1 Opportunities and Challenges of Mainstreaming Climate Change into Agriculture and Natural Resource Education in Africa James B. Kung’u 1, Aissetou D. Yaye 2 and August B. Temu 3 1 Department of Environmental Sciences, Kenyatta University, Kenya. 2 ANAFE, 3 World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya

2 Introduction  Climate change is one of the most significant challenges of our time.  It is adversely affecting practically all economic sectors.  Africa is highly vulnerable to climate change.  Visible impacts have been noticed on different sectors like water, biodiversity, agriculture, health and vulnerable ecosystems.

3  Many countries are experiencing a number of adverse climatic hazards including dry spells, seasonal droughts, intense rainfall, riverine floods and flush floods.  Climate change has become a pressing poverty issue and could hinder the achievement of the MDGs in many countries.  Managing climate change requires scaling up efforts on adaptation and low carbon development.  Addressing climate change requires the urgent formulation of comprehensive and effective education policies.  Do African countries have the information they need to do this?

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5  There is a need for students to be well versed with the challenges posed by climate change.  Students need also to understand the implications of climate change on economic development and international trade.  Educating students on climate change will help to shape and sustain future policy-making.

6 Education, training and Public Awareness on Climate change Article 6 of the UNFCCC, on “Education, training and Public Awareness”, requires Parties to: Promote and facilitate at the national and, as appropriate, sub-regional and regional levels, and in accordance with national laws and regulations, and within their respective capacities: -  The development and implementation of educational and public awareness programs on climate change and its effects;  Public access to information on climate change and its effects;  Public participation in addressing climate change and its effects and developing adequate responses; and  Training of scientific, technical and managerial personnel.

7 Role of Education  Education can be described as the process of preparing an individual to become a functional and acceptable member of society.  There is a strong positive correlation between levels of education and economic development in a country.  Good education therefore can provide solutions to challenges of climate change.  Education can play a critical role in preparing and providing the leadership to meet the challenges of climate change and it can stimulate sustainable development.  Right education in agriculture and natural resource management (NRM) in particular is well placed to contribute to mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

8 Current challenges on education in climate change in Africa.  There are gaps in knowledge on mitigation and adaptation strategies on climate change.  The existing knowledge is fragmented and difficult to access in many African institutions.  It is difficult to assess quality research findings/ information on climate change for many African education institutions.  There are confusing/conflicting research findings that are being disseminated on climate change.  Declining funding, deteriorating infrastructure, civil disorder, and massive expansion of students enrolment at all levels.  Poor staffing of institutions to meet the desired curriculum coverage.

9  Enormous loss through emigration of talented faculty to other continents (brain drain).  It is estimated that 23,000 qualified academic professionals emigrate from Africa each year in search of better working conditions.  In most cases the farming community is not involved in the design and delivery of agricultural curricula.  There is absence of Private Sector involvement in the design and delivery of agricultural curricula  Climate change is not addressed meaningfully in the formal school and college curricula

10 Way Forward  African educators must take a leading role in assessing what needs to be done in educational institutions  They must make a significant contribution to providing solutions to the challenges posed by climate change.  The educators must provide: information on climate change challenges; explore methods of mainstreaming climate change knowledge into agricultural education; and identify recommendations on effective policies, institutions and capacity building.  National and International Research institutions must share their findings with education sector.  Partnership between education and research institutions must be built and strengthened.

11  Climate change need to be Integrated into the development agenda, across all sectors and all levels of government to ensure development policies does not undermine, but reinforce one another.  Need to review current curricula at all levels to capture the aspects of climate change.  Climate change curricula can be handled as a separate subject or infused and integrated into other subjects.  Need to develop and domesticate teaching and learning materials.  Need for concrete scientific data based on African experiences to be infused into the curricula.  Need to develop a Web Portal on climate change in Africa for easy access of information.

12 Society -Poverty alleviation - Economic growth - Mitigation strategies -Adaptation strategies Education -Curriculum content -Teaching materials - Institutional innovation Research

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14 Conclusion  Climate change has not been addressed meaningfully in the formal school and college curricula in Africa.  There is need to carry out a training needs assessments on climate change for different education levels.  There is need to revise and develop curricula for schools and colleges that incorporate climate change issues.  Need to develop localised learning materials in both hand and soft copies e.g. posters, handbooks, CDs, DVDs, etc for use by students at different education levels.

15 Conclusion  Need for research institutes to share their research findings with education sector.  Need to develop climate change training modules for teachers and tutors, and for other sectors such as agriculture, industry, forestry, health, water, industries etc.  Urgent need to integrate climate change into the curricula whether as a full-fledged course or as a component within other courses.  The graduates need to have a full grasp of the science of climate change and its implications on the livelihoods of the communities.

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