevelopment (CSD) Work Programme,both of which gave credibility toEducation for Sustainable Developmentas a process. The OECD’s efforts andits focus on sustainable consumptionover the past decade has been aconstant reminder that Education for

Roots • Vol 2 (1) • 05-08 05

Daniella Tilbury and Susana Calvo

International agendas implications for botanic garden education

Summary The international community has been the driving

force behind Education for Sustainable Development. Unlike most

education movements, Education for Sustainable Development did not

begin with the education community. Its main thrust came from

international political and economic forums, such as the UN and the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with

IUCN playing an important role in mainstreaming it as an agenda for the

environmental community.

Education for Sustainable Development provides the means by which we

engage people in a more sustainable future. It provides a framework to

assist with meeting commitments set out in the international conventions

on biological diversity, climate change, desertification, cultural and natural

heritage, CITES and Ramsar. Furthermore, many of these conventions

are committed to work programmes on Communication, Education

Participation and Awareness - more commonly referred to as CEPA.

Many working in botanic gardens are familiar with Communication,

Education, Participation and Awareness but the concept of linking it with

Education for Sustainable Development is a new challenge. This paper

explores the implications of this, particularly in the context of a UN

Decade in Education for Sustainable Development which asks educators

to link international agendas such as the environment conventions and

the Millennium Development Goals, through education.

Sustainable Development is moreabout social change than aboutenvironmental protection.

More recently, IUCN, through itsCommission on Education andCommunication (CEC), has beenmainstreaming the concept ofEducation for Sustainable Development,particularly in the lead up to theJohannesburg World Summit. It lobbiedat the Bali and NewYork PrepComs andencouraged its membership to seeknational support for the Decade’sproposals presented at the Summit.Simultaneously, IUCN has invited aninternet dialogue on Education forSustainable Development bringingpractitioners and experts together tofurther define thinking and practice inthis field (Hesselink et al, 2000). It hasalso produced a number of publicationsrelevant to practitioners concerned withissues from plant conservation tocultural and natural heritage concerns tohealth and environmental sustainability(Tilbury et al, 2002, Tilbury andWortman, 2004)). These publicationssupport practitioners through clarifyingconcepts, identifying good practicestudies and communicating complexthinking, all of which underpinEducation for Sustainable Development.

IUCN has also championed the need tofind common ground between theinternational agendas. It has workedclosely with the Secretariat of theConvention of Biological Diversity toensure that education goes beyondawareness-raising and addressesimportant components oftenassociated with Education forSustainable Development includingcapacity building.

A common agenda

Education for Sustainable Developmentprovides the means by which weengage people in a more sustainablefuture. It provides a framework toassist with meeting commitments setout in the international conventions onbiological diversity, climate change,desertification, cultural and naturalheritage, CITES and Ramsar.Furthermore, many of theseconventions are committed to workprogrammes on Communication,Education Participation and Awareness- more commonly referred to as CEPA.

It was the JohannesburgImplementation Plan which highlightedthe role that effective CEPA could playin meeting the Convention obligationssigned off at Rio. The Rio Conventions– Climate, Desertification andBiological Diversity – all have articlespointing to the need for education.Underpinning these documents is animplicit recognition that sustainabledevelopment is a social issue to befought and won through peoples’participation.

However, in practice, education wasnot seen as a priority by thoseimplementing the Conventions. It hasonly been recently that the conventionshave began to address articles oneducation. The Parties to theConvention on Biological Diversityapproved a work programme on CEPA


Above: IUCN

publications

support

practitioners

(Photo: IUCN)

BiodiversityConvention

Human Rights, Rights of Child

ClimateChangeConvention

Desertification

Ramsar - WetlandsWSSD - Plan of Implementation

Millennium DevelopmentGoals

Dakar, Educationfor all

Soft Law

ESD

Treaties

Agenda 21Ch 36

International Agreements

in April 2002 to address commitmentsin Article 13. The parties to theConvention on Climate Change are stilldiscussing the development of a workprogramme for Article 6 on educationand training. Of course, many partiesare undertaking communication andeducation about these issues, but thetrend has been to focus on the moretechnical aspects of the conventions.In contrast, the DesertificationConvention has embarked on a‘bottom-up approach’ to involvepeople in seeking solutions. Otherinternational agreements on culturaland natural heritage, CITES andRamsar also recognize the role ofeducation and training in change for amore sustainable world. However,interestingly, no bridges have beenbuilt between those involved to ensurethat experiences and lessons learnt ineducation across these issues areshared. Without this learning, it is oftendifficult to advance education efforts orindeed to attain environmental orsustainable development impacts.

Educators in botanic gardens

Many working in botanic gardens arefamiliar with CEPA but the concept oflinking it with Education for SustainableDevelopment is a new challenge. TheUN Decade of Education forSustainable Development askseducators to link international agendassuch as the environment conventionsand the Millennium DevelopmentGoals, through education. It askseducators to recognize that movingtowards sustainability will requirechanging the way we think, live andwork (UNESCO, 2002), not just ourunderstanding of the issues. Theemphasis of the Decade is not only onstrengthening knowledge in sustainabledevelopment across stakeholdergroups but also on challenging mentalmodels that lead us to un-sustainability.

Many education programmesundertaken in botanic gardens needredefining. They can no longer afford tobe confined to educating people aboutecology – social realities and consumerchoices need to be embedded withinsuch programs. Raising awarenessamong adults and children about plantecology or ecosystem management isonly one part of the equation. Learning

to change and assisting others to buildskills for making change is also a coreresponsibility of educators working inbotanical gardens.

There are key features associated withthe Education for SustainableDevelopment process which encouragespeople to explore the complexity ofthese areas and consider change. Theliterature (Huckle and Sterling, 1997,Tilbury and Wortman, 2004) argues thatlearning for change requires:

• a focus on the future and abilityto create a sustainable futures –more than just focusing onproblem-solving our way out ofour current situation

• less emphasis on science andtechnology solutions and moreon participatory and citizenaction

• less emphasis on seeing peopleas the problem to seeing peopleas agents of change

• less emphasis on awareness-raising approaches and moreemphasis on critical reflection,systemic thinking and valuesclarification approaches

• a focus on individualsinfluencing structural change –not just on individualenvironmental actions

• more focus on changing mentalmodels that influence decisionsand actions rather than solelychanging individual attitudes.

The aim of Education for SustainableDevelopment is to empower citizens toact for positive change. This implies aprocess-oriented, participatory andaction oriented learning approach. Thisapproach has implications not only forwhat we learn but also how we learn.

Finally…

UNESCO emphasizes that theeffectiveness of the Decade willultimately be judged not just by thedegree of change in the lives of

communities and individuals at thelocal level, but the changing patterns ofdevelopment and progress towardsmore sustainable models of living.

Eleven outcomes are expected fromthe UN Decade as outlined in theInternational Implementation Scheme.These outcomes, although stated inbroad terms in the plan, should guidethe basis of indicators for monitoringand evaluating progress during theDecade. Some of the indicators are:

a) integration of education intosustainable development strategiesand plans of action

b) cooperation and a growingconsensus on the strategicimportance of ESD as a tool forsocial change

c) broad understanding of the natureand principles of sustainabledevelopment and regular mediacoverage of the issues

d) ESD-specific approachesincreasingly adopted in learningsituations of all kinds

e) ESD as a core component oftraining of educators at levels.

National activities are planned in manycountries (visit http://portal.unesco.org/education for more information). TheUN Decade of Education forSustainable Development will offerfurther opportunities for those workingin botanic gardens to reflect on, shareexperiences of and learnabout the implications ofsustainable developmentfor their work. The Decadeprovides not just a platformfor combining agendas but


Above and left:

ESD is a

process that

encourages

people to

explore complex

issues

(Photo: Daniella

Tilbury)

also a direction for assuring that thetype of work we undertake doescontribute to change (and not justunderstanding) for a better world.

References

áHesselink, F. van Kempen, P.P.andWals, A. (2000)ESDebate:International Debate onEducation and SustainableDevelopment. IUCN, Gland

áHuckle, J. and Sterling, S (1997)Education for Sustainability London:Routledge

áPigozzi, M.J. (2003) ‘UNESCO andthe International Decade ofEducation for SustainableDevelopment (2005-2015)’ ConnectVol.XXVII No.1-2, p.1-6

áTilbury , D. Stevenson, R, Fien, J.and Schreuder, D. (2002) Educationand Sustainability: Responding tothe Global Challenge, IUCN, Gland

áTilbury, D. and Wortman, D. (2004)Engaging People in Sustainability,IUCN Gland.

áUNESCO (2002) ‘From Rio toJohannesburg: Education for aSustainable Future’ Paris: UNESCO.

áUNESCO (2004) ‘UN Decade inEducation for SustainableDevelopment: InternationalImplementation Scheme’ UNESCO,Paris

Résumé

La communauté internationale a été laforce motrice accompagnant leconcept d’Education auDéveloppement Durable (EDD).Contrairement à la plupart desmouvements d’éducation, l’EDD n’apas vu le jour aux côtés desorganismes traitant d’éducation. Sesprincipales avancées proviennent desforums politiques et économiquesinternationaux, tels que ceux organiséspar les Nations Unies et l’OCDE, ainsique l’UICN qui a joué un rôle importantnotamment pour maintenir son courantd’idées sous la forme d’agenda pour lacommunauté environnementale.

L’ESD nous fournit une méthode pourengager les gens sur la voie d’un futurplus durable. Elle apporte aussi latrame nécessaire pour nous aider àréaliser les engagements communsdressés dans le cadre des conventionsinternationales sur la diversité

biologique, le changement climatique,la désertification, le patrimoine culturelet naturel ainsi que les conventionsCITES et Ramsar. Par ailleurs, chacunede ces conventions comporte un voletportant sur la mise en place deprogrammes de communication,d’éducation, de participation et desensibilisation du public, pluscommunément appelés CEPS.

De nombreux acteurs des jardinsbotaniques sont familiers de la CEPS,mais l’idée de la lier avec l’ESDreprésente un nouveau chalenge. Cetarticle explore les implications de cenouveau défi, particulièrement dans lecontexte de la Décennie des NationsUnies pour le Développement Durablecomprenant une participation attenduedes animateurs pour effectuer le lienentre les agendas Internationaux telque les conventions surl’environnement et les Objectifs deDéveloppement du Millénaire par lebiais de l’éducation.

Resumen

La comunidad internacional ha sido lafuerza fundamental para llevar a cabola educación para el desarrollosustentable (ESD). Distinta a la mayoríade los movimientos educativos ESD nocomenzó con la educación comunitaria.Sino su origen fue los foros políticos yeconómicos internacionales, como sonlos de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) y laOECD, que junto con la IUCN tuvieronun papel muy importante en estemovimiento a manera de una agendapara la comunidad medioambiental.

ESD proporciona los medios paraatraer gente a un futuro mas sostenible.Asimismo proporciona un marco de

trabajo para organizar por medio dereuniones los compromisosinternacionales como la convención dediversidad biológica, cambio climático,desertificación, patrimonios cultural ynatural, CITES y Ramsar. Además,cada una de estas convenciones estáncomprometidos a trabajar con unprograma de comunicación,concienciación y participación en laeducación – comúnmente llamadaCEPA.

Numerosos trabajadores en losJardines Botánicos conocen CEPA, sinembargo, el concepto de ligar CEPAcon ESD es un nuevo reto. Esteartículo explora las implicaciones deeste objetivo, particularmente en elcontexto de las NU una Década enEducación para el DesarrolloSostenible, el cual pregunta a loseducadores el conectar las agendasinternacionales como son la del medioambiente y su desarrollo de metas enel milenio, a través de la educación.

Daniella Tilbury is the Director ofAustralian Research Institute inEducation for Sustainability(ARIES) and Chair in Education forSustainable Development, IUCNCommission on Education andCommunication, MacquarieUniversity, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia. Email: [email protected]

Susana Calvo Roy is the Head ofEducation and CommunicationUnit, Ministry of Environment ofSpain and Chair in CEPAConventions, IUCN-Commission onEducation and Communication. Email: [email protected]


programmes respond to the emergingcall to balance the focus on ecosystemand species conservation? How do webuild bridges between pure sciencesand user needs and economicdevelopment? How do botanic gardenscontribute to other international targetssuch as those articulated by theMillenium Development Goals, theWorld Summit on SustainableDevelopment and the 2010 BiodiversityGoal. Indeed, to achieve the targets ofthe GSPC requires a candid review ofthese questions, among others, andthe authors in this issue of Rootsexplore some of these ideas throughcase studies and reflections onpractice.

The Third Principle of the RioDeclaration on Environment andDevelopment (1992) states that theright to development must be fulfilledso as to equitably meet thedevelopment and environment needsof both present and future generations.We must work to innovatively promotethese goals in response to the localneeds and aspirations of thecommunities where our gardens arelocated, and within the context of theissues highlighted above, so as toeffectively safeguard the earth’sbiodiversity for generations to come.

Stella Simiyu is BGCI’s GlobalStrategy for Plant ConservationOfficer, IUCN Eastern AfricaRegional Office, PO Box 68200,Nairobi, Kenya. Email: [email protected]

Du document à la pratique - les jardines botaniques et la Convention sur la Diversité Biologique (CDB)

Del papel a la práctica - los jardines botánicos y el Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica (CBD)

From paper to practicebotanic gardens and the Convention

on Biological Diversity

Botanic gardens education: A strategic vehicle for theimplementation of theConvention on BiologicalDiversity

The 1992 United Nations Conferenceon Environment and Development inRio de Janeiro, Brazil, emphasized theinextricable link between theenvironment and development, andfocused on forging internationalagreements that promote developmentwhile respecting the interests of allhuman communities and protecting theintegrity of the global environment. Keyoutcomes of the Conference includedthree international environmentalagreements that define specificgovernment commitments tobiodiversity, climate change, anddesertification. These agreements,while seemingly technical in nature andvast in scope, offer important guidancefor our work as botanic gardeneducators.

One of these agreements, theConvention on Biological Diversity(CBD), has since been ratified by 188countries. The CBD is guided by theecosystem approach and has three keyobjectives: the conservation ofbiological diversity, sustainable use ofits components, and fair and equitablesharing of benefits arising out of theutilisation of genetic resources.Implementation of the CBD isgoverned by the Conference of Parties(COP), which defines priority actionsand provides guidance to participating

nations. To date, the CBD hasdeveloped priority work programmesbased on broad themes, includingForest Biodiversity; Biodiversity ofInland Waters; Marine and CoastalBiodiversity; Agricultural Biodiversity;Mountain Biodiversity; and ProtectedAreas. A thematic programme focusingon Islands is also being developed. Inaddition, cross-cutting programmesaddress issues such as Biosafety(which has resulted in the negotiationof the Cartagena Protocol onBiosafety); Access to GeneticResources and Benefit Sharing;Traditional Knowledge, Innovation andPractices (Article 8j); Education andPublic Awareness; SustainableTourism; the Global TaxonomyInitiative; Invasive Alien Species; andthe Global Strategy for PlantConservation (GSPC).

