In an effort to integrate environment and sustainable development issues into University of Namibia (UNAM) activities, I participated in the UNEP Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability in African Universities program under the SIDA ITP on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Sweden and Kenya. I proposed to develop an ESD Policy for UNAM. As part of this ongoing project, I consulted relevant stakeholders regarding the need for the policy and organized a joint UNEP UNAM MESA workshop to create awareness in the entire university community and other stakeholders about the importance of MESA, to validate project work being undertaken under the MESA program. Major outcomes of this important workshop also attended by UNESCO, the lead agency in the UNDESD, were the setting up of a steering committee to spearhead the development of the UNAM ESD Policy and assembling a multi-disciplinary team to develop the curriculum for the proposed ESD Masters program.
Prior to training in Sweden and Kenya last year I audited UNAM using the Unit Based Sustainability Asssessment Tool (USAT). USAT is designed to help develop an understanding of an institution’s current engagement with education for sustainable development. In addition, consultations were done with various stakeholders, e.g. UNESCO, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Environment and Tourism etc. Results indicated that, among others, there is widespread support for an ESD policy and integration of ESD in academic programmes at UNAM from various key stakeholders consulted.
To change consumption and production patterns
To reduce poverty
To reorient education as a whole towards sustainability
To ensure that all subject areas address issues related to environment and sustainable development.
To accomplish the Millennium Development Goals
To develop environmental programs of national distinction
To integrate ESD concepts and concerns throughout the curriculum
To strengthen the capacity for ESD processes advocacy
To build and operate attractive facilities and ground on ecological sustainable principles and practices where economically feasible.
The purpose of the project is to generate an ESD policy for the University of Namibia to infuse sustainable values in all aspects of higher education. Over 350 university presidents and chancellors in over 40 countries signed the Talloires Declaration, the first official statement made by university administrators of a commitment to environmental sustainability in higher education composed in 1990. They called for urgent actions to address fundamental problems and reverse the trends. They believed that stabilization of human population, adoption of environmentally sound industrial and agricultural technologies, reforestation, and ecological restoration are crucial elements in creating an equitable and sustainable future for all humankind in harmony with nature. Furthermore, they argued that universities have a major role in the education, research, policy formation, and information exchange necessary to make these goals possible. Thus, university leaders must initiate and support mobilization of internal and external resources so that their institutions respond to this urgent challenge. They, therefore, agreed to take the following actions among others:
1. Encourage all universities to engage in education, research, policy formation, and information exchange on population, environment, and development to move towards global sustainability. 2. Set an example of environmental responsibility by establishing institutional ecology policies and practices of resource conservation, recycling, waste reduction, and environmentally sound operations. 3. Encourage involvement of government, foundations, and industry in supporting interdisciplinary research, education, policy formation, and information exchange in environmentally sustainable development. Expand work with community and nongovernmental organizations to assist in finding solutions to environmental problems. 4. Convene university faculty and administrators with environmental practitioners to develop curricula, research initiatives, operations systems, and outreach activities to support an environmentally sustainable future.
The Halifax meeting (1991) invited the dedication of all universities to the following actions: To cooperate with one another and with all segments of society in the pursuit of practical capacity-building and policy measures to achieve the effective revision and reversal of those current practices which contribute to environmental degradation, to South-North disparities and to inter-generational inequity. 1. Following the Ninth International Association of Universities (IAU) Round Table, in Tokyo, Japan, participants adopted, on 19 November 1993 (http://www.unesco.org/iau/sd/sd_dkyoto), the following Declaration: To cooperate with one another and with all segments of society in the pursuit of practical and policy measures to achieve sustainable development and thereby safeguard the interests of future generations. 2. Participants recommended that each institute of higher learning, in its own action plan (http://www.unesco.org/iau/sd/sd_dkyoto), strive to: Make an institutional commitment to the principle and practice of sustainable development within the academic milieu and to communicate that commitment to its students, its employees and to the public at large.
This is an on-going project and it relies for validity on a multi-stakeholder dialogue and consultation.
Through this initiative UNAM will be able to contribute to the objective of enhancing the quality and relevance of higher education in Namibia in the context of sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals. As an institution of higher learning, we will be able to contribute to development through: producing and accumulating human capital, generating, disseminating and applying knowledge; innovating and inventing new technology; and inculcating a national culture. We will also be able to ensure participatory development, which enables marginalized communities to be actively involved in programs that impact their lives.
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