1.Bohlweki Environmental(Pty)Ltd,Midrand,Johannesburg
2.Bembani sustainability Training Midrand,Johannesburg
3.North West Dept.Agriculture Conservation And Environment,Rustenburg
4.North West Dept.Agriculture Conservation And Environment,Potchefstroom
14.1 Environmental Empowerment, Education and Awareness
14.1.1 Introduction
Environmental education in the North West is growing steadily. Several government departments and agencies are undertaking initiatives that are aimed at increasing environmental awareness and promoting the concept of sustainable development. Youth clubs, for example, bring the youth and environmental projects together in several areas of the Province. Universities and colleges of education are adding environmental science courses and degrees to their programmes.
In the schools, environmental awareness is being built into the curriculum as a cross-cutting issue of outcome-based education (OBE), which has been introduced by the Department of Education. This implies that the environmental concept is drawn in on all subject matter.
14.1.2 Environmental awareness in schools
The North West Province is in the process of implementing Curriculum 2005. In the new school system, the environment has been integrated into all learning programmes at all levels, grades and phases of the new school system. The school curriculum provides learners in the Province with many learning activities to promote awareness of environmental and sustainability issues. The human and social sciences, as well as the physical and natural sciences of the newly introduced outcome-based education curriculum, include the study of ecological processes and ecosystems, which provides students with essential knowledge of biophysical components and interactions. Learners are also introduced to topics such as population dynamics and ecological succession.
14.1.3 Curriculum support for teachers
Curriculum documents and policy processes are a small part of the transformation towards a better society and towards sustainable living and a healthy environment. In order for the new curriculum to be successful, teacher development and support, relevant and quality educational resource materials, and new teaching and learning processes are required.
Birdlife South Africa have developed an integrated learning resource for environmental education called "learning for sustainable living". With the collaboration of NWDACE environmental education and empowerment staff, this valuable learning resource was introduced to 200 schools in the Province during 2001.
During the 1999/2000 financial year, several workshops on the integration of environment into all learning areas took place in the North West Province. Approximately 1 000 teachers were introduced to several approaches to this concept.
14.1.4 National Environmental Education Project for the General Education and
Training (NEEP-GET)
NEEP-GET's main aim is to train teachers in how to integrate environmental learning in OBE education. NEEP-GET is currently operating in six districts in the Province, viz. Mafikeng, Zeerust, Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp, Rustenburg and Vryburg. Two professional environmental education staff run a professional development programme for subject advisors, who in turn transfer this knowledge to teachers. The professional development is planned for two and half years, building capacity among subject advisors on integrating environmental learning in their 8 learning areas.
The professional development workshops are not one-off, but are based on a cluster system that ensures that same group of people continue to work together over a period of time. There are also work-away tasks, meant to facilitate implementation and reflection on how things are working on the ground. Concepts and issues are to be revisited over this period of time, thereby increasing levels of understanding and sophistication over a period of time (this is known as the "spiral model").
The intention is that this professional development programme for both subject advisors and teachers should be accredited. This is going to be a challenging task as the programme is based on In-service Education and Training (INSET) and therefore its outcomes are not predefined as in a PRESET course.
14.1.5 Tertiary environmental education
Environmental education has been introduced as an ancillary course at colleges of education and at the University of the North West. An informative workshop, funded by the British High Commission and facilitated by Delta Environmental, with assistance from the Department of Education in the North West Province, was held in May 2001 with subject advisors and college lecturers in the North West Province. Participants from the following colleges attended the workshop: Taung; Lehurutse; Tlhabane; Mankwe; Hebron; Moretele and Potchefstroom. The aim of the workshop was to educate participants on how to initiate and implement environmental projects in school curricula. Follow-up meetings with participants at the individual colleges were scheduled for later in the year. Specifically, the objectives of the workshop were the following:
How to implement environmental education within schools and integrate it within Curriculum 2005 and the different learning areas;
Empowerment and how to identify environmental projects, implement, manage and evaluate such projects;
Support for pilot schools to ensure sustainability;
How to approach, involve and share environmental education with communities.
Environmental policy formulation;
Auditing or assessment of the environment;
How to offer financial support for schools to start projects;
How to introduce and integrate environmental education and environmental projects within schools where numerous programmes are already running;
Networking amongst schools, departmental officials and other role players.
How to cascade the input from the workshop down to colleagues;
How to ensure that workshop participants implement what they have learnt at the workshop, when they arrive back at their places of work;
How to better support teachers; and
Development of support material for schools.
Outlined below is a brief summary of the environmental projects that were initiated as a result of this workshop:
Mankwe College - participants contacted Borite Primary School in the Mabeloapodi Village to participate in the project. The following environmental issues were identified as important: water management through the DWAF's 20/20 Vision, waste, sewage and fencing the school. A very serious problem that was identified was raw sewage flowing out of the sewerage system onto the school premises. However, the project participants felt that they were not ready yet to tackle such a serious problem due to a lack of resources and networking.