Gardens are well placed to lead the callfor national implementation of theGSPC and relevant CBD workprogrammes. Thus, new challengesand responsibilities for botanic gardeneducators arise out of theseagreements: How do botanic gardensdevelop locally relevant programmesthat respond to the challenge ofpoverty alleviation and sustainabledevelopment? How do we promote ofthe role of indigenous knowledge andtechnologies in scientific research andeducation? How do botanic gardenspromote a holistic approach to plantconservation, including community-based initiatives to enhancesustainable use? How do our

Roots • Vol 2 (1) • 09-19 09

Article 7 – Identification andMonitoring

Medicinal plants and the pre-Hispanic Mexican steam bath

Botanic garden educators andresearchers pursuing ethnobotanicaland floristic studies have a uniqueopportunity to strengthen localcommunities and meet the objectivesof the Convention on BiologicalDiversity by creating programmes thatexplore the cultural uses of plants. Atthe Botanical Garden of the Institute ofBiology of the Autonomous NationalUniversity of Mexico, a three-phaseprogram is underway in the region ofOzumba, State of Mexico, to teachlocal community members about theuse of medicinal plants in traditionalritual and healing practices.

On average, 80 plant species withmedicinal properties are sold inOzumba and shipped to Mexico City’sMercado Sonora, Mexico’s largestmarket of plant-based remedies. Inrural central Mexico, a pre-Hispanicsteam bath called ’temazcal’ usessome of these herbs for therapeuticand ritual purposes. Water is infusedwith medicinal plants and poured overheated stones to create steam. Thispractice has been abandoned in urbanareas due to increasingly busylifestyles and lack of space. However,with the rise of ecotourismprogrammes that incorporate

traditional cultural practices, thetemazcal is attracting the interest ofnative communities and undergoing arevival.

In 2004 as part of the first phase of thisnew education program, the BotanicalGarden offered three two-dayworkshops on temazcal medicinalplants in association with CentroBotánico Ameyali, a regional NGOdedicated to the promotion ofmedicinal plants.

On the first day of the workshop,different styles of Mexican temazcaleswere reviewed with respect to the typeof construction and the medicinalplants employed. For each plantspecies, the following features werehighlighted: taxonomy, ethnobotany,and collecting and processing theplants. Students made observations ofliving plants in the Botanical Garden’smedicinal plants section. They alsomade a set of herbarium specimensfrom the plants and noted importantcharacteristics to aid in theiridentification. All of the materials andinformation were incorporated into amanual so that more material could beadded and so that the manual could beused as reference guide in the future.

During day two, participants travelledto the partner site, the Centro BotánicoAmeyali, in the Ozumba region for afirst-hand introduction to two styles ofsweat baths. They participated in the

ritual cleansing using local herbs underthe guidance of expert ‘temazcaleros,’which means ‘guide’ or ‘healer.’

The participants included medicaldoctors, psychologists, massagetherapists, acupuncturists, housewives,retired teachers, biologists, engineers,veterinarians, broadcasters, dancers,and accountants, as well as novice‘temazcaleros.’ In follow-upquestionnaires to each workshop,participants responded that they tookthe workshop in order to increase theirbotanical knowledge, to explore theircultural heritage, and to enhancepersonal spiritual well-being.

The second phase of the educationprogram will begin this year and willtarget local farmers and plantcollectors. This phase will include asimilarly structured workshop focusingon taxonomic and ethnobotanicalaspects of the cultivated ‘temazcal’plants in the region. The third phase ofthe program will target teachers andstudents at local schools in order topromote biological and culturalconservation in the region.

The three main objectives of the CBDare conserving biological diversity,using biological resources sustainably,and sharing the benefits arising fromthe use of genetic resources fairly andequitably. This botanic gardeneducation program works to meetthese objectives by generating localinterest in traditional uses of plants andtheir conservation.

Edelmira Linares (Head ofEducation), Elia Herrera (Biologist)y Teodolinda Balcázar (Biologist),Education and Public InformationDepartment, Instituto de Biología,Universidad Nacional Autónoma deMexico, A.P. 70-614, C.P. 045010,Coyoacan Mexico D.F. [email protected].


Left:

Participants on

the temazcal

medicinal plants

programme,

Mexico

(Photo: Edelmira

Linares)

Left: Medicinal

plants being

studied by

students for

their identifying

features

(Photo: Edelmira

Linares)

sound and a large mural illustrates howthe tiger was saved from the brink ofextinction.

Signage

Within the Park, signs provide on-siteinterpretation of fascinating aspects innature and the ecologicalinterrelationships that visitors willencounter as they drive through thePark. For instance, visitors will likelysee termite mounds whilst drivingthrough the Park. An interpretive signshows how termites turn decayingvegetation into soil and how the slothbear keeps the termite population incheck by feeding on them.Interpretive signs also conveyconservation messages.

Publications

A variety of publications for diverseaudiences have been developed forPark visitors. These are published inboth English and the local language.Park folders, brochures, handbooks,pocket cards, roadside guides, postersand chronicles with interesting andexciting information have beendesigned and developed for all visitortypes. A sales counter displays thePark’s publications as well as souvenirsand a site map carved out of woodshows all the important features of thePark.

As India’s first interpretive programme,the Kanha Programme not only setsstandards, but also provides valuableinsights and lessons for futureinterpretive programmes. It is anexcellent example of how educationcan help meet in situ conservationgoals of the Convention on BiologicalDiversity.

Meena Nareshwar, ProgrammeOfficer & Meena Raghunathan,Programme Coordinator, CEE,Thaltej Tekra 380 054,Ahmedabad, India, email: [email protected],www.ceeindia.org.

Article 8 In-Situ conservation

The Kanha National ParkInterpretation Programme

The Central Indian Highlands boastsome of India’s least disturbed forests,of which Kanha National Park in itspristine beauty is a wonderful example.The alarm call of a sambar deer fillingthe valley, the setting of the sun, andthe coming alive of the mighty tiger onits prowl can all be experienced in thewilderness of Kanha. The Park is hometo innumerable creatures big and smalland has a rich plant diversity. Kanhawas also declared a tiger reserve in1973 under the Indian government’sProject Tiger.

So what can be done to help visitorsexperience the excitement of the Park,understand and contextualize whatthey see, and go back with adeepened sense of appreciation andconcern for the forests and itsinhabitants?

With the professional support of theU.S. National Park Service (USNPS),The Centre for Environment Education(CEE) in Ahmedabad, began India’sfirst interpretive programme in 1984with the design and development ofthe Kanha National Park InterpretationProgramme.

To develop the programmecomponents, a message-media matrixwas developed to determine the mosteffective and appropriate media fordifferent messages and themes,constantly keeping in mind the diversevisitors that come to the National Park.Visitor profile surveys were alsoconducted.

The resulting interpretive programmeplan included the following indoor andoutdoor components: • nature interpretation centres to

orient and enhance visitorexperiences

• informative directional signage• wayside exhibits at significant

locations interpreting interestingecological interrelationships andfascinating aspects of nature

• a variety of publications that give anoverview of Kanha’s landscape,weather, fauna and interestingwildlife

A significant feature of the Kanhainterpretive programme was thelandmark decision that the entireprogramme would be run as a co-operative formed by staff andlocals/tribals, who were moved out ofthe core area to facilitate the formationof the Park. They, along with otherlow-income groups, serve the park aselephant mahouts, Jeep drivers, andguides.

The Kanha programme was installed in1991 and has won appreciation fromvisitors and professionals alike. In2003, CEE and the Madhya PradeshForest Department began a project toupdate and add to the existinginterpretive facilities and programme.

Orientation Centre

The Orientation Centre is located at theone of the entry points to the Park.Existing guest rooms were convertedinto the Orientation Centre, and carewas taken to see that the buildingblends well with the naturalenvironment. The main aim of theOrientation Centre is to draw visitors’attention to the different forms innature and to show how intimatelyform is related to function. Subjectsinclude horns and antlers; nails, clawsand paws; and teeth and jaws. Thereare also exhibits focusing on mimicryand camouflage.

Visitor Interpretation Centre

Also located within the Park, the VisitorInterpretation Centre introduces thePark’s geography, flora and fauna.Interactive and participatory mediaprovide detailed information about thePark, ecological concepts andconservation issues.

A great deal of research has takenplace at Kanha, and many exhibits inthe Visitor Interpretation Centre arededicated to those individuals whohave contributed to our understandingof the Indian wild. The aim has been todemystify and make this researchinteresting. For instance, in the exhibit‘Census of the Wild,’ the visitor tries tomatch pugmarks of a tiger only torealise that just like our finger prints, notwo pugmarks are the same.Conservation messages are alsoaddressed, and a dioramic display with


Article 9 – Ex-situ conservation

Millennium Seed Bank Project,Royal Botanic Gardens Kew,Wakehurst Place. Introducing ex situconservation throughenvironmental education

In August 2000, the Royal BotanicGardens Kew opened the doors of theMillennium Seed Bank Project (MSBP)at Wakehurst Place, West Sussex, U.K.This represented an opportunity tobring visitors into the centre of aninternationally significant ex situconservation project and todemonstrate the importance of ex situ

conservation within the Convention onBiological Diversity. At the project,huge windows offer visitorsunobstructed views of seed processingfor banking and research into seedstorage and viability. Students who visitcan see young men and womenscientists in action as role models andmay be inspired to pursue careers inplant conservation.

For schools, we begin by introducing‘discovery boxes.’ The goal is to teachchildren about the importance ofplants. Young children explore boxescontaining artifacts that link plants totheir own experience. One boxcontains sniff pots of smelly seeds forchildren to try and identify the smell.The answers include perfume, icecream, medicine and food. We alsouse an activity called ‘Imagine a WorldWithout Plants’ which illustrates atypical family kitchen in the U.K.Through group discussion, they seehow plants underpin all parts of oureveryday existence.

Outside we use our UK habitatparterres to link biodiversity withschool science, focusing onadaptation. First, we look at howhumans protect themselves in theenvironment and then dispatchstudents to look for plants that usesimilar methods. By establishing thewow and wonder of plants we preparestudents for understanding the role ofthe MSBP.

Older students come to WakehurstPlace wanting to know more about exsitu conservation. Tours of the Projectinclude introductions to why and whereplant species are under threat, seedbanks as part of plant conservationstrategies, and how the MSBP works.The visit finishes by focusing on thestudents. We want them to leaveunderstanding the role of ex situconservation and feeling empowered totake action themselves. One exerciseis based on a barbeque. Students startby asking questions: Where does thecharcoal come from? How is itharvested? Is the food from localsources or imported? How do ourpurchases affect the livelihoods of ourcommunities and those in othercountries? By examining thesequestions, students leave knowing thattheir choices make a difference.

For those unable to visit, last year theMSBP launched a web-basedinteractive programme in seedconservation leading to a vocationalqualification (BTEC).

As we design future education projectsat the MSBP, we will constantly try toreach new audiences. Last autumn wecelebrated seeds through an eventcalled the Big Draw. The exhibitionroom became the venue for bothartists and scientists working togetherwith the public creating drawings onglass. The artists helped visitors todraw, and the scientists told storiesabout the collections. Drawn to thisblending of art and nature, 1700people visited the Project that day!


Below and right:

Scientists

collecting seeds

for the MSB

(Photo: Trustees

RBG Kew)

Right:

providing first

hand experience

helps to

communicate

the importance

of ex situ

conservation

(Photo: Trustees

RBG Kew)

Botanic gardens are leaders in ex situconservation of plant species fromaround the world, and as such we areworking to meet the goals of the CBD.Our education programs shouldcommunicate to visitors theimportance of ex situ conservation insaving plants.

For more information on the MillenniumSeed Bank Project, visit www.kew.org.

Christine Newton, Head ofEducation, Wakehurst Place,Ardingly, nr Haywards Heath, RH17 6TN, U.K. Email: [email protected].

Article 10 – Sustainable use ofcomponents of biologicaldiversity

Home garden project, NBRI,Lucknow

Over the last decade or so in India andin many other parts of the world, it hasbecome widely accepted that thedeterioration of the natural environmenthas a direct impact on women’s lives.The nutritional security of many ruralwomen, for example, has beenseriously affected by explosivepopulation growth. Whenever theprospects of food shortage havebecame acute in the past, people havelooked to non-traditional plants thatcan serve as alternative food sources.

With this in mind, the Eco-educationDivision of the National BotanicalResearch Institute (NBRI) in Lucknow, istrying to empower the rural populationin India to manage the nutritional statusand primary healthcare of their families.Particular attention has been paid towomen in the home and women fromless privileged classes (particular castesand tribes). The Division also teachespeople how to use locally available bio-resources in a proper and sustainablemanner.

Home gardens

The Eco-education Division has set upa project to develop home gardens inAmol Kalla Paschim, a village about 23kilometres outside Lucknow. More than1700 people in 150 households live inthe village. The purpose of the projectis to enhance the nutritional andeconomic status of the villagers. Thisvillage was chosen because of theenormous population of poor andundernourished inhabitants.

The objectives of the project are:• to identify bodies of water in the

village• to organise a self-help group for

women• to educate villagers about how to

cultivate seasonal vegetables• to identify lesser-known but locally

available plants of nutritional andmedicinal value

The project was implemented in twophases.

The aims of phase one were:• to develop a demographic profile of

the village• to clean up the village water• to liaise with villagers• to eradicate weeds from identified

ponds and small patches of landsuitable for gardening

Phase two focused on setting uptraining programmes to teach womenabout the cultivation of crops such ascoriander, onion, bottle guard andpumpkin. The procedure was asfollows:


Above: Experts

delivered a

series of

interactive

lectures

(Photo: Kamla

Kulshreshtha)

Left: Bottom

photo - People

participating in

The Big Draw

which attracted

1700 people in

one day (Photo:

Trustees RBG

Kew)

Left: school

children at the

MSB are given

plenty of

opportunity to

explore the links

between plants

and their lives

(Photo: Trustees

RBG Kew)

1. Scientists from the NationalBotanical Research Institute visitedthe village several times in order to:• identify key resource persons who

could ensure the smooth runningof the programme

• assess the bio-resourcesutilization pattern (food, fodderand fuel)

• develop a demographic profile ofthe village

• assess the nutritional status andsocial practices of the villagers

• gather baseline information aboutthe basic facilities such as healthcare and education available inthe locality

2. On the basis of the scientists’findings, an awareness campaignwas organised, followed by severaltraining programmes.. During thefirst awareness programme, 25women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs)were formed. Each group had five orsix women representatives.

3. Each SHG was provided with aneducational kit. Each kit containedsmall booklets on the nutritionalimportance of vegetables; avegetable calendar; seeds of locallygrown vegetables such as spinach,carrot, potato, pumpkin, and bottleguard; and stationery items such aspencil, pen, notepad and eraser. Theresource materials were published inboth Hindi and English.

