Climate Change Basics for Teachers in Indonesia
In June and July 2013 forest and peat-land fires in Riau caused haze in Pekanbaru, the provincial capital, and neighboring countries Singapore and the south of Malaysia. The haze became a health hazard and obstructed vision for aircraft and land transport.
Earlier in January, the Banjir Kanal waterway that runs through Central Jakarta from East to West overflowed. The heavy waterload burst the levee on its northern bank along Jalan Latuharhari. Immense flooding hit the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout, Thamrin Boulevard and the Presidential Palace. Street traffic was paralysed. People could not go to work. The Riau fires and the Jakarta floods are linked to climate change primarily caused by human activity.
In the Riau case the deliberate burning of peatland to clear space for expanded oil palm planting released great amounts of carbon dioxide contained in the peat. It is one case of repeated deforestation and degradation of forests in Indonesia that result in significant carbon emissions. Carbon emissions are also caused by other human activity, particularly in the use of fossil fuels for energy generation. Fossil fuels, primarily coal, oil, and natural gas, contain carbon dioxide. Fossil fuels are burned for factories and transport vehicles and release great amounts of CO2.
National Workshop in Introducing Multiple Perspective Approaches to Biodiversity 26-28 August, 2013
Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO (KNIU), Ministry of Education and Culture in collaboration with UNESCO Jakarta organized a National Workshop in "Introducing Multiple Perspective Approaches to Biodiversity" to socialize education in the teaching of Biodiversity using multiple perspective approaches. The workshop was participated by the teachers from 30 schools all over Indonesia which are members of the UNESCO Associated School Project Network.The main idea of the Workshop is to introduce the eight perspectives of multiple approaches to Biodiversity consists of Scientific Perspective, Historical Perspective, Geographic Perspective, Human Rights Perspective, Gender Equality Perspective, Values Perspective, Cultural Diversity Perspective and Sustainability Perspective.
Participate in the new online collaborative platform “ASPnet in action” dedicated to biodiversity
Dear ASPnet members,
As part of its new online collaborative platform "ASPnet in Action" dedicated to biodiversity, the International Coordinating invites you to actively participate by sharing your projects and activities with ASPnet colleagues worldwide.
Did you know that biodiversity is essential for life and covers a variety of areas - such as culture, food, agriculture, environment, climate change, health and many others.
To celebrate World Health Day April 7, 2013, we encourage you to share your experiences related to how biodiversity preserves our health.
Join us by registering on the ASPnet in action collaborative platform and express yourself on our online forum!
To register: https://en.unesco.org/aspnet/user/register
To participate in the forum: https://en.unesco.org/aspnet/forum-connect-and-discuss
Invite your colleagues and your students to participate in the international exchange of information and knowledge around issues that we consider important!
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Nita Chaudhuri, moderator
ASPnet in Action
Email:
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Cultivating future leaders of education for sustainable development and disaster risk reduction in Asia-Pacific
At a recent Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)-Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Youth Leader Workshop a student from the Miyagi Prefecture in Japan shared her personal experiences of disaster.
“My grandmother evacuated to the higher part of the town just after the earthquake. But she came back home to get something important to her. Then, she never came back again,” the student recalled.
“Unfortunately, she was washed away by [the] tsunami.”
In Asia-Pacific, the region most prone to disasters in the world, an increasing number of young people have experienced the loss of belongings, homes and their love ones-- parents, family members, friends, teachers and other community members. While shouldering such burdens, today’s youth are also the future of our world, and their action, determination and will is crucial for the creation of a sustainable future for coming generations.
The Save our Future - ESD-DRR International Workshop for Future Leaders in Asia involved both students and teachers from participating schools with the aim of strengthening the UNESCO’s Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) in Asia-Pacific and for schools to work together for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and a sustainable future beyond the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014).