ESD (Education for Sustainable Development)
The National Strategy for the Implementation of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development is developed as a response to the UN General Assembly resolution in 2002 designating the period 2005- 2014, Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), as well as to the invitation by UNESCO to Member States to participate in the implementation of the Decade. The strategy was developed through a consultative process spearheaded by the Uganda National Commission for UNESCO (UNATCOM). It involved the participation of a cross-section of stakeholders in education, economy, environment and society sectors through meetings, workshops and seminars.The way the global economy manages natural resources deeply influences the Earth’s climate. How we extract these resources and how much we make use of them essentially determines the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). How we dispose of the resulting wastes increasingly conditions the ability of nature’s sinks such as soils, forests and oceans to absorb them. Whether we seek to reduce GHG releases by means of mitigation approaches, or we try to secure the sustainability of our food, water, energy and livelihoods through adaptation measures, appropriate management of natural resources lies at the centre of virtually all viable solutions to climate change.
A very large part of global energy use (and therefore GHG emissions) is tied directly to the acquisition, processing, transport, conversion, use and disposal of resources. And very significant savings in both energy and emissions are possible at each of these stages in the resource management chain.
Raising resource productivity through improved efficiency and reducing resource waste through measures such as reuse, recycling and remanufacturing can greatly lower both resource consumption and GHG emissions. Such measures also confer additional, highly desirable social benefits such as more equitable access to resources and invaluable environmental gains such as reduced pollution.
Decoupling economic growth and human wellbeing from resource use has, therefore, to be an integral part and prime concern of climate policy.
This note draws on the findings of the United Nations’ expert panel on natural resources – the International Resource Panel (IRP), to highlight some key policy-relevant messages on how sustainable management of natural resources can contribute to global efforts to combat climate change.
Climate Change Actions to note as we plan for sustainable Development in Uganda
1. More systemic changes are needed – including rethinking of societal values and increased awareness of the environmental perils of overconsumption – to ensure sufficient and more equitable global access to resources.
2. Cities and their infrastructure in Uganda should be designed in ways that they are less resource and emission intensive and which create a less polluted, healthier environment for their residents.
3. International trade in resources can have large direct and indirect impacts on energy and water consumption and therefore on Green House Gases emissions, and offers significant opportunities to reduce these.
4. Moving towards a more sustainable food system could both reduce GHG emissions and have substantial health benefits.
5. Metals require high amounts of energy – but are also essential components of almost all technologies; understanding their environmental impacts, scarcity, and recyclability is crucial for large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies.
6. Land-use and land-based production systems need to be appropriately designed to greatly improve resource productivity, and thus minimize Green House Gases emissions and environmental damage.
7. Both de-carbonization of electricity and improvements in the efficiency of electricity use are needed to help achieve the 2-degree Celsius target, and they provide substantial environmental co-benefits, while they can also entail some resource-related trade-offs.
8. Decoupling economic growth from environmental and resource degradation, and creating a circular economy through reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing are key strategies for reducing both Green House Gases emissions and other environmental and resource pressures.
9. A ‘whole system’ perspective is crucial in the design and implementation of any policy regime that seeks to mitigate GHG emissions urgently and sustainably.
By David Twebaze
Programme Officer, Education
UNATCOM