Tlhabane College - workshop participants held two planning meetings after the workshop, where waste was identified as a theme for their project. During these meetings a questionnaire was developed for implementation in the school they contacted, viz. Mfidikwe Primary School. Learners and teachers at the school had to complete the questionnaire. The principal and the teachers had already been involved in a waste project in the past and were very enthusiastic about it.
Taung College - several environmental initiatives were already taking place at the college. However, the workshop participants decided that they needed an environmental policy through which the different initiatives could be co-ordinated and implemented. The College Policy was used as a framework. The different departments were briefed and asked for input. The participants also contacted a local school, Sebegilwe Middle School, where the principal indicated that he would be interested in the school becoming involved in the programme. Several environmental problems had already been identified within the school and in the community. A clean-up of the graveyard was undertaken in June 2001. This was an interesting exercise in community involvement, since the community structures had to be consulted before the clean-up could take place.
Lehurutse College - waste was identified as the theme for an environmental project on the campus itself. The participants embarked on an extensive project involving the development and circulation of a questionnaire for assessment, the development of an Environmental Policy as well as an Action Plan.
Four community-based environmental resource centres have been established in North West Province, at Pilanesburg, Buxton, Ga-Rankuwa and Lotlamoreng. These centres are administered by NWDACE Environmental Education and Empowerment sub-directorate. These centres strive to pro-actively create a culture of environmental awareness and sustainable development amongst the citizens of the Province. Specifically, the resource centres:
Manage the implementation of conservation and environmental education programmes to school-going youth, in line with Curriculum 2005 requirements;
Manage and implement conservation and environmental skills development programmes targeted at local government and community structures, decision makers and environmentally-related NGO service providers;
Manage the implementation of both in-service and pre-service conservation and environmental education training programmes for educators.
With assistance from the environmental centres, fifty schools in the Eastern region have become involved in the Collect-a-Can initiative for the recycling used cans. Through this initiative, schools are able to acquire funds and use them to purchase the much-needed resources. The environmental centres have further formed a partnership with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, to participate in the Working for Water Programme. This programme's objective is to eradicate alien invasive plants. The partnership with schools focuses mainly in removing alien vegetation in school premises. This initiative has been introduced to 300 schools in the Province to date. As part of the implementation of DWAF's 20/20 Vision for water awareness, the NWDACE Environmental Education and Empowerment sub-directorate introduced this concept to 200 schools. This 20/20 Vision initiative focused on water consumption auditing.
The environmental resource centres, through their implementation of environmental education programmes, support curriculum requirements for school groups. School groups visiting the Pilanesberg National Park are able to benefit from having such a resource centre available. The programmes place emphasis on creativity and practical experience and employ approaches such as problem solving, field studies and hands-on experience. On average, 10 000 students and teachers go through environmental education programmes in these centres each year.
14.1.7 North West Province Environmental Education Forum
The North West Province Environmental Education Forum has been established to coordinate environmental education efforts in the North West Province. These include those related to school-based environmental education programmes. A number of NGOs and government departments are running initiatives and projects using different models, relying on content and methodologies of varying form and quality and using trainers and training material of varying quality.
The coordination of effort and cooperation at different levels of the education system is needed in order to secure not only a seamless curriculum implementation strategy, but also for the mainstreaming of environment through the curriculum. This process of coordination therefore requires that clear guidelines for cooperation and partnerships are developed.
The objectives of the North West Environmental Education Forum are:
To develop a database of environmental education projects in the North West Province;
To develop common guidelines for developing and adapting teaching and learning resources of good quality, aimed at supporting environmental learning in schools;
To create a forum for advocacy about environmental education in general and NEEP-GET activities in schools;
To create and manage opportunities for forum participants to take part in cluster group activities by providing expertise and using their interaction in cluster group meetings to develop new learner support materials for different learning areas;
To provide opportunities for exploring different orientations and current trends in environmental education both in formal and non-formal education settings.
14.1.8 Conclusion and recommendations
The Department of Education in the North West Province is committed to the implementing environmental education in schools and colleges. However, the integration of environmental education into the curricula has not been achieved at most schools as it is still a relatively new concept.
Environmental projects are successfully underway in several colleges and schools in the Province. Despite this, generally, environmental awareness in communities in the North West Province is still low.
Communities are still not yet well informed about environmental issues affecting their lives. Further environmental programmes are required to empower communities to become aware of and deal with environmental issues particular to their living surroundings.
The North West provincial government should take initiatives, responsibility and act as role-players in promoting environmental education throughout the Province to educate suitable audiences through designing, developing and presenting environmental education and training programmes. For the government to achieve this target, it must firstly identify the suitable training audience (youth, women, NGOs, CBOs); identify suitable resources such as finance and manpower, and then deliver the programme to the audience.
The current environmental awareness training programmes need to be evaluated. This is in order to ensure successful results and good co-operation between the proponents (North West DACE) and the stakeholders.
It is important for the government to ensure that their staff involved in environmental education are competent and are well trained in undertaking education and awareness training.
Most, if not all, governmental departments have an environmental responsibility to fulfil. This necessitates that cooperative governance needs to be implemented on a practical level. The North West provincial government should strengthen communication between relevant departments, stakeholders and other role players with regard to the environmental training programmes. The EIPs should align empowerment, education, training and information initiatives. It is important that there is a common objective for all the sectoral EIPs.