4. SHGs were encouraged to visit theEco-education Division’s modelhome garden and herbal garden.

5. Experts delivered a series ofinteractive lectures in the locallanguage, as well as fielddemonstrations on pit composting,vermi-composting, sowing of seeds,and identification of medicinalplants.

6. Volunteers helped to motivate themen of the village to come forwardto help their wives in agri-practices.

Feedback was collected following oneyear of the project. The 25 SHGs had

developed model home gardens withthe help of the materials given to them.They consumed some of thevegetables and sold some of them.They harvested seeds for furthersowing. Five groups developed homegardens and also gardens for primaryhealth care. The remaining groupscultivated aquatic crops, especiallyTrapa bispinosa. The crops produced awonderful harvest and each member ofthe five SHGs earned 1800 rupees.This was in addition to whatever theyhad used for their own consumption.The programme was very successful,and the Division is looking to expandthis programme to nearby villages. TheIndian government’s Department ofScience & Technology gave financialsupport to the entire programme.

Dr Kamla Kulshreshtha, Head ofEco-education Division, NationalBotanical Research Institute,Rana Pratap Marg, P. B. No. 436,Lucknow - 226 001, UP, India.Email: [email protected]


Right:

The home

garden project

educated

villagers about

cultivating

seasonal

vegetables

(Photo: Kamla

Kulshreshtha)

Below:

Cleaning up the

village water –

phase one of

the project

(Photo: Kamla

Kulshreshtha)

Below right:

Dr Kamla

Kulshreshtha,

Head of Eco-

education

Division (2nd

adult from left)

with one of the

women’s self

help groups

(Photo: Kamla

Kulshreshtha)

Article 12 – Research andtraining

Education in support of theCBD Article 12

Educators at botanic gardens activelysupport Article 12 (Research andTraining) of the Convention onBiological Diversity by promotingconservation research, interpretingresearch results for the wider public,and offering both technical and non-technical training related to plantconservation.

Research

Botanic gardens undertake research inmany areas that support the CBD,most importantly plant taxonomy andhorticulture. Both of these researchareas are essential for conservationand achieving the targets outlined inthe Global Strategy for PlantConservation.

Botanic gardens disseminate theresults of their taxonomic researchthrough published Floras, monographs,field guides, and guides on specificplant groups (medicinal, trees orornamental, for example). These areusually for sale in botanic gardenbookshops. More recently, botanicgardens have produced searchabledatabases on CD-ROMs or websitessuch as the International Plant NamesIndex, a database of the names andassociated basic bibliographical detailsof all seed plants (www.ipni.org). Otherdatabase projects include the MissouriBotanical Garden’s (U.S.A.)nomenclatural database andassociated images, VAST (VascularTropicos) (http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/vast.html), and the NewYork Botanical Garden LivingCollections Database (U.S.A.)(www.nybg.org/bsci/searchlc.html).

Horticultural research is necessary forhabitat restoration and to developpropagation and cultivation methodsfor plants that have not been incultivation. For example, The BotanicGardens Trust, Royal Botanic Gardensand Domain in Sydney, Australia, havedeveloped a useful website focused onits research into the taxonomy, ecologyand horticultural development of theWollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis)

(http://www.rbgsyd.gov.au/information_about_plants/wollemi_pine). TheWollemi pine is a recently discoveredtree from an evolutionary line thoughtto be extinct. Young specimens aregrown in several Australian gardenswith interpretive panels describingresearch on the taxon.

Botanic gardens often educate thepublic about research throughinterpretation. Kings Park and BotanicGarden, Perth, Australia, for examplehas produced a brochure and posteron the use of smoke for germination.The South African National BiodiversityInstitute (formerly National BotanicalInstitute) produced a story board onthe use of fire in regenerating fynbos(see images above).

Training

Botanic gardens organise training forboth internal and external audiences.Training in botanic gardenmanagement, horticulture, plant record

keeping, taxonomy and herbariumtechniques, for example, build capacityfor botanic gardens to undertakeconservation. Additionally, botanicgardens organise training courses forgarden staff in environmentaleducation, as well as for localcommunities in plant identification andplant conservation techniques, all ofwhich directly support implementationof the CBD.

Botanic gardens provide a uniqueresource for plant identification coursesas they have libraries, holddocumented collections of living plantsand often have practicing taxonomistson the staff. For example, at theCambridge University Botanic Garden,U.K., systematic flower bedsrepresenting nearly 100 plant familiesprovide a valuable teaching andresearch resource. Also the JardínBotánico del Instituo de Biología inMexico uses its collection of labelledmedicinal herbs, a book and a CD-Rom on medicinal plants as part of its


Top:

Brochure on the

use of smoke

for germination

(Photo: Kings

Park and

Botanic

Gardens,

Australia)

Above:

Storyboard on

the use of fire in

regenerating

fynbos (Photo:

South African

National

Biodiversity

Institute)

training courses for traditional healers,midwives and pharmaceuticalresearchers. The University of GenoaBotanic Garden, Italy, organisespractical workshops for theidentification of wild edible plants(known as Preboggion), one of themost important elements in theregional cuisine and sometimesmedicine, while the Royal BotanicGardens, Kew, U.K., provides trainingfor customs officials and police officersin basic taxonomy for enforcement ofthe Convention on International Tradein Endangered Species (CITES).

Botanic gardens also organise nationaland international courses on plantconservation techniques andenvironmental education (e.g. RoyalBotanic Gardens, Kew, and DenverBotanic Garden, U.S.A.) to buildcapacity for conservation. The RoyalBotanic Gardens, Kew, has alsopublished a training tool, The CBD forBotanists, in English, French andSpanish on the implementation of theCBD.

Programmes such as these at botanicgardens worldwide demonstrate howgarden educators can be activelyinvolved in meeting Article 12 of theCBD.

Etelka Leadlay, Head of Researchand Membership Services, BGCI.Email: [email protected]

Article 13 – Public educationand awareness

Environmental education at theForest of Learning, KualaLumpur

Rimba Ilmu (‘Forest of Learning’ inMalaysia’s national language) is the 80-hectare botanic garden of the Universityof Malaya, founded in 1974. It islocated within the sprawling universitycampus southwest of Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia. Rimba Ilmu Botanic Gardenhas labelled collections for visitors; itsown building with a 70-seat lecture hall;and a permanent exhibition, RainForests and Our Environment, a largeand comprehensive interpretive facilityfor understanding biodiversity and therole of rain forests in environmentalwell-being.

A small complement of staff, headedby two academic staff members andassisted by a science officer and asmall team of ground staff, managesthe botanic garden. In addition to itsregular operating hours, a specialguided tour for the public is arrangedon the first Saturday of every month.Excluding students from the University,between 7,000 and 8,000 people visitthe botanic garden each year.Education programmes at Rimba Ilmufall into two categories: informal visitsand exhibits for the general public; andspecial programmes for groups. Groupprogrammes target the University’s30,000 students, as well as otherschools and colleges. Theseprogrammes are one of the maincomponents of Rimba Ilmu’s efforts topromote awareness in nature andconservation among schools and thegeneral public, and create furtheropportunities and encourage linkagesto enhance education andenvironmental awareness.

The Rimba Ilmu missionstatement and philosophy ofenvironmental education

The Rimba Ilmu EnvironmentalEducation Programme seeks topromote environmental awareness and an understanding of therelationship between people and naturethrough experiences that encouragepersonal discovery and groupinteraction, and respect for the naturalenvironment.

Education programmes focus on theinteractions between the maincomponents of our planet’s physical,biological and cultural environment.Skills cultivated in programmes includeexploring our environment andgathering information; noticingsimilarities and differences; describingand recording information and ideas;interpreting the environment, itscomponents and processes fromdifferent perspectives; and problem-solving (making decisions on the bestcourses of action).

Values considered appropriate andthus encouraged include a desire for ahealthy environment; care and respectfor the natural world; consciousness ofthe vulnerability of the environment;recognition that collective good sense

is necessary for maintaining a healthyenvironment; readiness to adapt tooptions that assure a safer and betternatural environment; and appreciationof the role of increasing knowledgetoward better environmentalmanagement.

For most groups, the main programmestructure introduces elementsregarding a sound environmentalunderstanding, including:• understanding the value of natural

habitats, especially those in the rainforests

• understanding biodiversity, itsgenetic and evolutionary basis, andthe kind of work required todocument this vast diversity in arich region such as Malaysia.

• the cycling of substances: carbon,nutrient, water, etc.

• consequences of environmentaldisturbance: floods, climaticchange, pollution

• the concept of the ecosystem, foodwebs, and so onetc

• recycling and its objectives andimpacts

Program participation requires anominal fee that covers refreshmentsand materials, but is heavily subsidizedby the University in terms of staffsalaries and administrative facilities. All activities are led by instructors.Group leaders (e.g. teachers) areinvolved where possible andencouraged to create follow-upactivities after the visit.

Rainforests and ourenvironment exhibition

Rain forests provide a natural themefor Rimba Ilmu because Malaysia ishome to species-rich tropical forests aswell as rapid changes to the naturallandscape. The special 500-square-meter exhibition opened in 1997 andintroduces the essential ecosystemfeatures of rain forests; rain forests asa source of natural products, geneticopportunities, and ecological services;tropical species richness, includingendemism, rarity and the existence ofspecial centres of accumulatedrichness; the degradation andreduction of rain forests; basic ideas onconservation and sustainablemanagement of natural resources;protected area management; examples


of biological diversity; the linkagesbetween organisms; and specialhabitats such as wetlands.

The rare plants & orchidconservatory

Opened in 2000, the Rare Plants &Orchid Conservatory is part of RimbaIlmu’s expanding effort to provide abetter understanding of rare speciesfrom a conservation perspective. Thecollection features rare and threatenedspecies, including plant species thatare naturally endemic (or restricted) toparticular localities or sites; species thathave a relatively wide distributionoutside of Malaysia, but which areinfrequently encountered (and so arerare) in the country; and species thatwere once much more common, usuallyfound in lowland forests, but whoserange and population have decreaseddue to habitat loss. This is the onlyConservatory in the region with anemphasis on rare plant species.

Special exhibitions and events

Special exhibitions and events,including World Environment Daycelebrations, are held at the botanicalgarden. A special exhibition,’Rainforest for Health,’ was brought toMalaysia in 2001 from the Netherlands.Pamphlets in both the Malay languageand English accompanied the exhibit.

Conclusions

In just a short period of time, educationprogrammes have become a strongfocus at Rimba Ilmu Botanic Gardenand their popularity has steadilyincreased. To strengthen existingprogrammes and to support furtherexpansion, the following needs havebeen identified: • subsidies to the operating budget,

especially to cater to an increasingnumber of groups

• additional staffing to deliveradditional programmes.

• teaching equipment: slideprojectors, field (mobile) projectionscreen, soil augers, diameter tapes,binoculars, computer equipment

• refurbishment of the Rimba IlmuActivity Centre

• establishment of InteractiveLearning Facilities

• funds for publications

With these concerns and needs inmind, Rimba Ilmu is moving forward tostrengthening environmental educationin Malaysia and to meetingconservation goals outlined in the CBD.

M. Sugumanran, Rimba Ilmu,Institute of Biological Sciences,University of Malaya, Jalan, Pantai,50603, Kuala Lumpa, Malaysia.Email: [email protected]

Article 15 – Access to genetic resources and benefit sharing

Implementing Article 15: A case study from Kew

Article 15 outlines the framework forhow genetic resources should beacquired under the Convention onBiological Diversity. Individualcontracting states (parties) then decidehow to implement the basic principleswhich state that:• access must be with the Prior

Informed Consent of the partyproviding the genetic resource (15(5)).

• access must be on MutuallyAgreed Terms (15(4)).

• benefits should be shared fairlyand equitably with the provider ofthe genetic resource (15(7)).

To date, although more than 100countries are developing nationallegislation addressing ‘access andbenefit sharing’ (ABS), only a handfulhave actually introduced clear lawsoutlining how they expect others toaccess and use genetic material fromtheir country, and what benefits theyexpect to be shared in return. Assignificant users and suppliers ofgenetic resources, botanic gardenshave an important role to play ineducating and raising awareness ofbest practice in ABS. Kew’s CBD Unitworks with staff, visitors, partnerinstitutions and government to spreadthis message.

Staff: Kew staff conduct 50 collectingexpeditions each year, bringing backapproximately 5,000 specimens for theherbarium, living collections, and seedand DNA banks. In addition, 54,000specimens per year are received orborrowed from, or supplied or loanedto other institutions. We have

developed a rolling programme of stafftraining days to ensure we acquirematerial legally, use and supply it inline with any special terms, and sharebenefits. Training involves lectures, aweb-based quiz (to familiarise staffwith the CBD website), and discussionexercises. We have also developed anintranet staff guide outliningprocedures at Kew.

Garden visitors: Kew receives 1.4million visitors to the garden per year.We want to communicate both how theCBD has changed the way Kew works,and how visitors might be affected. Weregularly train our volunteer guides,explaining the basics of the CBD andenabling them to answer questionssuch as, “Can I take one of theseseedlings for my garden?” and “Whycan’t I buy plants from Kew’s collectionin the shop?”. We help draftcorrespondence, so that when well-meaning visitors send us plantscollected on holiday, we appropriatelyand clearly explain why Kew can’taccept them. In addition, interpretationsigns in the garden show how Kewstaff collect plants with permission andpartners from countries of origin.

Partners and other stakeholders:Kew runs several international Diplomacourses for professionals (such aspartner institution staff) and contributesto several UK university courses. Wehave developed a CBD module thatintroduces students to the CBD,outlines how it can be implemented bybotanic gardens, and includes popularrole play exercises exploring conceptssuch as prior informed consent. Wehave also produced The CBD forBotanists, a plain-language userguide/presentation pack on the CBDand ABS, and we are developing ABSpages for the BGCI website.

Governments: We provide practicaladvice to the UK government and otherpolicymakers on how policy may affectresearch and collections management,and often participate in the UKdelegation to international meetings.

China Williams & Kate Davis, CBDImplementation Officers,Conventions and Policy Section,Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB, U.K.Email: [email protected]


Article 17 & 18 – Exchange ofinformation and technical andscientific cooperation

The Environmental EducationCommission of the BrazilianBotanic Garden Network

The Environmental EducationCommission (CEA) of the BrazilianBotanic Garden Network (RBJB) wascreated during the development of theBrazilian Botanic Gardens Action Plan,part of BGCI’s Investing in Natureproject. Investing in Nature supportsBrazil’s 30 botanic gardens indeveloping public educationprogrammes focusing on theconservation of Brazilian flora.

