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Background
The recent Tsunami tragedy, has brutally brought
to our attention, the awesome destructive power
of the ocean and the fragility and vulnerability
of coasts and islands to disasters. We have come
to realize in the most tragic way the susceptibility
of our beautiful coasts and islands to the forces
of nature and about the weakness of the prediction,
warning, notification, and community response
mechanisms. A recent analysis shows that very
few coastal areas and only 36% of the Islands
have national disaster preparedness and response
plans in place. Further, the disaster has awakened
us about the importance of conserving natural
resource base and flora and fauna which act as
buffer and shield under disaster situations. The
workshop discussed some of these issues within
overall framework of education for sustainable
development and the implications that disasters
might have on it.
Objectives
The workshop focused on sharing understanding
and strengthening the role of education for the
conservation of oceans in order to enhance the
sustainability of the natural resource based livelihoods
of the communities living on coasts and islands.
The specific objectives of the workshop were:
- To review the current state of our knowledge
and understanding on the role of education in
the conservation of oceans and seas and identify
educational priorities and issues thereof.
- To share the best practices in education
contributing to sustainability of ocean resources
and linked livelihoods.
- To discuss issues related to Tsunami and
other disasters associated with oceans within
the overall ESD context emphasizing on developing
infrastructure in sustainable ways, adopting
good coastal management practices—building
in the right places, supporting sustainable
ocean-dependent livelihoods, and incorporating
a strong public safety component in coastal
management (including prediction systems, communication
of ocean-related risks, emergency preparedness,
and community readiness in case of disasters).
- Suggest the strategy and action plan for
DESD as a desired goal for integrating sustainable
development concerns in all the educational,
awareness and training programmes of oceans,
coasts and islands at all levels of education
and all sections of society encompassing all
ocean related programmes and activities.
- Prepare a framework for action for the decade
and also implementation strategy with appropriate
support form various international agencies
to sustain public support for oceans, coasts
and islands and inspire a change of behavior
at individual and collective levels.
Outputs
The outputs planned from the workshop include:
- Current state of our understanding related
to education and communication efforts on oceans.
- Experience sharing of the best practices
being experimented at various educational centers,
aquaria, museums, zoos etc
- Framework of strategy and action plan for
DESD with reference to conservation of oceans,
coasts and islands.
- Strategies for rebuilding disaster affected
areas in sustainable ways, supporting sustainable
ocean-dependent livelihoods, and incorporating
a strong public safety component in coastal
management.
- Formalization of some concrete regional EE
initiative for the conservation of oceans, coasts
and islands.
Special
Session on Tsunami Disaster
Sustainable
Development in Disaster Affected Areas
The special session on disaster preparedness
in the wake of the Tsunami focused on the
linkages between scientific prediction, warning,
response and preparedness and what role education
and communication can play in reaching out
to various target groups. The session discussed
the short and long term interventions in terms
of sustainable livelihoods, environmental
health and the critical role that education
and communication can play in linking scientific
and technological knowledge to disaster preparedness
and response of the coastal and island communities. |
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