Education for Sustainable Development in Biosphere Reserves Amfissa, Greece, 17 July 2014 P. Pypaert, UNESCO Venice Office H. Gille, Consultant UNESCO

ESD in Biosphere Reserves OVERVIEW 1.WHY? (P. Pypaert) – The UNESCO mandate – The Biosphere Reserves’ responsibility 2.HOW? (H. Gille) – The added value of a territorial approach to ESD – Providing a platform to ESD stakeholders for: Planning Implementing Assessing

Why ESD in Biosphere Reserves? THE UNESCO MANDATE After Rio+20: one of the three UNESCO’s main directions is “learning to develop sustainably in an age of limits”… Not only Education (ESD) or the Science of Sustainability, but… Leveraging UNESCO’s Designations to promote and disseminate sustainable management of land, natural and cultural resources (MAB, WH sites, Intangible H). Sites as LABORATORIES…

R Research station or experimental research site M Monitoring E Education/training R R M E T T w Core area(s) w Buffer zone(s) w Transition area(s) Biosphere Reserve Model T Tourism THE BIOSPHERE RESERVE MODEL (after Seville 1995) THE BIOSPHERE RESERVE MODEL (after Seville 1995) Why ESD in Biosphere Reserves? THE BR’S RESPONSIBILITY

Conservation in situ of natural and semi-natural ecosystems / landscapes Demonstration areas for ecologically and socio-culturally sustainable use; Logistic support for research, monitoring, education, training and information exchange THE 3 FUNCTIONS OF A BIOSPHERE RESERVE (after Seville 1995) THE 3 FUNCTIONS OF A BIOSPHERE RESERVE (after Seville 1995) ConservationSustainable use Logistic support Why ESD in Biosphere Reserves? THE BR’S RESPONSIBILITY

THE SEVILLE STRATEGY AND MADRID ACTION PLAN Seville Strategy and Statutory Framework (1995) and Madrid Action Plan (MAP ) did not change the rules of the game… The Seville Strategy calls for BRs being models of Land Management and Sustainable Development, being better structured according to the BR concept… The MAP attempts to orient the MAB programme and the WNBR activities during 2008–2013 in the face of new challenges in an ever-changing world (four main action areas): HOW TO HAVE A GREATER IMPACT? Why ESD in Biosphere Reserves? THE BR’S RESPONSIBILITY

Local environment? Local culture? Local practices? Have I understood something about the global challenges of SD? Am I changing something in my way of living? BRs as LEARNING PLACES on SD? ConservationSustainable use Logistic support Why ESD in Biosphere Reserves? 2. THE BR’S RESPONSIBILITY

A FEW CHALLENGES RELATED TO ESD… How to face the complexity of SD related issues? How to better link local to global and increase our sense of solidarity (one world, one common future)? How to overcome a quite diffused sense of helplessness (what could I do? )? How to move concretely from cognitive learning (knowledge) towards changes in values, behavior, decisions and concrete actions, by individuals and/or collectively? Growth can not be any more “the” model… Why ESD in Biosphere Reserves? THE BR’S RESPONSIBILITY

THESE ARE ALSO CHALLENGES FOR SCIENTISTS… Better developing the BRs’ research and monitoring functions and facilities; Better linking local innovative experiences in the wider context of SD; The consolidation and scientific validation of SD models; Better disseminating best practices and innovation; Being using BRs as teaching/learning facilities and therefore increase their societal relevance, their outreach (from individuals to policy makers)… Why ESD in Biosphere Reserves? THE BR’S RESPONSIBILITY

UNESCO provides tools and capacity-building Why ESD in Biosphere Reserves? THE BR’S RESPONSIBILITY

Tourism in Biosphere Reserves / WH sites as an opportunity to “educate” to sustainability… Tourists have time to spend and minds open to new experiences… In BRs they should experience sustainability in various practical fields: food, energy efficiency, transportation, relaxing landscape, socio-cultural activities, quality of life in general… They should be encouraged to bring back home something of that experience, and… Become an actor of change where they live… Why ESD in Biosphere Reserves? THE BR’S RESPONSIBILITY

Tourism in Biosphere Reserves / WH sites as an opportunity to “educate” to sustainability… Why ESD in Biosphere Reserves? THE BR’S RESPONSIBILITY

How – BRs as platforms for ESD THE ADDED VALUES Why to develop ESD activities in a territory labelled as a Biosphere Reserve? To benefit from a context of direct experimentation of what is SD (assuming that BRs are effectively implementing SD in projects, operations, in cooperation with local actors, with private sector, etc.). The BR is a platform, an interface, which will facilitate and support the ESD experiences (assuming that the BRs have a well working “logistic function”)

How – BRs as platforms for ESD THE ADDED VALUES The BR platform and its territorial assets for ESD: 1.The definition of management priority issues in the Management Plan; 2.The local anchoring and identification of issues in the territory; 3.The capacity to spatialize and locate the issues in the territory (mapping tools); 4.The integration of a zoning system (from nature protection to human development) in an efficient management system;

How – BRs as platforms for ESD THE ADDED VALUES The BR platform and its territorial assets for ESD: 5.The opportunity of learning in a global perspective by using the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; 6.The possibility to rely on partnerships with schools and on twinnings between BRs, classes and schools at national and inter-regional levels; 7.The capacity to integrate research results into ESD projects and to rely on scientific collaborators who can be the “scientific translators” of the BR’s action towards ESD actors (special tool: indicators).