CEA comprises representatives fromfive Brazilian geographic regions (south,southeast, northeast, center-west andnorth), and participants from eachregion choose their regionalrepresentative and deputy. Since it wascreated, CEA has held several meetings,including during the RBJB annualmeetings held in July. These meetingshave provided an excellent opportunityfor delegates to update their knowledgeand expertise, and to participate in atraining week supported by Investing inNature. Themes for the meetings areselected by the participants and haveincluded the urban environment, teachertraining, eco-tourism, sustainability andinterpretation.

CEA is also involved in a range ofactivities, including:• translation and publication of

BGCI’s Environmental Education inBotanic Gardens: Guidelines forDeveloping Individual Strategies.Eight education case studies fromBrazilian botanic gardens wereincluded in the Guidelines, whichwere distributed to members of theRBJB, schools and botanic gardensin Brazil, Portugal and Africa

• translation and publication ofMaking your Garden Come Alive:Environmental Interpretation inBotanical Gardens by MarykeHonigc and published by theSouthern African Botanical DiversityNetwork

• development of the ‘BotanicGardens Go to School.’ project. Theobjective of this project is for gardensto develop a closer relationship with

their local schools and to promotethe educational possibilities botanicgardens have to offer

• Model Education Award. Each year,a number of botanic gardens areawarded a grant through Investingin Nature to create new educationand conservation projects.

In a country of continental dimensionsand with widely diverse socio-environmental and cultural featuresworking on a national level presents anumber of challenges. Nevertheless,the different regional characteristicsinvolved make the process all the moreinteresting and rewarding. To overcomethe distance barrier, CEA participantsuse the internet. During its meetings,CEA forms a mosaic of differentcolours, flavours, contrasts, culturalexpressions and regional accents,bearing a strong resemblance toBrazil’s national identity. Current CEAmembers are José Fernando Vargas,Porto Alegre Botanic Garden, PortoAlegre/RS; Cristiane Spezialli, BeloHorizonte Zoo-botanical Foundation,Belo Horizonte/MG; Raimunda Santosde Abreu, Salvador Botanic Garden,Salvador/BA; Helena do Socorro Alves,Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará,Belém/Pará; Anajulia Salles, BrasíliaBotanic Garden, Brasília/DFDr Tania Sampaio Pereira, BrazilProgramme Consultant, BGCI,Institute de Pesquisas JardimBotanico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio,Brazil. Email: [email protected]

From practice to action

The AG Pädagogik (AGP, WorkingGroup Education) is the educationworking group of the VerbandBotanischer Gärten e.V. (Association ofBotanic Gardens), representing about100 botanic gardens in German-speaking countries. The AGPcomprises a range of people interestedin supporting botanic gardeneducation. Biologists, educationofficers, gardeners and teachers allwork informally to set targets, developprogrammes, courses andpublications, and establish nationaland international contacts.

Three times a year, the 8-10 corerepresentatives of the AGP spend aconference weekend discussingpresent and future needs, planning

training courses, developingpublications, updating the AGPhomepage, and contacting staff inother botanic gardens with circularsand articles that they might like topublish in their newsletters.The AGP implements two trainingcourses a year in cooperation with abotanic garden. ‘Biodiversity inEducational Practice’ was the themefor the most recent course held inMarch 2004 at Tharandt in theForstbotanischer Garten of theTechnical University Dresden,Germany. The programme was variedand exciting with botanic gardenscientists giving lectures about theCBD and their research in, for example,forestry, agriculture and the geneticdiversity of endangered species. Timeto discuss and exchange experiencesis always an important element of thecourses, especially for newcomers andsole educators in botanic gardens.

For those unable to participate in thetraining courses, we publish papersoffering practical ideas related to themain themes. For example, Thefoxglove calls the bumblebee providesa wealth of practical advice on how toteach visitors about floral ecology.Gardens in Autumn suggests a rangeof activities, including fruit harvesting


with children, simple experiments toexplain the changing climateconditions and dyeing fabrics withleaves or wood.

The AGP has also translated andpublished BGCI’s publicationEnvironmental Education in BotanicGardens: Guidelines for DevelopingIndividual Strategies, and a copy hasbeen sent to every member.

For further information please contact:www.biologie.uni-ulm.de/verband/agpäd.

Renate GrotheSchulbiologiezentrum Vinnhorster Weg 2D 30419 HannoverTel. +(0)511 1684 7665Fax. ++(0)511 1684 7352Email: [email protected]

Karin RoscherForstbotanischer Garten der TUDresden, Pienner Str. 8D-01737 TharandtTel. +(0)35203-383 1601Email: [email protected]

Résumé

La Convention sur la DiversitéBiologique (CDB) a été un des résultatsclef de la Conférence des NationsUnies sur l’Environnement et leDéveloppement (Rio, 1992). Ratifiéepar 188 pays, la Convention a troisobjectifs : la conservation de ladiversité biologique, l’utilisation durablede ses composants et le partage justeet équitable des bénéfices provenantdes ressources génétiques.

L’éducation et la sensibilisation dupublic sont une part importante de laCDB et sont transversales, c’est-à-direqu’elles sont incluses dans les septprogrammes de travail de la CDB.L’article ci-dessous consiste en unesérie de contributions. Il commencepar une présentation générale de laCDB puis s’intéresse à savoir combiend’articles de la CDB sont renduseffectifs par l’éducation dans lesJardins Botaniques.

Resumen

La Convención sobre la DdiversidadBbiológica (CBD) fue uno de losresultados clave de la conferenciasobre el medio ambiente de las NUsobre el Desarrollo y Medioambiente(Rió, 1992). Esta fue ratificada por188 países; la CBD tiene tres objetivos:la conservación de la diversidadbiológica, el uso sostenible de suscomponentes y compartir los

beneficios que se generen de lautilización de los recursos genéticos deuna manera justa y equitativa.

La educación y concienciación publicaes una parte importante de la CBD,asimismo es fundamental y básica;tanto que es incluida en los sieteprogramas de trabajo de la CBD. Lasiguiente contribución consta de unaserie de trabajos. Esta comienza conuna perspectiva general de la CBD,continuando con cuáles son losartículos de la CBD que están siendoimplementados a través de laeducación en jardines botánicos.

Details of this convention can befound at www.biodiv.org.


Far left:

Exchanging

experiences are

an important

element of the

courses run by

AGP (Photo:

Renate Grothe)

Left:

Participants

visiting the

Forstbotanischer

Garden during

the training

course (Photo:

Renate Grothe)

Travailler ensemble – projet de passerelles entre des conventions. La Convention sur la lutte Contre la Désertification

Trabajando juntos – proyectos conectando convenciones. La Convención de lucha Contra la Desertificación

Gail Bromley

Introduction

Translating international conventionsinto education programmes at the locallevel is a challenge that has alwaysinterested me. It therefore came as anexciting opportunity to work on a jointproject with Andrew Joseph Hamilton,Director of Associacion Civil de Los

Algarrobos (ACLA), an NGO based inArgentina. The organisation acts as aUN ‘focal point’ for the Convention toCombat Desertification; implementingforestry programmes, conductingresearch and promoting sustainabledevelopment at the national level aswell as supporting the role of womenand capacity-building in localcommunities. Much of their worksupports communities in arid zones of

Argentina such as the State ofCordoba and many of the poorernorth-eastern states such as Salta,Catamarca and Jujuy. ACLA staffquickly recognised the need toencourage the implementation ofspecific actions at the local level ondrylands and forest ecosystems and todevelop education materials that wouldcontribute to a more effectiveimplementation of the Rio conventions.

Andrew and I looked at how we couldenhance the biodiversity educationelement of a long distance educationcourse on environmental issues theywere developing. The 20 week radiobroadcast course was targeted atprimary teachers in rural areas andoffers basic information, with a follow-up programme of activities for theteacher to carry out. These activitiesare submitted and assessed by trainededucation supervisors.

In each state the course is run, theACLA education team work with stafffrom the Ministries of Education,Environment, Sustainable Developmentand Tourism/Culture. Additionally, theEducation Ministry credits teacherswho successfully complete the coursewith the maximum training points

Roots • Vol 2 (1) • 20-2220

Working together projects bridging conventions!

Convention to Combat Desertification

SummaryFor the last three years, Gail Bromley from Kew Gardens has been

working alongside staff in an Argentinean NGO, Los Algarrobos, to

develop and implement education projects in dry-land areas of

Argentina. The NGO was originally set up to develop education projects

in support of the Convention to Combat Desertification, but soon

recognised that conservation of watersheds was intrinsically linked to the

conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity. Having little

knowledge of current efforts and activities in biodiversity education, the

director of Los Algarrobos contacted

Gail and together they have been

working to support a number of rural

and community education

programmes including a distance

learning course for teachers,

watershed management for the San

Roque and sustaining arid land agro-

biodiversity. In this article, Gail

explains a little of the work under

progress and how certain groups are

linking up to help deliver conservation

and education in Argentina.

Right:

Gail Bromley

with members

of Los

Algarrobos

Right: Children

are the ultimate

recipients of the

biodiversity

education

programme

available (a reflection of its excellentstanding amongst education officials).In recent times, the challenge posed bythe intricate relationships of climate,biological diversity, drought anddesertification on the social, economicand environmental fronts has beenrecognised in many countries. Thiscourse was set up to help people startto implement and encourage correctivemeasures. This basic course covers arange of issues including climatechange and desertification, pollution,biodiversity, sustainability, basicecology, etc.

For each state, modules such as theone on biodiversity vary to explore keylocal issues. In Jujuy, for example, localbiodiversity issues include over-exploitation of fuel wood, inappropriateanimal husbandry, impact of tourism ina newly designated World HeritageSite, pollution from agrochemicals andthe local loss of knowledge in therange of potato and bean species andcultivars – for which the area is a‘biodiversity hotspot’. In the state ofCordoba, tourism, pollution andremoval of local biodiversity haveseriously impacted on the watershed ofthe San Roque area, which supplies allof the water for this region. These localissues are highlighted, discussed andcorrective measures recommended, sothat the teachers can start toimplement a range of teachingprogrammes to explain and explorethese problems with schoolchildrenand, through them, their families. Each

teacher who signs up for the coursegets a large manual that covers thetranscript of the broadcast tapes(made as a series of ‘conversations’between two women teachers), aseries of activities to complete,background resource material andinformation and resource directories.

ACLA also saw the need for a verypragmatic approach and raised largeamounts of money to establish not onlyradio masts for these remote ruralareas to support their communication,but also ‘garden nurseries’. The idea isfor children and teachers to use themas a learning resource; grow food andeat more healthily, learn horticulturaltechniques and celebrate local crops.The course itself is also completelyfree, as ACLA has managed to enlistthe financial support of a number oflocal and national companies.

The launch of each new stateprogramme is prefixed by meetingsand discussions with local teachersand the media (radio and TV).‘Biodiversity’ workshops are also run topromote the course and offer ideasand teaching methodologies such asgames, artwork and theatre to helpchildren understand environmentalissues. One of the greatest spin-offs ofthe course has been the fact that theschool is often the centre of activityand culture for these remote villages.Because of the lack of transport anddifficult terrain, many children board atschool for up to a year and many

schools provide a central cooking andeating point for everyone in the village.Everybody usually tunes in to the radiobroadcast, and often locals are quitekeen to help out with activities, theschool nursery and any follow-upconservation projects. At theworkshops, participants may includenot only teachers but local tourismstaff, shopkeepers, farmers andcraftspeople – in fact anyone who isinterested! As you might imagine thisusually leads to exciting and innovativeworkshops – although numbers havesometimes tended to get a bit unwieldywith 400 participants turning up on oneoccasion!

Increasingly, teachers also hand on orshare their materials with otherteachers who have not signed up forthe course. Ultimately this does notmatter to ACLA, as it is hoped thateveryone exposed to the messages will


Above and

bottom left:

The

surrounding

landscape

indicates the

relevance of the

CCD

(Photo: Gail

Bromley)

Left: Training

teachers in

environmental

education

involves theory

and practice.

(Photo: Gail

Bromley)

become more ‘aware’ of the localissues and thus more likely to supportmeasures to enhance sustainableactivity in the community. Currently thecourse outcomes are being evaluatedand include:• materials and displays from

schoolchildren• media reports of ‘conservation,

recycling, sustainable resourcemanagement, ‘pollution control’projects in the area implemented bythe local communities

• teacher and school reports• oral conversations with local people• changes in local constitutions/laws

etc in favour of sustainablepractices

• requests for further information andresources

• festivals celebrating local cultureand natural resources etc.

Some very good materials are beinggathered that will demonstrate theimpact of the course. Hopefully thiswill stimulate the ‘roll-out’ of the coursenationally.

As a result of the initial training course,other projects have developed. Thefirst is a ‘basic’ course on‘sustainability and environmentalmanagement’ targeted at such groupsas company managers, local authorityand utility officials and keytradespersons. The second is theestablishment of ‘biodiversityinterpretation centres’ (BICs) in eachstate. These are in the process ofbeing developed ‘by the people, for thepeople’. They are being overseen byACLA in collaboration with variousMinistries, local authorities, universitydepartments, local teachers/schoolchildren and NGOs. The centres

will comprise a physical structure, setinto or near a key biodiversity area,where local staff and volunteers willoffer activities, events, displays,information and resources that willhighlight local key issues,

We all know that desertification andbiodiversity mismanagement or losscan only be reversed through profoundchanges in local (and international)behaviour. Little by little, withintegrated practices such as these, thechanges will ultimately lead tosustainable land use and food securityfor a growing world population.Education empowering communities,conservation and careful watermanagement, let’s have more of it!

Résumé

Durant les trois dernières années, GailBromley des Jardins de Kew a travaillécôte à côte avec le personnel d’uneorganisation non gouvernementaleArgentine, Los Algarrobos, pourdévelopper et rendre effectifs desprojets d’éducation dans des zonessèches d’Argentine. L’ONG avait, àl’origine, développé des projetséducatifs en s’inspirant de laConvention sur la lutte Contre laDésertification, mais elle a rapidementreconnu que la conservation du bassinhydrographique était intrinsèquementliée à la conservation et à la gestiondurable de la biodiversité. Ayant peude connaissances dans ce domaine etsur les activités d’éducation à labiodiversité, le Directeur de LosAlgarrobos a contacté Gail. Ensembleils ont collaboré à l’appui de nombreuxprogrammes éducatifs ruraux etcommunautaires notamment des coursà distance pour les enseignants, lagestion du bassin hydrographique pourle San Roque ainsi que le maintien del’agro-biodiversité des paysagesarides. Dans cet article, Gail apportedes informations sur le travail en courset comment certains groupes se sontmis en réseau pour délivrer unmessage de conservation etd’éducation en Argentine.