Environmental Management Corporation Agreements (EMCAs) and Public Private Partnerships (PPP) should encompass principles of environmental education, training and awareness.
14.2 Environmental Capacity Building Initiatives
14.2.1 Introduction
In terms of GN. 51 of 21 January 1994 "environmental awareness, knowledge and understanding are prerequisites for establishing a responsible national environmental ethos, measures must be taken to promote environmental education, and also by means of informal instruction, museums and media. Furthermore, where possible, an awareness must be cultivated of the negative impact of excessive population growth, excessive economic development and the over-exploitation or pollution of resources".
The Capacity Building Sub-Directorate of the North West DACE is aware that the situation in the North West Province requires urgent and speedy attention on its part. As a result, the Capacity Building Sub-Directorate is making sure that programmes and activities are planned in such a way that this situation is fully addressed.
14.2.2 Description of initiatives
The following are the community awareness programmes and activities that the NWDACE Capacity Building Sub-Directorate is currently involved with as an endeavour to reach out to the different sectors of the broader North West Province community.
Establishment of conservation clubs
The main aims for the establishment of conservation clubs are to spread knowledge and understanding of conservation and environment, and to create awareness in communities for the sustainable resource utilisation and promote a community spirit of environmental awareness. Membership of these clubs is mainly made up of young people and the clubs are spread throughout the entire Province (Table 14.2.1).
Table 14.2.1: Number of conservation clubs in North West Province (Source: NWDACE Capacity Building sub-directorate, 2000).
Region
No. of Clubs
No. of Members
Eastern
44
1702
Central
31
1007
Western
13
460
Total
88
3169
The concept of conservation clubs has become popular over the years that one of the clubs in the Eastern Region (Boitshepo Conservation Club) has registered as an NGO, with other newly established clubs in the area affiliated to it. This club/NGO is operating semi-independently from the Department's services. The Capacity Building Sub-Directorate is encouraging and developing other conservation in the Province to follow suit.
Resource utilisation
Most of the tribal lands in the Province can still boast the presence of game. As a result, there is a great demand for hunting. Approximately 90% of Tribal Authorities lack the capacity to administer or manage hunting. Some hunters take advantage of this situation and hunt illegally. In an endeavour to solve this problem, and to encourage sustainable resource utilisation techniques and skills, the Sub-Directorate undertook the following training courses in 2000:
Trackers course - Training in this course took place in March and April 2000 with the aim of equipping trackers from different tribal areas across the Province with sufficient information, capacity and skills to perform their jobs. The following topics were covered during the course:
hunting as a conservation management tool;
interpretation of the hunting permit;
tracking;
identification of birds found on respective tribal lands;
identification of trees found on respective tribal lands;
identification of game found on respective tribal lands;
law enforcement procedure - non compliance act;
firearm handling, and
skinning.
Tribal clerks course - This course took place in October 2000 and covered the following topics:
hunting as a conservation management tool;
interpretation of the hunting permit, and
basic administration procedure.
A course dealing with the utilisation of other natural resources is being developed.
Environment and conservation awareness campaigns
The Enviro 2000 campaign/road-show was organised for February and March 2000. A total of eight towns in the central region were visited, where the following activities took place:
33 schools were addressed;
2 church group meetings were addressed;
People at taxi ranks in all towns were addressed;
19 youth structures were addressed;
11 outdoor sessions were held.
A total number of 46 000 people were addressed during this road show.
14.2.3 Conclusion and recommendations
Despite significant efforts in conservation and environment capacity building, overall environmental awareness among people in the North West remains low.
There are currently few NGOs and CBOs in the environmental field based in the North West Province.
A number of conservation clubs have been established in the North West Province, which target the youth.
Communities are generally aware of wildlife utilization and opportunities, however their involvement in "value-added" environmental activities such as ecotourism development remains minimal.
There is a general lack of private sector involvement in conservation and environment projects.
North West DACE needs to develop a streamlined approach and formalise relationships with private sector initiatives with regards to environmental capacity programmes based on the "duty of care" and remediation of environmental damage (Section 28 of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) No 107 of 1998).
Women, youth, NGOs, CBOs Traditional Authorities are the main community groups which should be targeted with regard to education and training programmes. These programmes should be developed in conjunction with all the listed community groups.
Information gaps need to be identified, addressed and implemented through training and education programmes.
Indigenous knowledge systems provide a "home grown" environmental perspective which can be used to successfully complement other environmental awareness campaigns.
A traditional environmental knowledge system needs to be built into all environmental education and capacity building initiatives. This will raise the level of environmental awareness in communities and will also encourage them to work towards minimising negative environmental impacts.
References
Delta Environmental, 2001.Report on the Programme for Implementation of Environmental Projects Funded by the British High Commission. Hurry, L., J. Maseko & H. Williamson, 2000.Learning for Sustainable Living. An Integrated Learning Resource for Environmental Education. BirdLife South Africa, Randburg 105pp.
