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| Thu, 10th Feb 2022 15:56:00 |
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Teaching key to better ocean protection, says UNESCO chief |
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“If we want to protect the ocean better, we must teach it better”, said Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s Director-General, speaking at the One Ocean Summit, taking place in the French city of Brest.
Setting it as a common objective for UNESCO’s 193 Member States, she asked them to include ocean education in school curricula by 2025.
To achieve the goal, the United Nations agency is making available to public decision-makers a toolkit with a shared reference framework of educational content on the subject.
The step will allow all countries to be in an “equal position to quickly place the ocean at the heart of teaching and increase students’ knowledge in this area, so that they become responsible and committed citizens”, added Stefania Giannini, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General in charge of education.
Tools and good practices
The new educational tools provided by UNESCO reflect the conviction that the way society interacts with the ocean, needs to change in order to achieve a more sustainable model.
In its reference tool, UNESCO highlights the good practices of Member States already working on ocean education, such as Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Kenya, Portugal and Sweden.
The results achieved by these countries have been presented by the agency in the form of case studies, as well as the opportunities and challenges met when seeking to include ocean knowledge in a structured way in the curriculum.
Traditional skills and knowledge
“Ocean education should not only involve the transmission of scientific knowledge and awareness of contemporary issues; it should also promote traditional skills and knowledge, such as those protected by the 2003 Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage, which promotes ancestral fishing techniques, for example”, UNESCO reiterated in the press release.
The new toolkit leaves it to Member States and regions to adapt the “theory of change” to their specific practices, situations and needs.
The agency aims to monitor the implementation of this objective by its 193 Member States, with a first progress report planned for COP27, which will be held in November 2022 in Egypt.
UNESCO and the ocean
UNESCO is leading the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development (2021 to 2030), which this year will see the organization of several major international summits to promote ocean health.
At the same time, UNESCO has launched a campaign to empower concerned citizens to join the Generation Ocean global movement.
The idea is to use transformative storytelling, to connect citizens with more knowledge and drive action to restore, protect, and live better with the ocean.
Later this year, Portugal will be hosting the UN Ocean Conference, which will seek to propel much needed science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action.
Pledge to map the seabed
During the One Ocean Summit on Thursday, UNESCO also pledged to have at least 80 per cent of the seabed mapped by 2030, up from the current figure of just 20 per cent.
Fully understanding the dept and relief of the fragile seabed worldwide, is essential to better protect the ocean, the agency said.
That knowledge is critical to understand the location of ocean faults, the workings of ocean currents and tides, and the transport of sediments.
Such data would help protect populations as seismic and tsunami risks are assessed, to identify natural sites that need to be safeguarded and fishing resources for sustainable exploitation, and they also have a major role to play in assessing the future effects of climate change, whether it be temperature increases or sea level rise.
A goal with an action plan
Ms. Azoulay called for efforts to be stepped up by mobilizing the 150 Member States of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the private sector.
According to IOC experts, the total funding requirement for the project stands at $5 billion, and will be one of the legacies of the UN Decade of the Oceans. Read original full article
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