Resumen

Durante los últimos 3 años, GailBromley, de los Jardines Reales deKew, ha estado colaborando conpersonal de una ONG en Argentina,

Los Algarrobos, en el desarrollando eimplementación de proyectoseducativos en las zonas áridas de esePaís. Inicialmente la ONG se dedicaba aorganizar proyectos educativos paraapoyar la Convención de lucha Contrala Desertificación, poco después sereconoció que la conservación de lascuencas estaban intrínsicamenterelacionadas con la actividades deconservación y manejo sustentable dela biodiversidad. Con el escasoconocimiento de los esfuerzos yactividades actuales en la educación dela biodiversidad, el director de LosAlgarrobos se puso en contacto conGail, desde entonces han estadotrabajando juntos brindando apoyo a lascomunidades rurales con programaspara maestros de educación, en los quese incluye la universidad a largadistancia, manejo de la cuenca de SanRoque y la sostenibilidad deagrodiversidad de las zonas áridas. Eneste artículo, Gail explica un poco deeste trabajo y su progreso, así comoalgunos grupos que están uniéndose enuna iniciativa para cumplir con laeducación en la Argentina.

Gail Bromley MBE FLS. EducationDevelopment Manager &International Consultant forBiodiversity Education. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey. Email: [email protected]

RBG, Kew is grateful to the BritishCouncil and ACLA for their generoussupport of this project.

Details of this Convention can befound at www.unccd.int.


Above: Los

Algarrobos

supports

education

programmes

that sustain arid

land

agrobiodiversity

(Photo Gail

Bromley)

Right: Dramatic

landscapes

abound in the

Los Algarrobos

region – Gail

and one of the

formidable

desert

inhabitants

(Photo Gail

Bromley)

L’éducation, un outil pour la conservation des zones humides - La Convention Ramsar sur les Zones Humides

Educación como una herramienta para la conservación de los humedales - La Convención Ramsar sobre los Humedales

Barrie Cooper

Introduction

The RSPB is a member of a globalnetwork of organisations called BirdLifeInternational. Many of theseorganisations have educationprogrammes linked to priority sites forbiodiversity. In many countries,internationally important wetland sitesare designated under the RamsarConvention on Wetlands. TheConvention’s mission is ‘theconservation and wise use of allwetlands through local, regional andnational actions and internationalcooperation, as a contribution towardsachieving sustainable developmentthroughout the world’. There arepresently 142 countries that aresignatories to the Convention, with1389 wetland sites designated forinclusion in the Ramsar List ofWetlands of International Importance.

Wetland educationprogrammes

Wetlands can be excellent sites foreducation programmes aimed atschoolchildren. They are habitats thatprovide relatively easy opportunities tosee a variety of birds and otherbiodiversity. Provided there is safeaccess, freshwater sampling is aneducational activity that children of anyage enjoy. At RSPB wetland sites, weprovide wooden platforms (see photo)to enable children to investigate thefascinating web of life. Identificationcharts, coupled with the expertise ofour education officers, enable children

to understand concepts such as foodchains and adaptation. We alwaysensure that there is a strongconservation message. It is importantthat a visitor to a wetland siteunderstands that it is a fragile habitatthat needs management andprotection. In my experience, many ofthe education techniques and activitiesaimed at schoolchildren are alsoeffective when used with adults.

Community educationprogrammes

It is usually important to gain thesupport of communities around awetland. Through developing acommunity education programme, thekey audiences can be identified.These audiences can influence themanagement and protection of a

Roots • Vol 2 (1) • 23-25 23

Education as a tool for theconservation of wetlands

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Summary Wetlands are essential for biodiversity and people.

Covering about 6% of the world’s surface, they occur in every country,

from the tundra to the tropics (Thorsell et al, 1997). As well as providing

freshwater for countless species of plants and animals, wetlands support

large numbers of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and

invertebrate species. Wetlands also provide economic benefits, for

example water supplies, fisheries, agriculture, timber production,

recreation and tourism opportunities. Wetlands are an important part of

our cultural heritage, providing us with a source of inspiration and

forming the basis of local traditions.

Despite their enormous value, many wetlands are being damaged and

destroyed because of pressure from people. Threats from development

for industry, housing, roads and marinas have permanently destroyed

many significant wetlands around the world. Other regular losses or

damage of wetlands are caused through drainage and pollution. They

are one of the most vulnerable habitats on our planet and it is essential

that we develop knowledge, understanding and action for improved

protection and management of these fantastic places. Wetlands provide

excellent opportunities to educate schoolchildren, decision-makers and

other target audiences. Many of these sites

are ideal for education programmes that can

develop knowledge, understanding and

action in support of nature conservation.

This article introduces RSPB’s approach to

education in wetlands in the UK, with

reference to some of its international

education work.

Below:

Wooden

platforms at an

RSPB site allow

children easy

access to the

wonders of the

wetland area

(Photo: Barrie

Cooper)

wetland. Decision-makers areobviously a key audience; but who arethey and how can they be influenced?In my opinion, an important audience islocal schools and their students.Schools are at the heart of anycommunity and children can beeffective communicators ofconservation to other audiences. I have been involved in severaleducation programmes in England andoverseas where children have beenimportant ambassadors forconservation. Two examples areincluded here.

The Ribble Estuary

The Ribble Estuary is a Ramsar site onthe north-west coast of England. It isone of the most important sites inEurope for migrating wading birds andwildfowl. In the early 1990s, therewere several threats to some key areason the estuary. Many of the decision-makers in one city were supporting thebuilding of a bridge and a marina;these developments would have had asignificant detrimental impact on keyfeeding and resting areas for migratingbirds. There was a strong oppositionto nature conservation by many of thedecision-makers. I approached someof the decision-makers to gain theirpermission for an educationprogramme for schools to visit theestuary. Some of the politiciansthought I was crazy: “The only peopleinterested in the birds out there, areyou birdwatchers!” was a comment Iwill never forget. “I disagree; I thinkschools will visit and I think localpeople and tourists may be interestedas well” was my reply – it turned out tobe a profound statement!

I did get permission and so developedan education programme for schools tovisit the estuary. I also used a localbuilding as a temporary classroom. 50schools visited during the first threemonths of the project and it became animmediate success. The programme

was linked to the National Curriculumand included themes such as:adaptation, food chains, human impacton the environment and conservation.Local people and tourists would oftenbe interested in the work we were doingwith schools and would listen to thedialogue between our education officerand schoolchildren. We thereforedecided to open a visitor centre and runa varied programme of events forfamilies and adults, in addition tochildren. This groundswell of localinterest and support was significant forinfluencing political opinion. The localdecision-makers dropped their plans forthe bridge and marina. We had‘educated’ them about the importanceof the need to protect the site. Theyrealised that there were sustainableeconomic benefits by having a Ramsarsite within their boundaries.

The quality of life for local people isanother significant benefit. Surely, it isbetter to be able to walk alongside abeautiful wetland full of biodiversitywith flocks of birds calling in thebackground, rather than through aconcrete jungle? We need to startreaching more decision-makers toenable them to understand theimportance of biodiversity. They needto know how it benefits peopleeconomically as well as qualitatively.

The programme has always beenpromoted as a partnership betweenRSPB, the local government and awater company that invested moneyfor extra staffing and for improvementsto the visitor centre. Ten years after westarted the operation of a small-scaleprogramme for schools, the benefitsare tangible. Local hoteliers sought myadvice to guide the development ofweekend breaks that focused on birdsand wildlife. Research by the localgovernment showed that local peopleand tourists rated this programme asthe best attraction in the area. Thefuture for the birds and other wildlife ofthe Ribble Estuary is now more securethan it has ever been; education was akey tool in achieving this.

Morecambe Bay

This is another Ramsar site on thenorth-west coast of England. Like theRibble, it is also one of the mostimportant sites for migrating wading

birds and wildfowl. The town ofMorecambe was once a popularseaside resort. However, during the1970s, its popularity began to wane. Inthe mid-1990s, the local governmentrecognised they needed to take urgentaction to change Morecambe’s imageand to regenerate tourism andeconomic development. As a part ofthis process, the local planners invitedRSPB to hear their plans to create aseries of sculptures and other artworkthemed to celebrate the importance ofMorecambe Bay for birds. The projectstarted with input from RSPB and nowa range of wonderful artwork has beencreated along the seafront. This hasmade a positive impact on local peopleand tourists. It is a unique and visuallyappealing approach to the celebrationof an international wetland. The touristoffice was able to access externalfunding to pay RSPB to run an annualprogramme of events for children andadults. The events were linked to thebirds of Morecambe Bay. The localhoteliers at this site also asked me toadvise them about developing weekendholiday breaks for nature lovers.

Teacher training

When an education programme istargeted at schools, it can be beneficialto organise training courses forteachers. The courses can includeinformation about the site, ideas forprogrammes and projects in schools,training of environmental games andactivities. If the training is done in aninteractive way, it can be very popularwith teachers and make a significantimpact with the implementation of theprogramme in the local schools.

RSPB’s international education

There is insufficient space to go intodetail about the full extent of how weshare our educational expertise, but afew examples are provided here.

The Gediz Delta, Turkey

The Gediz Delta is a Ramsar site onTurkey’s west coast, close to the city ofIzmir. During recent years, a large partof the wetland has been reclaimed forthe rapid development of factories andhousing. With support from the RSPB,the Turkish BirdLife Partner, DogaDernegi, is now working with local


Above: Children

investigating the

fauna they have

discovered in a

nearby pond

(Photo: Barrie

Cooper)

decision-makers and communities todevelop education and communicationprogrammes around the delta.Probably the only way to ensure thelong-term conservation of this wetlandjewel will be through effectiveeducation programmes.

Capacity building of educators

It is important to share expertise inconservation education. In my opinion,good ideas and activities are universal –they can be used in any country. Atraining course I ran in Mongolia in2003 is evidence that educators alwaysappreciate good ideas for theirprogrammes. The course was locatedon the Mongolian steppe and involvedstaff from Ramsar sites in China, Russiaand Mongolia. The development ofsite-based and community educationprogrammes was the priority for thetraining. The sites have now started todevelop their education programmesand some of the trainers are spreadingthe ideas to other countries includingKazakhstan and Japan.

In the near future, BirdLife is hoping todevelop a wetland educationprogramme in some countries aroundthe Mediterranean. The programmewill include the training of educationofficers and the implementation of aneducation programme at a selectedRamsar site in each of these countries.

Conclusions

Education is a vital tool if we are toimprove the long-term protection ofbiodiversity. We have to reach out tokey audiences, including decision-makers, teachers and children. We needto take them on a fantastic journey ofexploration to introduce them to themagic of the natural world. Wetlandsare one of the most vulnerable habitatson our planet; it is essential that wedevelop knowledge, understanding andaction for improved protection andmanagement of these fantastic places.

Wetlands and botanic gardens are idealsites to begin the education ofdecision-makers, schoolchildren,teachers and other target audiences.They can provide the important staringpoint for people to begin the journey ofunderstanding, support and action forthe conservation of biodiversity.

References

áThorsell, J. FersterLevy, R. Sigaty, T(1997), A GlobalOverview of Wetlandand Marine ProtectedAreas on the WorldHeritage List, WorldConservationMonitoring Centre,Cambridge, UK

Résumé

Les zones humides sontessentielles à labiodiversité et auxhommes. Elles couvrentenviron 6 % de la surface terrestre etsont présentes dans tous les pays,depuis la toundra jusqu’aux tropiques(Thorsell et al, 1997). Non seulement leszones humides fournissent de l’eaudouce pour les plantes et les animaux,mais elles hébergent un grand nombred’espèces. Les zones humidesapportent également des avantageséconomiques, par exemple : pêcheries,production de bois et transport ainsi queloisir et tourisme (Ramsar, 2005). Ellesconstituent une part importante de notrepatrimoine culturel, formant une baseaux traditions locales et sont sourcesd’inspiration esthétique. En dépit de leurvaleur, beaucoup de zones humidessont endommagées et détruites à causede la pression générée par l’homme. Ilest essentiel que l’on développe nosconnaissances, notre compréhension etnotre action pour une meilleureprotection et gestion de ces habitatsvulnérables. Les zones humidesprésentent d’excellentes opportunitéspour l’éducation des scolaires, desdécideurs et d’autres publics cibles.Nombre de ces sites sont idéals pourdes programmes d’éducationsusceptibles de développer une attitudeen faveur de la conservation de lanature. Cet article présente l’approchede la RSPB par rapport à l’éducationdans les zones humides du RoyaumeUni, en faisant référence à son travailinternational lié à l’éducation.

Resumen

Los humedales son esenciales para labiodiversidad y para la gente.Cubriendo acerca 6% de la superficiemundial, ellos ocurren en cada país,

desde la tundra a lostrópicos (Thorsell etal, 1997). Asi tambiéncomo ellos provende agua fresca paralas plantas yanimales, loshumedales soportanun numero grande deespecies. Loshumedales también

proven de un beneficio económico, porejemplo: pesca, producción de maderay transporte, asi también comorecreación y turismo (Ramsar, 2005).Ellos son una parte importante denuestra legado cultural, formando lasbases para la tradicion local y ofrecenuna inspiración estética.

A pesar de su valor, muchos humedalesestan siendo destrozados a causa de lapresion poblacional. Es esencial quenosotros desarrollemos conocimiento,entendimiento y acción para laprotección y manejo de estos habitatvulnerables. Los humedales provenoportunidades excelentes para educarescolares, hacedores de decisions yotras audiencias. Muchos de estossitios son ideales para programas deeducación que pueden desarrollar losatributos requeridos para laconservación de la naturaleza. Estearticulo introduce una aproximación dela Royal Society for Protection of Birds(RSPB’s) para la educación en loshumedales en el Reino Unido, conreferencia a algunos de sus trabajoeducativo a nivel internacional.

Barrie Cooper is the InternationalEducation Manager for the RoyalSociety for the Protection of Birds(RSPB), The Lodge, Sandy,Bedfordshire, U.K. Tel: 01767 680551. Fax: 01767 692365. Email: [email protected]: www.rspb.org

Details of this Convention can befound at: www.ramsar.org


Above and left:

Wetlands can be

excellent sites

for education

programmes

aimed at school

children

(Photo: Barrie

Cooper)

Introduction

The people of Cape Town areimmensely proud and excited aboutthe honour that was bestowed on theirgarden - for the first time a botanicalgarden has been recognized as anatural World Heritage Site. However,in my opinion, a great number of CapeTown’s people living on the Cape Flats(an area created during the Apartheidera) do not share in this excitement,either because they are not aware of orfeel indifferent to this achievementbecause of its ‘non-relevance’ to theirlives. Socio-economic factors such aspoverty, unemployment and crime arethe high-priority issues in their lives.Friedman, H (2003) in her articleSurvival of the greenest in the Cape,says that “to most kids living on theCape flats, the term ‘wildlife’ meansnegotiating a daily gauntlet of gangs,violence and drugs.” One of the aimsof Kirstenbosch’s education

programme is to offer these children(from strife-torn townships likeMitchell’s Plain, Khayelitsha, LavenderHill) the opportunity to experience‘wildlife’ of a different kind – the richbiodiversity of a world famousindigenous botanical garden.