How – BRs as platforms for ESD THE ADDED VALUES The BR platform and its territorial assets for ESD: 8.The acquired specific knowledge of BRs on the socio-cultural aspects of their territories; 9.The possibility to connect with a network of cultural and artistic actors and “interpreters” of the artistic potential of the territory as vectors to mobilize people and disseminate messages.

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM Before starting: The Training of Trainers Prior to the co-building of an ESD cycle of interventions or ESD pedagogical projects based on technical SD operations, ESD stakeholders and practitioners will have to be familiar with the “project-based teaching method” which is relevant for ESD: The BR team or the pedagogical coordinator will have to make sure that their closest, most motivated core group of ESD collaborators, stakeholders, know how to build up and integrate a coherent dynamic of Preparation/ Mobilization phase/ Immersion Phase/ Action phase/ Evaluation. To that view, BRs should train their identified core groups of ESD stakeholders to practice ESD in the perspective of the “project-based teaching method”, understand its functioning, steps, progression and, for each project case, specify the evaluation possibilities that could be anticipated and requested.

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM Before starting: The Training of Trainers - Preparation A session on the Preparatory Phase will try to answer some generic questions from ESD stakeholders on organizing the most relevant ESD activities by adapting each time their responses and propositions to the specificities of the target group of participants (context, content, level...) for each training session. The following set of questions could be raised (example of pastoral activity): What is the precise issue raised and its relevance for a specific target? What will be the “highlights” of the activity for the target group? What is the state of knowledge of the participants? What definition of objectives? What means will have to be mobilized? What motivation behind the action phase and its “reporting” dimension in front of the community?

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM Before starting: The Training of Trainers - Immersion The training session addressed to ESD stakeholders will answer the following question: How to build up the most adequate immersion phase according to participants? How to grasp the different aspect of an issue in the field, on the ground, through field work, through the contact with resource people, local actors, through partnership between BRs? (example of pastoral activity) Which field visits? What precise knowledge to transmit via which stakeholder or speaker? Which cross-disciplinary background must he/she show and transmit? How to show links between ecosystem diversity and ecosystem productivity? Which know-how to be transmitted in the context of our chosen examples? What collective and interactive exercises to be designed within the activity? Which indicators to select and use, which “scientific translator” to contact?

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM Before starting: The Training of Trainers - Action The training session will show that an action phase will develop differently according to the different contexts and levels of the ESD activity in the BR as learning structure. What could be an effective action phase? (example of pastoral activity) Producing an exhibition on what has been learned about a specific activity, making best use of the acquired know-how and skills, showing technical documents, highlighting their results, showing pictures of the meetings, introducing films about role-play, interviews, field work, etc… Conducting an awareness campaign on informing about the global situation of a particular issue/product, the impacts of consumption, behaviors, monitoring and highlighting their positive impacts… In a professional context, laying the basis of a new management experience: what management measures? On what perimeter? What monitoring? Etc.

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM Before starting: The Training of Trainers - Evaluation The training session could not conclude without considering evaluation processes, on: Inputs: the quality of activities proposed, do they allow meeting the objectives? Outputs: the production from participants, which impacts in the field/territory, on themselves, in the society? But also what has been learned: which is the progress of the participants?

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM In the PLANNING phase: BRs should be structures helping building ESD, providing with concrete tools to support and accompany ESD stakeholders /practitioners initiatives, through: A "dedicated person“, a pedagogical coordinator who can guide the project holder through building his project, recording the project intentions, dealing with agreements, helping choose the best action frameworks, orienting towards key local actors, etc. Guidance documents such as the Guiding Sheets which works as support document for the development of ESD possibly without further assistance from the BR but also proposing further steps of collaboration with the BR, working as "entrance gates" to the BR offer. A proper organization of the BR‘s offer on the BR‘s web-site through a multi- scaled offer from information and guidance to implementation, assessment, and an offer of training for trainers. EXAMPLE

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM In the PLANNING phase: The Guiding Sheets Guiding sheets are didactic tools and provide ESD stakeholders with the methodological elements for applying the inter-disciplinary approach of ESD through their projects by using the BR. 1.They recall the BR priority issues in conservation, research and monitoring (as defined by the MP); 2.They derive broad topics from these priorities and present them thematically; 3.They select a choice of dynamic themes within the chosen topic in direct relation with the MP priority issues (so they anchor the themes in the local environment situation); 4.They make suggestions of further anchoring of the themes in local situation (focus on specific places within the zoning system, on local conflicts of use…);

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM In the PLANNING phase: The Guiding Sheets Guiding sheets are didactic tools and provide ESD stakeholders with the methodological elements for applying the inter-disciplinary approach of ESD through their projects by using the BR. 5.They specify the inter-disciplinary background which is recommended in order to tackle the topic (required competencies); 6.They suggest possible hints for development of the activities (action phases); 7.They guide towards the BR’s offer of cycle of interventions; what the BR can propose? 8.They specify the commitment expected from the project holder.

