Education
World Decade “Education for Sustainable Development” (2005 – 2014)
The UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) 2005-2014 provides key opportunities for promoting nature conservation objectives, the importance of safeguarding biodiversity, and awareness of sustainable ways of living.
A Biological Diversity Working Group was initiated by Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) and BfN in 2007, bringing together some 20 stakeholders from scientific and practical fields, representing both state and private institutions. The aim of this working group is to increase the coverage of biodiversity issues in the UN decade and, conversely, to link the objectives of the UN decade with the education action targets of the National Strategy on Biological Diversity (2007).
In May 2010, the Biodiversity Working Group published a briefing paper with key topics on integrating biodiversity issues into curriculums along with specific education packages and related quality criteria. The paper aims to highlight threats to biodiversity and how they are connected to other unsustainable development patterns while showing ways of addressing and thinking about such issues in education. It is intended for practitioners in formal, non-formal and informal education contexts and at facilitators aiming to promote education for sustainable development.
The briefing paper on biodiversity and ESD is available for download (English version will be coming soon)
Linking nature conservation and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
The March 2009 issue of the nature conservation periodical ("Natur und Landschaft") focused on nature conservation and education for sustainable development. The issue included articles on the implementation of the UN Decade on ESD in Germany and on specific examples of ESD and biodiversity conservation coming together in practice.