Environmental educationprogramme

Kirstenbosch National Botanic Gardenoffers an environmental educationprogramme to all learners in CapeTown and surrounding areas, butparticularly to those fromdisadvantaged areas. The programmeis located within the educationdirectorate of the South AfricanNational Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) agovernment parastatal, formerly knownas the National Botanical Institute. Itfocuses on four key areas:• a garden-based education

programme

• school indigenous greening(outreach greening) programme

• teacher professional development• resource and curriculum

development.

The aims of the programme are:1. to develop effective environmental

education and interpretationprogrammes that respond tointernational and nationalenvironmental policies andlegislation

2. to make the gardens moreeducationally relevant andaccessible to all teachers andlearners, particularly those who inthe past did not have theopportunity to visit

3. to contribute to transformation ineducation through our programmesand networks

4. to promote the education value ofindigenous gardens in schools.

5. to ensure effective communicationand networking within SANBI, andbetween SANBI and the public andothers involved in environmentaleducation

6. to contribute to the transformationprocess by appointing staff frompreviously disadvantaged groupswherever possible, and providingsupport and mentorship to enablestaff to develop to their full potential

The important role of education to attainsustainable development is recognizedglobally. Willison (1997) argued stronglyfor botanic gardens to engage in‘stronger’ forms of eEducation forsSustainability. She describes this as a‘holistic approach to education whichemphasizes the interrelationship ofdisciplines’. In South Africa, education

Roots • Vol 2 (1) • 26-2826

L’éducation à la biodiversité dans le Jardin Botanique de Kirstenbosch. La Convention sur le Patrimoine Mondial

La educación sobre la biodiversidad en el Jardín Botánico de Kirstenbosch. La Convención de Patrimonio Mundial

Donovan Fullard

Biodiversity education atKirstenbosch Botanical Garden

World Heritage Convention

Summary Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, in Cape

Town is situated on the slopes of Table Mountain and falls within the

Cape Floristic Region which has been inscribed as South Africa’s sixth

World Heritage Site. This is the first time that a botanical garden has

been recognised as a natural World Heritage site. In the following article

Donavan Fullard describes the Kirstenbosch Environmental Education

Programme and explains how it supports the mission of the World

Heritage Convention: To encourage participation of the local population

in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage.

The aim of the programme is to inspire and enable people from all walks

of life to take responsibility for their environment. The programme

primarily targets the learners/youth from the disadvantaged areas and

under-resourced schools from the Cape Flats in the Western Cape to

participate in its exciting and curriculum linked garden-based and

outreach greening programmes which cover a wide variety of themes,

learning programmes and activities.

plays a critical role in ensuringimprovements in the quality of life of allpeople, the eradication of poverty,reducing inequalities and promotingsustainable development and growth(Wagiet, 2002). I also believe that inSouth Africa environmental educationhas, and can still, contribute significantlyto transformation and development.

At Kirstenbosch, we strive towardsoffering an environmental educationprogramme that adheres to theprinciples of EfS and is aligned to ournational curriculum statement policies.In addition, we strongly associate withthe following definition ofenvironmental education - describing itas a ‘responsive process of change’involving the development of capacityto ‘collaboratively develop capabilities(tools, resources, action competencies)to deal with and encourage change inlocal contexts’ (source unknown). In the past, our key focus areasfunctioned in isolation whereas now,we strive towards integrating ourvarious programmes to achieve a moremeaningful and holistic approach. I will briefly give an overview of ourprogrammes.

Garden-based programme

On average about 8 -11 000 learnersfrom Grade R – 12 participate in theactivities offered per year as part of theguided school programme. Theprogramme is very popular andprimarily supports formal educationwith exciting, hands-on activities thatengage learners with indigenous plantsand issues related to the sustainableuse of these plants. Themes (with avariety of learning programmes) onoffer include Introduction toKirstenbosch and Fynbos, Plants andPeople, Ecology, Water, Biomes, Plantreproduction, Plant adaptations andTravel and Tourism. Biodiversity issuesare addressed in all these programmes,but since the transition from theBotanical to Biodiversity institute, wehave begun with the development of a

new Biodiversity programme. Theprogramme focuses on experientiallearning and learners are activelyencouraged by education officers toparticipate in their groups throughdiscussion and debating of issues.Learners are also encouraged to reflectcritically on environmental issues andto make connections between theissues they encounter and their lives.An example here is their experience inthe Useful Plants Garden where thesustainable use of useful and medicinalplants are not just explored, discoveredand investigated, but also probed andlinked to their lives from a socio-cultural perspective.

The Kirstenbosch Outreach Busprovides transport for learners fromunder-resourced schools to attend theprogramme. The most visits recordedare from schools of Mitchell’s Plain andKhayelitsha – these areas wereidentified by President Thabo Mbeki forsocio-economic upliftment. Ourprogramme has been fortunate toreceive funding from the NationalLottery Fund, which makes it possiblefor us to provide transport to 50schools from disadvantaged areas tobring a group of 180 learners on a freevisit to our Biodiversity Education andEfS programmes for the next threeyears (2005-2007). An environmentalaudit will be carried out at each schooland the impact of our programme willbe closely monitored and evaluated bystaff members as well as externalconsultants. The selection criteriaused to identify schools includedschools that have been on ouroutreach greening programme andnever visited the garden, schools thathave shown commitment to theenvironment, schools that visit regularlybut have difficulty paying and schoolswith learners with special needs.

Outreach greening programme

Currently we have developed 46indigenous school gardens on theCape Flats (Nyanga, Langa, Gugulethu,

Mitchell’s Plain, Manenberg andKhayelitsha). These schools are part ofthe Kirstenbosch indigenous schoolgardening programme and are all atdifferent levels of involvement with theprogramme, ranging from first to thirdyear and beyond.

The aims of the outreach greeningprogramme are:• to establish indigenous, water-wise

school and community gardens• to encourage ecological awareness

and environmental responsibility• to develop gardening skills to

enable economic empowerment andlocal environmental action

• to promote the educational value ofindigenous plants and gardening

• to develop partnerships betweencommunities and organizations.

We have received funding from thegovernment’s Department ofEnvironmental affairs and Tourism aspart of the Greening of the Nationproject to ‘green’ schools andcommunities over the next three years.We have selected 17 new schools fromthe Cape Flats who will join our threeyear outreach greening programme aswell as several communityorganisations such as an HIV/AIDSgroup, women’s empowerment groupand community greening groups.

The first two years of the indigenousschool greening programme focus onhorticultural training of ‘Green Teams’(representative of all stakeholders –learners, teachers, ground persons andcommunity members) at schools andgarden development. To ensuresustainability of the project weintroduce a series of workshops withteachers from year two. Teacherscollaboratively develop teaching andlearning support materials to use in thegarden as a resource for education.With the integration of our garden-based, outreach greening and teacherprofessional development programmeswe promote a strong ‘actioncompetence approach’ toenvironmental education (Jensen &Schnack, 1997). The development ofskills such as critical thinking, problemsolving and interpersonal skills, formthe basis of our work and is what wetry to promote and achieve through ourprogrammes at Kirstenbosch. Byintroducing learners and teachers to


Left:

Kirstenbosch

aims to offer

children the

opportunity to

experience

biodiversity for

themselves.

(Photo:

Donovan

Fullard)

our programmes we hope to stimulatethe development of a ‘criticalperspective’ that will hopefully lead to‘concrete action’.

A success story as evidence of ourgoal was achieved when West EndPrimary school (from a disadvantagedcommunity in Mitchell’s Plain) visitedour programme for the first time at theend of 2003. Both learners andteachers found the programme to beextremely invigorating and of greatvalue to them. They successfullyapplied to join the outreach greeningprogramme in 2004 and have sinceconverted a sandy and barren part oftheir school yard into a beautifulindigenous garden. Learners, teachersand ground staff are working side-by-side to take responsibility for theirenvironment and contributing to wholeschool improvement. One teacher atthe school commented “The gardenhas given new meaning and purpose toour lives at school which under normalcircumstances were dominated bynegativity and frustrations.”.

Teacher professionaldevelopment

The Kirstenbosch programme hasalways played a crucial role as aservice provider in the implementationof the education transformationalprocesses, specifically OutcomesBased Education and the RevisedNational Curriculum Statement Policies(RNCS). Currently staff are supportingfoundation phase educators with theimplementation of the RNCS withinSANBI’s context through a process ofparticipatory action research. As partof post-graduate research, staffmembers collaborate with teachersand curriculum advisors from theprovincial education department in thedevelopment of new and specialprogrammes, teaching and learningsupport materials, etc.

Resource and curriculumdevelopment

The development of teaching andlearning support materials to supportour programme and that of the formalcurriculum are key features of theKirstenbosch programme. The centreoffers a wide range of resources andfacilities available to educators. The

Greening Manual published in 2002 isan excellent iIndigenous gardeninghandbook for South African Schoolsdeveloped by staff. A brochure andsupport materials on biodiversity will bedeveloped in 2005 to assist teacherswith their programmes at school.

Conclusion

Kirstenbosch environmental educationprogramme strives at all times toprovide quality education about, in andfor the environment to contribute to thebuilding of a responsible andenvironmentally active citizenry. Werealise that Kirstenbosch, as a worldrenowned botanic garden as well as aWorld Heritage site, has much to offerEfS and that we are ideally placed towork with local communities, especiallythrough our outreach greeningprogrammes, to resolve environmentalproblems. In so doing, we endeavourto support UNESCO’s World Heritagemission to encourage participation ofthe local population in the preservationof their cultural and natural heritage.

References

áFriedman, H (2003) Survival of thegreenest in the Cape. The Teacher

áJensen, B. & Schnack, K. (1997)Environmental Education Research,Vol. 3, No.2.

áWagiet, R.(2002) Education acrucial vehicle for sustainabledevelopment – WSSD. EducationNews bulletin

áWillison, J (1997) Roots 15, p20-22Botanic gardens and education forsustainability.

Résumé

Le Jardin Botanique National deKirstenbosch à Cape Town est situésur les versants du Table Mountain etappartient à la Région florale du Capqui a été inscrite comme sixième sitedu Ppatrimoine Mmondial de l’Afriquedu Sud. C’est pour la première foisqu’un jardin botanique a été reconnucomme site naturel du patrimoinemondial. Dans l’article qui suit,Donavan Fullard décrit le programmed’éducation environnementale deKirstenbosch et explique comment ilsoutient la mission de la Conventionsur le Patrimoine Mondialla Conventiondu patrimoine mondial: à encourager la

participation de la population locale àla préservation de leur patrimoineculterel et naturel. La mission duprogramme est d’inspirer des gens detous bords et de les rendre aptes àprendre des responsabilités pour leurenvironement. Le programme viseavant tout les étudiants/jeunes desrégions désavantagées et des écolesen manque de moyens des Cape Flatsdans le Western Cape pour les faireparticiper à ses programmes excitantsde verdissement reliés par curriculum,tant basés au jardin que tournés versl’extérieur et qui couvrent une variétéde thèmes, de programmesd’enseignement et d’activités.

Resumen

El Jardín Botánico Nacional deKirstenbosch, en la Ciudad del Cabo,está situado en las laderas de TableMountain, y cae dentro de la regiónflorística del Cabo, y ha sido inscritocomo el sexto lugar en Sudáfricadeclarado Patrimonio Mundial de laHumanidad. Fue el primer jardínbotánico declarado Patrimonio MundialNatural de la Humanidad. En elartículo que sigue Donovan Fullarddescribe el Programa de EducaciónMedio Ambiental de Kirstenbosch yexplica como apoya la misión de laConvención de Patrimonio Mundial: elpromocionar la participación de lapoblación local en la preservación desu patrimonio cultural y natural.

El programa se propone inspirar ypermitir a la gente de todas partes areconocer su responsabilidad por elmedio ambiente. El programa sobretodo se dirige a los jóvenes de zonasmenos aventajadas y de los colegiosbajos en recursos de Cape Flats en elCabo occidental, para que participenen sus apasionantes programas,relevantes al currículo, con actividadestanto dentro como fuera del jardín,relacionadas a una gran variedad detremas, programas educativos y otrasactividades.

Donavan Fullard is Deputy Directorof Education, KirstenboschNational Botanic Garden, PrivateBag X7, Claremont, Cape Town,South Africa. Tel: 021 -799 8670.Direct line: 021 – 7998696. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.sanbi.org


Introduction

The Global Strategy for PlantConservation (GSPC) outlines a seriesof targets through which the ultimateaim of halting the current andcontinuing loss of plant diversity canbe achieved. The Strategy provides aframework to ‘facilitate harmonybetween existing initiatives aimed atplant conservation, to identify gapswhere new initiatives are required, and

to promote mobilizationof the necessaryresources.’ It is also ‘atool to enhance theecosystem approach forthe conservation andsustainable use ofbiodiversity and focus onthe vital role of plants inthe structure andfunctioning of ecologicalsystems’ (GSPC, 2002).

The Strategy was initiated at theBotanical Congress in St Louis 1999,with a call for plant conservation to berecognised as an urgent internationalpriority. Following this, interestedparties met in Gran Canaria, Spain, andproduced a declaration. Thedeclaration was presented to the CBDConference of the Parties, who thenagreed that a specific strategy for plantconservation was needed. The initialproduction of the Global Strategy wasin conjunction with many national andinternational organisations including,IUCN-World Conservation Union,International Plant Genetic ResourcesInstitute (IPGRI), United NationsEnvironment Programme (UNEP), theFood and Agriculture Organisation(FAO), WWF, United NationsEducational, Scientific and CulturalOrganisation (UNESCO) and BGCI.These organisations now act asfacilitating partners for each of theadopted targets and are responsible for

Roots • Vol 2 (1) • 29-32 29

Un rôle vital pour les animateurs des jardins botaniques dans la conservation du végétal : la Stratégie Mondiale pour la Conservation des Plantes et vous !

El papel vital de los educadores en jardines botánicos en la conservaci?n de las plantas: la Estrategia Mundial para la Conservaci?n de Especies Vegetales y tú!

Sarah Kneebone

A vital role for botanic gardeneducators in plant conservation:

the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and you!

Summary Plants are a vital part of the world’s biodiversity and

an essential resource for human well-being. Yet, despite our reliance on

them, a crisis point has been reached – it is thought that between 60,000

– 100,000 plant species are threatened worldwide (GSPC, 2002).

In 2002 the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation was legally adopted

by all governments who are signatories to the Convention on Biological

Diversity. Using a clear set of targets, the GSPC provides a framework

for actions to bring about plant conservation, sustainable use, benefit-

sharing and capacity building at global, regional, national and local levels

with the ultimate goal to halt the loss of plant diversity.

