Climate change is affecting every country on every continent and is the biggest issue facing the planet. It is disrupting national economies and affecting all living things’ lives. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and weather events are becoming more extreme. One of the important sectors that can contribute to decrease the further impacts of climate change is education.
Climate change education promotes learning about the causes and effects of climate change as well as providing a cross-curricular and multidisciplinary perspective. It develops competencies in the field of climate change mitigation and adaptation to promote climate-resilient development and reduce the vulnerability of communities facing an uncertain future. Education systems can make the effort to promote sustainable development in teaching and create eco-friendly institutions.
SEAQIS has brought the environmental and climate change issues through its training course entitled Environmental Education for Sustainable Development (EESD), which was conducted virtually from 21 to 28 March 2022. 30 science teachers, teacher trainers and education authorities from Indonesia and the Philippines attended the training. Some experts from MEXT, Japan, and several well-known universities in Indonesia shared their expertise as facilitators, which are Prof Masahisa Sato (Tokyo City University), Indra Fardhani, Ph.D. (The State University of Malang), Prof Oekan S. Abdoellah (Institute of Ecology, Padjajaran University), Dr Perdinan (SEAMEO BIOTROP), and Prof Pampang Parikesit (Institute of Ecology, Padjajaran University). Also, there was a best practice presentation from Ms Ni Luh Wayan Puri Wahyuni, a teacher from Green School Bali that applied sustainability of environmental education.
Several issues about climate change and biodiversity were discussed during the training, such as: (1) Teaching on Climate Change and Biodiversity in Classroom; (2) Sustainable Development: Historical perspective and state of the art; (3) Green House Effect, Climate System, and Climate Change; (4) Climate Change and Biodiversity; (5) Trends and Issues of Climate Change Education in Japan; and (6) Introduction of E-STEM (Environmental STEM) in Classroom Practices. Although this training was conducted virtually, SEAQIS team had prepared some simple climate change hands-on activities that could be done at home by the participants, and they presented the report afterwards.
This training programme was expected to be an important part of improving the quality of science teaching and learning in schools with respect to the environment, ecosystem conservation, and sustainable development.
