Participants were able to receive comprehensive training on the international “Sandwatch” program, supported by UNESCO. This program supports schools and communities to respond effectively and sustainably to environmental issues in coastal areas.
This workshop is part of the RECOS project (resilience of populations and ecosystems of the South-West Indian Ocean) led by the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and with funding from the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Fund for the Global Environment (FFEM).
“For all the member countries of the IOC, environmental education plays an increasingly important role vis-à-vis the challenges they face on a daily basis such as pollution, loss of biodiversity and climate change. “, underlined Mr. Anfani Msoili, Project Manager “Ecological and energy transition, tourism and migrations” of the IOC.
Assessing the impacts of two decades of environmental education programs
As part of this workshop, around twenty participants from ministries, universities, research centres, NGOs and the private sector of IOC Member States received training in the international Sandwatch programme.
The training focused on the new version of the Beach Records tool of this program, which allows scientific monitoring of the state of beaches through participatory data collection. This Sandwatch program contributes not only to raising public awareness of coastal zone issues, but also to improving the management of coastal erosion.
Find sustainable and concerted solutions to act
Sandwatch is a globally recognized approach to environmental education that enables students, teachers and communities to work together to identify and assess threats and conflicts in their coastal environment.
This methodology, supported by UNESCO, is implemented in more than 50 countries including Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles. It is among the 25 best educational programs in the world, which earned it an award in 2014 on the sidelines of the United Nations Decade of Education.
Move towards a harmonization of methodologies
This made it possible to measure the impacts of these environmental education programs and to highlight the contribution of scientific research to the development of evaluation methods. The broad lines of a work plan for the next four years have been established to make concrete progress on this subject.
For Dr. Ravhee Bholah from the Mauritian Ministry of Education, “the workshop allowed us to have a common approach in the implementation and monitoring and evaluation of environmental education programs”.
At the end of this workshop, the participants developed a draft of action plans 2023-2026 for the deployment of Sandwatch at the national level, as well as the regional work plan of the group dedicated to environmental education.
The efforts of this working group, integrated with the scientific component of the RECOS project, contribute directly to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