Target 14 of the strategy involves ‘Promoting education and public

awareness about plant diversity: The importance of plant diversity and

the need for its conservation incorporated into communication,

educational and public-awareness programmes’. Botanic Gardens

Conservation International (BGCI) is the facilitating partner for Target 14

and has been working on consultations to produce targets and

milestones for its achievement. Botanic garden educators are a major

stakeholder within the biodiversity education field and BGCI is keen to

gain your input. Left: The GSPC

is a tool to

enhance the

ecosystem

approach to

conservation

(Photos: Sarah

Kneebone)

arranging consultation meetings toagree on subtargets, practicalmeasures and milestones.

What are the objectives of theGSPC?

The objectives of the GSPC aregrouped into five themes: • understanding and documenting

plant diversity• conserving plant diversity• using plant diversity sustainably• promoting education and awareness

about plant diversity• building capacity for the

conservation of plant diversity

The strategy outlines the differentaspects of these objectives in a seriesof 16 targets together with the termsand technical rationale for each.

Why is the GSPC relevant tobotanic gardens?

Most of the targets are directly relevantto the work of botanic gardens. Indeedtarget 14 is particularly relevant in thatit provides a legislative defence of thevalidity of education in botanic gardensand highlights its importance in theefforts for plant conservation. For a fulllist of targets, visit BGCI’s websitewww.bgci.org/conservation/strategy.html

So, we’ve got the targets, what now?

The next step of the process is to workout exactly how the targets are to beimplemented. This will take place atinternational, national and subnationallevels. By identifying the componentparts of the targets, activities andmilestones will be developed andincorporated into relevant plans,programmes and initiatives, includingnational biodiversity strategies andaction plans. The GSPC targets aresubject to continual consultation andrevision. Facilitating partners for eachtarget coordinate consultations withrelevant stakeholders who proposepractical suggestions for taking theGSPC forward. These facilitatingpartners meet regularly to report onprogress within their consultations,whether these are local, national orinternational. Given that botanicgarden educators are relevantstakeholders in most of the GSPCtargets, it is important that they contactthe relevant lead organisations andCBD focal points to express theircommitment to this process.

Target 14

This Target focuses educators on theinclusion of plants (their conservation,

diversity and importance) inenvironmental education. Creatingactive support for plant conservationby empowering the general publicthrough increased knowledge,appreciation and understanding ofplants is a vital aspect of the GSPC.As with many conservation issues thesupport of the masses is critical to itssuccess.

To date, consultation on Target 14 hasincluded:• sending the consultation document

to all botanic gardens and majorinternational organisations

• workshops held in Romania, NewZealand and Canada by local plantconservation networks

• an initial consultation workshop heldby BGEN (Botanic GardenEducation Network, U.K.)

• a workshop run at the 2nd WorldBotanic Gardens Congress, April2004 to discuss practicalities ofnational sub targets

The sub targets under consultation are: • Sub target 1:

A national survey carried out todetermine general level ofawareness of plant diversity andconservation

• Sub target 2:A framework for the implementationof Target 14 by the end of 2005

• Sub target 3Analysis of how education andcommunication instruments can beused to support the implementationof all targets of the GSPC

For more information, or to offersuggestions or feedback on thesesubtargets please [email protected].

The beauty of Target 14 is that anyoneinvolved with environmental education(formal and informal) can play an activerole in its achievement. BGCI’s role is


Right:

Target 11 of

the GSPC –

no species of

wild flora

endangered by

international

trade

(Photo: Sarah

Kneebone)

Left: Capacity

building in

Russia supports

Target 15 of the

GSPC

(Photo: Sarah

Kneebone)

to encourage as many botanic gardensas possible to contribute to the GSPC.One of the ways we do this is throughpublishing case studies in Roots andon our website (www.bgci.org/education/gspc_and_education).

What are the implications ofthe GSPC for educators inbotanic garden?

There are many aspects of the GSPCthat botanic garden educators canbecome involved with and use to theiradvantage:• support the development of

education programmes toimplement Target 14

• develop the capacity of all staff toimplement Target 14 – buildingcapacity is a target of the GSPC

• participate in workshops concernedwith the implementation of otherGSPC targets

• publicise their work through theBGCI and CEPA websites

CEPA refers to Communication,Education, Participation andAwareness. The CEPA workprogramme was approved by theparties to the Convention on BiologicalDiversity to address commitments toArticle 13, Public Education andAwareness. This programme includesthe CEPA portal, whose websiteaddress is http://www.biodiv.org/programmes/outreach/cepa/home.shtml

How are botanic gardeneducators currently supportingthe GSPC?

Many botanic gardens worldwide arealready doing huge amounts of workthat supports the aims of the GSPC. A recent survey (carried out by BGCI,November 2004) of BGEN membersprovides some excellent ideas andways in which educators are alreadycontributing to the GSPC.

Target 11 – No wild species offlora endangered byinternational trade

The Eden Project, Cornwall, has anexhibit about the uses and sources ofdifferent timber types from around theworld in their Humid Tropics Biome.Cambridge University Botanic Gardenhas interpretation panels explaining the

significance of CITES within theirglasshouses. The Royal HorticulturalSociety produces a leaflet for thepublic all about CITES.

Targets 9 and 13 – Conservingcrop plants and plant resourcesand their associated indigenousand local knowledge

Chester Zoo has displays andinterpretation of medieval and herbalgardens – looking at plant use now andin the past. Glasgow Botanic Gardenshas developed a new herb garden andbooklet about the ethnobotany of thewild plants of Scotland. Middleton,National Botanic Gardens of Waleshave a ‘Physicians of the Myddfai’exhibition and programmes promotingmedicinal plants. Chelsea PhysicGarden, London, catalogues the waysin which visitors use plants, particularlytraditional herbs for medicines.

Target 15 - Capacity buildingfor plant conservation

Thrive, a national horticultural charity,offers a huge range of training course

in conservation and horticulture.Cruickshank Botanic Gardens at theUniversity of Aberdeen are used byundergraduate and postgraduatestudents. The Royal HorticulturalSociety Garden Rosemoor runs teachertraining sessions. The University ofDundee Botanic Garden holds coursesfor the general public and Kew runsdiploma courses on education inbotanic gardens and in techniques forplant conservation.

Each individual who completed thisquestionnaire was also directlyinvolved with Target 14 (raising publicawareness about the need forconservation of plant diversity) andTarget 16 (networks established orstrengthened for plant conservation

activities) as they all worked ineducation in botanic gardens and wereattending a network congress!

To help educators reflect on how theirprogrammes are contributing to theGSPC, BGCI has developed a survey(www.bgci.org/education/gspc_survey.html). We encourage you to completethe survey so that we can incorporateyour examples on the GSPC website

for other educators to gaininspiration.

Conclusions

The GSPC is an ambitious andimportant agreement with theoverall aim to stop the loss of


Above: Protected

area of plant

diversity at

Kadoorie Farm

and Botanic

Garden, Hong

Kong

Below:

Chester Zoo’s

displays and

interpretation of

medieval and

herbal gardens

support the

conservation of

indigenous

knowledge.

(Photos: Sarah

Kneebone)

plant biodiversity. In order to achievethis goal, many organisations andstakeholders need to work together,focussing their conservation efforts onthe relevant targets. With their plantcollections, existing conservation work,education programmes and hugenumbers of visitors, botanic gardenshave an important role to play inimplementing the GSPC. Botanicgarden educators in particular arealready doing this with their educationprovision. BGCI is keen for botanicgarden educators to become involvedin the consultations and stakeholderprocesses currently taking place and totake these ideas and implications ofthe GSPC back to their gardens forfurther consideration and action.

Acknowledgement

Many thanks to those BGEN memberswho completed BGCI’s survey on‘What are your education programmesdoing that support the Global Strategyfor Plant Conservation?’.

References

áSecretariat of the Convention onBiological Diversity (2002) GlobalStrategy for Plant Conservation

áWyse Jackson, P. (2003), Progressin the implementation of the GlobalStrategy for Plant Conservation,Botanic Gardens ConservationNews, vol. 3, no. 10

áWyse Jackson, P. (2001), Progresstowards a Global Strategy for PlantConservation, Botanic GardensConservation News, vol. 3, no. 6

Résumé

Les plantes forment une part vitale dela biodiversité mondiale ainsi qu’uneressource essentielle pour le bien-êtrede l’homme. Toutefois, malgré notredépendance envers elles, le stade decrise est atteint : il est estimé que 60000 à 100 000 espèces végétales sontmenacées à travers le monde.

En 2002 la Stratégie Mondiale pour laConservation des Plantes a étéadoptée à titre légal par tous lesgouvernements signataires de laConvention sur la Diversité Biologique.Tout en présentant une série d’objectifsprécis, la SMCP apporte un cadred’actions pour mettre en avant laconservation du végétal, son usagedurable, le partage des bénéfices et lacapitalisation de compétences auniveau régional, national et local, avecl’objectif ultime de stopper la perte dediversité végétale.

L’objectif 14 de la stratégie implique de« Promouvoir l’éducation et lasensibilisation du public à la diversitévégétale. L’importance de la diversitévégétale et la nécessité de saconservation intégrée aux programmesde communication, d’éducation et desensibilisation du public ». Le BotanicGardens Conservation International(BGCI) est l’organisation meneuse del’objectif 14 et a travaillé par le biais deconsultations afin de produire desobjectifs et des étapes pour sonaccomplissement. Les animateurs desjardins botaniques sont les principauxacteurs dans le domaine de l’éducationà la biodiversité et le BGCI tientbeaucoup à leurs contributions.

Resumen

Las plantas son parte de labiodiversidad mundial y una fuenteesencial de recursos para el serhumano. Sin embargo, a pesar denuestra dependencia de ellas, se haalcanzado un punto crucial –se creeque que entre 60,000-100,000especies de plantas estan amenazadasa nivel mundial.

En el año de 2002, se adoptólegalmente la Estrategia Mundial parala Conservación de Especies Vegetales(GSPC) por todos los gobiernos quefirmaron el Convenio sobre la

Diversidad. Usando un conjunto clarode metas, la GSPC prove unaestructura para las acciones adesarrollar referente a la conservaciónde las plantas, uso sustentable,repartición de beneficios y capacidadde construcción a nivel global,regional, nacional, y local, con elobjetivo de detener la pérdida de ladiversidad de plantas.

El objetivo 14 de la estrategia involucrala ‘Promoción de la educación y alertapública acerca de la diversidad de lasplantas: La importancia de diversidadde plantas y la necesidad para suconservación incorporada en losprogramas de la comunicación,educacion y alerta publica’. La BGCI(Botanic Gardens ConservaciónInternacional), es la organización liderpara la meta 14 y ha estado trabajandoen consultas para producer tareas ymetas parciales para su alcance. Loseducadores en Jardines Botánicosson los mayors interesados dentro delcampo de educación y la BGCI estadispuesta a ganar su contribución.

Sarah Kneebone is the EducationOfficer at BGCI, Descanso House,199 Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey,Tel: +44 (0) 20 8332 5954. Email: [email protected]: www.bgci.org

Details of the Strategy can be found at: www.bgci.org/conservation/strategy.html


Above: Ex-situ

conservation

and education –

a tour around

Kadoorie Farm’s

endangered

species nursery.

(Photo: Sarah

Kneebone)

Above: Right:

The ultimate

aim of the

GSPC is to halt

the loss of plant

diversity (Photo:

Sarah

Kneebone)

Martin-Mehers, G., Calvo, S.,Auchincloss, E., and Goldstein, W.(eds.), 2004, AchievingEnvironmental Objectives: The roleand value of Communication,Education, Participation andAwareness (CEPA) in Conventionsand Agreements in Europe.Commission on Education andCommunication, IUCN, Gland,Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.ISBN: 2-8317-0843-5

This publication looks at how the toolsof CEPA can be used to support theimplementation of mulit-lateralenvironmental agreements such as theUN Framework Convention on ClimateChange, the Convention on BiologicalDiversity, and the Ramsar WetlandsConvention. Part one provides a briefoverview of CEPA provisions within thevarious Conventions while part two andthree look at case studies from anational and local perspective. Thecase studies will be of particular interestto botanic garden educators as theyprovide practical examples and highlightthe value of CEPA in managing changefor conservation and sustainabledevelopment. The conclusion drawstogether a number of useful principlesand guidelines for CEPA.

Simms, A., Magrath, J. and Reid, H.(2004). Up In Smoke: Threats from,and responses to, the impact ofglobal warming on humandevelopment. New EconomicsFoundation, U.K. ISBN: 1 899407 92 8.Price £10.

Martin-Mehers, G., Calvo, S.,Auchincloss, E., and Goldstein, W.(eds.), 2004, Atteindre les objectifsde la Protection de l’Environnement :le rôle et la valeur de la CESP(Communication, Education,Sensibilisation du Public) pourl’implémentation des conventions etdes accords en Europe. Commissionon Education and Communication,IUCN, Gland, Switzerland andCambridge, UK. ISBN: 2-8317-0843-5

Cette publication analyse la façon dontla CESP fonctionne comme outil d’aideà l’implémentation des accordsmultilatéraux sur l’environnementcomme la Convention sur leChangement Climatique, la Conventionsur la Biodiversité et la ConventionRamsar sur les zones humides.La première partie constitue une brèverevue des mesures de la CESPpréconisées au sein des différentesConventions. La seconde et latroisième partie proposent des étudesde cas avec une perspective nationaleet locale. Les études de cas sontparticulièrement intéressantes pour lesanimateurs des Jardins Botaniquescar elles proposent des exemplespratiques et soulignent la valeur de laCESP pour la gestion deschangements en faveur de laprotection de l’environnement et dudéveloppement durable. Lesconclusions constituent un ensemblede lignes directrices et de principesutiles pour la CESP.

Martin-Mehers, G., Calvo, S.,Auchincloss, E., and Goldstein, W.(eds.), 2004Cumpliendo ObjetivosMedioambientales: Papel y valor dela Comunicación, Educación,Participación y Autoconciencia(CEPA) en Convenciones y Acuerdosen Europa. Commisión de Educacióny Comunicación, UICN, Gland, Suizay Cambridge, GB. ISBN: 2-8317-0843-5

Esta publicación contempla cómo lasherramientas del CEPA pueden serusadas para apoyar la implementaciónde acuerdos multilaterales tales comoel Convenio Marco de NacionesUnidas sobre Cambio Climático, laConvención sobre Biodiversidad y laConvención sobre Humedales deRamsar. La primera parte proporcionaun breve relato de las aportaciones delCEPA en varias Convenciones, y lasegunda y tercera ejemplos concretosdesde la prespectiva local y nacional.Los ejemplos serán de especial interéspara los educadores de jardinesbotánicos ya que resaltan el valor delCEPA en la gestión del cambio hacia eldesarrollo sostenible y la conservación.Concluye con un conjunto de muyútiles principios y orientaciones guíapara el CEPA.