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM In the IMPLEMENTATION phase: BRs should be structures helping implementing ESD, providing with concrete tools to support and accompany ESD stakeholders /practitioners in preparing and achieving their activity in the field all through their “immersion” and “action” phases. These tools concern first: The possibility to embed, to fit ESD activities into the context of existing SD projects, technical operations, concrete SD actions conducted by the BR on the territory. ESD stakeholders will benefit from BRs having efficiently developed their territorial assets and tools through their SD actions (like an efficient mapping system, efficient inter-BR cooperation, efficient translation of research results into trends, indicators, databanks...). The possibility to rely on BRs to be a permanent advisor, even a trainer, in organizing the immersion phase, helping precise the issue raised by a question, anchoring an issue locally, identifying conflict of uses, etc.

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM In the IMPLEMENTATION phase: BRs should also advise ESD stakeholders /practitioners in identifying and selecting which resource people to contact on such or such aspects, among the following three main categories: The existing network of collaborators, from “scientific translators” who are used to make research results available, who can adapt scientific knowledge to a different results; Technical specialists who can transmit know-how and skills (from building shelter services to perform carbon audits and who have been already identified through the BR SD actions); Local actors who are involved in territorial management strategy through BRs action (they know and are involved in BR action and act as facilitators). EXAMPLE OF A SURVEY OF TERRITORIAL ASSETS OF A BR

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM In the ASSESSMENT phase: Among the many techniques one could use to assess the impact and effects ESD activities have had on stakeholders and participants, BR’s should help in particular to assess them in terms of their “territorial effects” on real situations and on people: Since ESD activities developed in BRs can benefit from a context of direct experimentation of what is SD, as they can be embedded into the context of existing SD projects, technical operations, concrete SD actions conducted by the BR on the territory, among local people, they very often involve a phase of reporting towards the community through the production of an exhibition, through the conduction of an awareness campaign or interviews. So what BRs can propose as evaluation is first of all an evaluation of the production from participants, an evaluation of what has been produced, of the output.

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM In the ASSESSMENT phase: Assessment of production How to assess an exhibition as the production of participants? What does the exhibition show as results from an ESD point of view? The BR can propose an evaluation grid that is from an SD point of view: Does the exhibition translate a synthetic view of the different aspects of the issue? Of the economic, social, cultural and environmental dimensions of the issue? Through a plurality of points of view? Does it reflect a global perspective, from local to global? Does it integrate the use of BRs territorial assets like the context of inter-BR cooperation? The linkages with international research programmes? EXAMPLE OF ASSESSMENT OF PARTICIPANTS’ PRODUCTION

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM In the ASSESSMENT phase: Assessment of impact The BR should then support the assessment of the impact of the ESD activity or project and its connected production on the direct improvement of particular issues on the territory. Through recording of comments, points of view, discussions, interviews, questionnaires, ESD stakeholders will try to assess perceptible impacts and results on the ground, in the territory: Perceptible impacts among stakeholders and concerned local actors at the cognitive and behavioral levels? Reduction of the negative impacts? Reduction of conflicts between local actors during meetings? Better interactions of actors at the professional level? Better respect of each actor’s uses of the territory in the field? New initiatives launched (professional activities, events, etc.)?

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM In the ASSESSMENT phase: Assessment of impact The assessment of the impacts of the production on the community and the public can be reviewed through the use of an evaluation worksheet. In the case of an exhibition, parameters to be considered include: Number of visitors; Attendance numbers of concerned stakeholders and local actors; Reactions from the exhibition visitors (recording of comments, interviews); Attendance of other near-by schools? Classes? (recording of comments…); Request(s) from other stakeholders to collaborate on future initiatives; New contacts, partnerships, connected partnerships, side initiatives.

How – BRs as platforms for ESD DEVELOPING THE PLATFORM In the ASSESSMENT phase: Personal progress Specific objectives for the assessment of the progress of participants should have been defined and thought from the start, following an initial diagnosis of participants’ knowledge, beliefs, representations…). Such assessment should be conducted in terms of: Integration of knowledge; Integration of skills and competencies; Evolution of representations; Change in attitudes and behaviors and participation to action; Adoption of alternative sustainable behaviors.

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