Simms, A., Magrath, J., and Reid, H.(2004). ¿Con el agua hasta el cuello?:Amenazas y respuestas al impactodel calentamiento global sobre eldesarrollo humano. New EconomicsFoundation, R.U. ISBN: 1 899407 92 8.Precio £10.

Roots • Vol 2 (1) • 33-36 33

Disponibles

Recursos

Resources

Resources Disponible Recursos

This report has been compiled byleading environmental anddevelopment organizations across theworld. It delivers a range of insightsinto what is at threat from climatechange and what we might be able todo to avert these threats. The reportlooks at the impacts of global warmingon food, water, health, energy,disasters, environment and livlihoodsfrom the perspective of vulnerablepeople. On a global scale, it examinesissues such as why women suffer mostfrom climate change, trade and climateand environmental refugees. The reportis persuasive in the need to developcommunity education and awarenessprogrammes. It also provides anexcellent source of information forbotanic gardens for raising publicawareness about climate change.Available to download in English,French, Spanish and Portuguese at:http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/z_sys_PublicationDetail.aspx?pid=199

Sussman, A. (2000), Dr Art’s Guide toPlanet Earth. Chelsea Green, ISBN1-890132-73-X.

This beautifully presented and colourfulbook covers the three major cycles ofthe global ecosystem: matter, energyand life. Suitable for children aged 12and above, the book is also afascinating read for adults. Dr Art’sGuide to Planet Earth leads readersthrough the basis of life on earth,examines environmental issues,including extinctions, climate changeand the ozone layer. It helps answer

Simms, A., Magrath, J., et Reid, H.(2004) SOS PLANÈTE ! Menaces etréponses liées à l’impact duréchauffement planétaire sur ledéveloppement humain. New Economics Foundation, R.U. ISBN: 1 899407 92 8. Prix £10.

Ce rapport a été compilé par desorganisations du monde entier, leadersdans le domaine de l’environnement etdu développement. Il fournit unensemble de réflexions sur lesdangers dus au réchauffement de laplanète ainsi que sur les possibilitésd’éviter et de traiter ces dangers. Lerapport analyse les impacts duréchauffement global sur la nourriture,l’eau, la santé, l’énergie, lescatastrophes, l’environnement et lesmoyens d’existence des populationsvulnérables. A une échelle mondiale, ilexamine des questions comme celledes réfugiés victimes de la dégradationde l’environnement, les échangescommerciaux et le climat, et pourquoiles femmes sont plus vulnérables auchangement climatique. Ce rapport estconvaincant quant au besoin dedévelopper des programmesd’éducation à l’environnement pour lepublic. C’est également une excellentesource d’informations à l’usage desjardins botaniques pour sensibiliserpublic sur le changement climatique.

Teléchargeable en français à partir de :http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/z_sys_PublicationDetail.aspx?pid=199

Sussman, A. (2000), Le Guide denotre planète du Dr Art, ChelseaGreen, ISBN 1-890132-73-X.

Ce livre joliment présenté et très coloréprésente les trois cycles majeurs del’écosystème planétaire : matière,énergie, et vie. Accessible aux enfantsà partir de 12 ans, ce livre estégalement un régal pour les adultes. Ilguide le lecteur à la découverte desbases de la vie sur terre, desproblématiques environnementalescomme les extinctions des espèces,les changements climatiques et lacouche d’ozone. Il aide à répondre auxquestions les plus importantes du 21ème siècle : pouvons-nous tous bienvivre sur notre planète sans en détruiretout l’écosystème? Cette référence trèsconviviale est un outil pour lesenseignants, il est également

Este informe ha sido recopilado graciasa las principales organizacionesmundiales para el desarrollo y elmedioambiente. Aporta una serie deejemplos ilustrativos sobre la amenazaque supone el cambio climático y cómoprevenir los riesgos. El informecontempla el impacto del calentamientoglobal en los alimentos, agua , salud,energía, desastres, mediambiente ymedios de vida desde la prespectiva dela población más vulnerable. A escalaglobal examina asuntos tales como elmayor sufrimiento de las mujeres con elcambio climático. Es convincente en lanecesidad de desarrollar programas deeducación comunitaria yconcienciación. Proporciona unaexcelente fuente de información paraque los jardines botánicos puedandespertar la conciencia pública sobre elcambio climático.

Disponible en Español en:http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/z_sys_PublicationDetail.aspx?pid=199

Sussman, A. (2000), Dr Art Guía delPlaneta Tierra. Chelsea Green, ISBN 1-890132-73-X.

Bellamente presentado, este coloridolibro cubre tres de los grandes ciclosdel ecosistema mundial: materia,energía y vida. Apropiado para niñosdesde los 12 años, es fascinante paraadultos. Dr Art Guía del Planeta Tierraconduce a los lectores a través de lospilares de la vida en la tierra, examinalos temas medioambientales,incluyendo extinciones, cambioclimático y la capa de ozono. Ayuda acontestar una de las importantespreguntas del siglo XXI: ¿Podremosvivir en el planeta sin dañarirreversiblemente la Tierra?. Estareferencia y recurso didáctico es muyfácil de usar y se complementa con elportal, www.planetguide.net, el cualincluye ideas para actividades,planificaciones de lecciones yanimaciones para ilustrar aspectosclave del libro.

UNESCO-MAB (2001, 2003). Paquete educativo para combatir ladesertificaciónDivisión de ciencias ecológicas, 1 Rue Miollis, 75352, Paris 07 SP,Francia. Fax: (33) 1 45 68 58 04.www.unesco.org/publications.Precio 30 euros o 30 dólares.


one of the most important questions ofthe twenty-first century: Can all of uslive well on our planet withoutdamaging the whole Earth system?This very user-friendly reference andteaching tool is also complemented bya website, www.planetguide.net, whichincludes ideas for activities, lessonplans and animations to furtherillustrate key points within the book.

UNESCO - MAB (2001, 2003),Education Kit on CombatingDesertificationDivision of Ecological Sciences 1, rue Miollis, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France. Fax: (33) 1 45 68 58 04.www.unesco.org/publications. Price 30 Euros or 30 US Dollars.

Available in Arabic, English, French,Russian and Spanish; a Chineseedition will be available soon.

This kit includes a teacher’s guide, aseries of case studies, a children’scartoon story book and a poster.Targeted at educators and pupilsduring their final years at primaryschool, it aims to clarify scientificknowledge on desertification.Solutions and progress made tocombat this crisis are also identified.The teacher’s guide provides goodbackground material and useful ideasfor educational activities while thecartoon story book and map arebrightly designed for children. This isan invaluable resource for educatorswanting to develop a programme onthis topic.

Websites

http://www.ramsar.org/outreach_wetlandcentres.htmThe Ramsar Convention on wetlandsCEPA programme – WetlandEducation Centres

Wetland Education Centres have aparallel role to that of botanic gardeneducation - raising awareness of thefunctions and values of wetlands withinthe general public and school groups, aswell as emphasising the role of allcitizens in conserving wetlands. Thiswebsite, in English, French and Spanishcontains useful information about the

complété par un site internetwww.planetguide.net qui propose desidées d’activités, de leçons etd’animations pour illustrer des pointsclés du livre.

UNESCO - MAB (2001, 2003), Un kitpédagogique sur la lutte contre ladesertification. Division of Ecological Sciences 1, rue Miollis, 75352 Paris07 SP, France.Fax: (33) 1 45 68 58 04.www.unesco.org/publications. Prix 30 Euros ou 30 Dollars US.Disponible en anglais,arabe, espagnol, françaiset russe. Une version enchinois sera bientôtdisponible.Ce kit comprend un guidede l’enseignant, une séried’études de cas, une bande dessinée pour les enfants et une affiche. A l’intention deséducateurs et des enfants de fin deprimaire, il a pour objectif de présenterles connaissances scientifiques sur ladésertification. Des solutions et lesprogrès faits dans la lutte contre cefléau sont aussi identifiés. Le guide del’enseignant fournit de bons élémentsde base et des idées utiles pour desactivités pédagogiques, tandis que laBD et la carte sont brillamment conçuspour les enfants. C’est un outil essentielpour les éducateurs souhaitantdévelopper un projet sur ce sujet.

Sites Internet

www.ramsar.org/outreach_wetlandcentres.htmLe programme de CESP de laConvention sur les Zones Humidesde RAMSAR – les centresd’éducation aux zones humides

Les centres d’éducation aux zoneshumides ont un rôle parallèle à celuides services éducatifs des jardinsbotaniques – de sensibiliser le grandpublic et les groupes de scolaires àl’importance et aux fonctions deszones humides, ainsi que de soulignerle rôle de chaque citoyen pour lessauvegarder.

Ce site Internet, en anglais, espagnolet français contient des informationsutiles sur le réseau du Wetland Link

Disponible en Árabe,Inglés, francés, ruso yespañol. La edición enchino estará disponiblepróximamente.El paquete incluye unaguía para maestros,una serie de estudiosde caso, un libroilustrado concaricaturas para niñosy un cartel. Está enfocado paramaestros y niños de

los últimos grados de educaciónprimaria y su objetivo es brindarinformación científica sobre el problemade desertificación. Se identificanalgunos casos de solución a estaproblemática y se identifican losavances para combatir esta situacióncrítica. La guía para maestrosproporciona un buen material deconsulta, ideas muy útiles y actividadeseducativas. El libro para niños y elcartel (mapa) están brillantementediseñados para niños. Este es unrecurso muy valioso para educadoresque desean incorporar y desarrollareste tópico en sus programas.

Websites

http://www.ramsar.org/outreach_wetlandcentres.htmLa convención Ramsar dehumedales y el programa CEPA-Centros de educación de humedales.

Los Centros de Educación deHumedales juegan un papel paralelo alos jardines botánicos: aumentar latoma de conciencia en el públicogeneral y entre los escolares, sobre elvalor y las funciones de los humedales.Enfatiza también en el papel de losciudadanos en la conservación de loshumedales. Este sitio web en inglés,francés y español contiene informaciónmuy útil de la Red Internacional deHumedales (WLI, por sus siglas en


Wetland Link International (WLI) network,set up through the Ramsar convention’sCEPA programme. It provides aninteresting model for the successfulworkings of a convention CEPA output,links to member organisations and theWLI website.

www.biodiv.orgConvention on Biological DiversityThis website provides a good entry intothe CBD and its workings. Thewebsite hosts the Communication,Education, Participation and PublicAwareness (CEPA) portal whichprovides a resource for practitionerswhile also acting as a reporting tool forthe work of the Parties in CEPA. Alsoincluded is a database of Case Studiesand Best Practices relating to theGlobal Initiative on CEPA and abrowseable list of useful web sites.

International legislationdocument

International Agenda for BotanicGardens in ConservationWyse Jackson, P.S. & Sutherland,L.A. (2000), Botanic GardensConservation International, U.K.ISBN 0 9520275 93

The International Agenda is a globalpolicy framework for botanic gardensworldwide to contribute to biodiversityconservation, particularly as it relatesto the implementation of theConvention on Biological Diversity.Your garden can sign up to register itssupport for the International Agenda bylogging on to www.bgci.org/policies/international_agenda.html. The International Agenda andregistration leaflet can also bedownloaded from this site. If youwould like to order a hardcopy contactBGCI at [email protected] or log on toBGCI’s publications pagewww.bgci.org/policies/bgci_publications.html. The International Agenda forBotanic Gardens in Conservation isavailable in English, French, Spanish,Portuguese, Russian and Latvian. Itcan also be accessed from the CDRom ‘Plants for the Planet: Resourcesfor Botanic Gardens’, included with thisissue of Roots.

International (WLI), mis en place grâceau programme CESP de la conventionde Ramsar. Il fournit un exempleintéressant de mise en applicationréussie d’une résolution CESP, etfournit des liens vers les organisationsmembres et vers le site du WLI.

www.biodiv.orgLa Convention sur la DiversitéBiologiqueCe site Internet est une bonneintroduction à la CDB et à sonfonctionnement. Le site accueilleégalement le portail de CESP(Communication, Education,Sensibilisation du Public) qui proposedes ressources pour les acteurs deterrain, tout en servant d’outil pour lesrapports de travail des membres deCESP. Il y a une base de donnée desCas d’Etudes et Meilleures Pratiquesen relation avec l’initiative mondialeCESP, et une liste des sites Internet.

Document de législationinternational

L’Agenda International pour laconservation dans les JardinsBotaniques

L’Agenda International est un cadremondial de politique pour les jardinsbotaniques du monde, pour contribuerà la conservation de la biodiversité, enparticulier parce qu’il se réfère à lamise en place de la CDB. Votre jardinpeut s’inscrire pour afficher son soutienà l’Agenda International en allant sur lesite www.bgci.org/policies/international_agenda.html. L’Agenda Internationalet une fiche d’inscription peuvent y êtretéléchargés. Si vous voulezcommander une version papier,contactez le BGCI par courriel([email protected]) ou allez sur le site despublications du BGCI www.bgci.org/policies/bgci_publications.html.L’Agenda International pour laconservation dans les JardinsBotaniques est disponible en anglais,espagnol, français, letton, portugais etrusse. Il est également inclus sur leCD-Rom «Plants for the Planet:Resources for Botanic Gardens »,fourni avec la présente édition deRoots.

inglés), creada a través del programaCEPA (Comunicación, Educación,Participación y Concientización) de laConvención Ramsar. Provee uninteresante modelo sobre trabajosexitosos del programa CEPA de laconvención, así como enlaces a otrasorganizaciones miembros de laconvención y al sitio web WLI.

www.biodiv.orgEl Convenio sobre la DiversidadBiológicaEste sitio aporta un buen acercamientoa la convención y su trabajo. En estesitio está el portal CEPA(Comunicación, Educación,Participación y ConcientizaciónPública). De particular interés paraquienes tienen programas prácticos yaque también es una herramienta parareportar el trabajo de quienes formanparte del programa CEPA. De interéses la base de datos de estudios decaso de las mejores prácticasrelacionadas con la iniciativa globalCEPA así como una lista de sitios web.

Documento internacionale delegislación

Agenda Internacional para laConservación en Jardines Botánicos

La Agenda Internacional es un marcopolítico global para la contribución delos jardines botánicos del mundo a laconservación de la biodiversidad,relacionada en particular con laConvención de Diversidad Biológica.Ud. puede registrar el apoyo de sujardín botánico a la AgendaInternacional entrando a la páginawww.bgci.org/policies/international_agenda.html . La Agenda Internacional yel folleto de registro también sepueden bajar en este sitio. Si desea elmaterial impreso puede solicitar unacopia en BGCI en [email protected] odirectamente en la página de BGCI enla página de publicacioneswww.bgci.org/policies/bgci_publications.html . La Agenda Internacional parala Conservación en Jardines Botánicosestá disponible en inglés, francés,español, portugués, ruso y latvio.También se puede acceder a laAgenda en el CD Rom “Plantas para elplaneta: recursos para jardinesbotánicos”, el cual se incluye en elpresente número de Roots.


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