CEE's Participation at the Expanded Constituency Workshop
The Civil Society Relations and Capacity Development Wing of Global Environment Facility (GEF), Washington invited CEE to participate as a Civil Society Organization (CSO) Representative at the GEF Expanded Constituency Workshop (ECW) held from November 5-6 at New Delhi. CEE was also asked to act as a rapporteur and provide feedback on the CSO's expectations, objectives of the CSO participation, contents vis-à-vis agenda, topics of interest to the CSOs and their suggestions.
Brochures of UNDP GEF/SGP projects, and products that demonstrated their successful business models, gained UNDP GEF/SGP-India and CEE much visibility.
The ECW included participants from 13 countries, i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Korea, Lao, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. There was also participation of the respective Country Operational Focal Points; Focal Points for CBD, Climate Change and Chemical Management; ADB, FAO, UNDP, UNEP and UNIDO; GEF – representing Public Private Partnership; Member – GEF Scientific, Technical & Advisory Panel (STAP); CSOs representatives from various thematic focal points; GEF Evaluation Team; Director-External Relations, GEF Secretariat; Senior Government officials of MoEF i.e. Mr. MF Farooqui, Special Secretary and Mr. Hem Pande, Joint Secretary.
Orientation workshop for Master Trainers in Rajasthan
CEE Jaipur, in collaboration with Rajasthan State Bharat Scouts and Guides organized a series of zonal-level Orientation workshops for Master Trainers. The workshops aimed at capacity building Master Trainers to contextualize and design eco-club activities as curricular projects that reach out to whole school.
The workshop provided the participants a chance to exchange and analyze ideas to enhance the process of change from environment awareness to environment action.
To facilitate this workshop, a two-day module was developed. The module covered sessions on pedagogy; project method as a teaching-learning approach; innovative teaching-learning methodologies, among others. The training was facilitated by means of educational games and demonstrations, followed by discussions, which helped to build clear links to the school curriculum. 340 participants from 23 districts attended the workshops which were held at Ajmer, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Jaipur and Jodhpur. These workshops will enable Master-Trainers to train the eco-club in-charge (teachers) in their respective districts.
The Mountain Partnership Task Force Meeting
Mr. Abdhesh Gangwar, Programme Director, CEE Himalaya and CEE North-East was invited to attend the Task Force Meeting of the Mountain Partnership (MP) held from October 29-31 at Rome, Italy. MP is a United Nations voluntary alliance of partners dedicated to improving the lives of mountain people and protecting mountain environments around the world. It has a membership base of 197+ including 50 countries through their governments, 16 UN and intergovernmental organisations, and 131 Major Groups and Organisations. CEE Himalaya is a member in the last category.
More than 25 countries from Africa, Central Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, Near East and Asia were represented at the meeting. Asian countries included India, Nepal and Philippines.
The Task Force Meeting discussed the first 10 years of the MP and overarching visions and set the stage for the future of the MP. Issues related to MP governance, in the context of the Rio+20 processes, as well as the strategy were the key discussions held. In addition, specific discussions were held on the financial strategy, the institutional setup, the communication strategy and the work plan of the MP as well as on the Terms of Reference for the MP Secretariat. Until now three MP Global Meetings have been held. The 4th Global Meeting of the MP will be held in January or early February 2013 to complete the renewal process.
MP Central Secretariat is based at FAO in Rome and its Asia Pacific activities are implemented by a regional hub based at ICIMOD, Kathmandu.
Science Express - Biodiversity Special at Haridwar
The Science Express - Biodiversity Special (SEBS) train arrived at the Haridwar station on November 11 amidst great anticipation and enthusiasm from people hailing from all walks of life. The train was inaugurated by Mr. M.M. Joshi, Conservator of Forests, Haridwar who was accompanied by Mr. Santahan Somakar, DFO, Haridwar and Mr. Pandey, DFO, Rishikesh. Rangers from the Forest Department along with police officers were also present during the inauguration ceremony. The exhibition was a fascinating experience for the viewers who went from coach to coach discovering India's biodiversity. Mr. Joshi and the team interacted with the Science Communicators and expressed their wish to send their entire staff to visit the train.
During the three days (November 11-14) that the train was stationed at Haridwar, over 2600 people visited the exhibition. The train schedule coincided with Diwali and other holidays during which both schools and offices were closed resulting in a relatively lower turnout.
Children enjoyed playing Chinese Whispers with the message "Cycle Chalao, Pradushan Mat Phaelao" (Ride Cycles, do not spread pollution.)
CEE Himalaya made the SEBS visit an exciting and fun-filled experience for the visitors, especially children, through platform activities including games, quiz and competitions. In addition, visitors signed biodiversity pledges, and voted for a national microbe. Volunteers from the NSS and the Uttarakhand Council of Science and Technology helped in carrying out platform activities and in spreading the word about the SEBS train.
Working together for Environment Education
CEE Himalaya was invited as a resource agency for National Green Corps (NGC) and Paryavaran Mitra programme' s review meeting-cum-orientation organized by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST), Chandigarh on November 9. The program was hosted by the Executive Director, PSCST and was attended by District Science Supervisors (DSS) and teachers from all the districts of Punjab and Chandigarh.
The DSSs provide guidance regarding the Paryavaran Mitra activities in the State. They also submit progress reports at regular intervals to help PSCST monitor the implementation and progress of Paryavaran Mitra activities. Both PSCST as well as CEE Himalaya urged the DSSs as well as school teachers to take active interest in Paryavaran Mitra activities, help schools register for the programme and act as lead schools to set good examples for schools new to the programme.
It was discussed that all NGC schools should focus on performing a wide range of activities on different themes and that awareness programmes should be carried out on regular intervals.
Mr. Riyaz Ahmad Mir, CEE Himalaya, Dehradun shared in details the scope of the Paryavaran Mitra project, distributed kits, screened a film on the Paryavaran Mitra project and discussed various action projects that were undertaken by various schools under the programme. This platform was also utilized to share information and experiences about the Science Express Biodiversity Special (SEBS) Train prior to its arrival at Chandigarh on November 15.
Participants learnt about the concept of this train, its theme, the facilities provided for teachers, lab experiments for students etc. The DSSs and teachers present assured that they would make immediate efforts to promote and popularize the SEBS Train so that the train is utilized to its maximum advantage when it is stationed in the State of Punjab.
Sustainability-Education-Transformation
An international conference on Education for Sustainable Development SET the Future: Sustainability—Education—Transformation (SET) was organized in Berlin on September 28.
The Conference provided an outline on the current challenges and actual needs for transformation considering the results of the Rio+20 Conference; looked at the response of the education systems, and concluded by discussing the implications for Germany, India, Mexico and South Africa through 'fish bowl' discussion.
Mr. Heiko Warnken, Ministry for International Cooperation and Development, Mr. Dirk Messner, German Development Institute (WBGU), Reinhold Leinfelder, Ludwig Maximilians Universitat and members from the ESD ExpertNet from Germany, India, and South Africa India, shared their thoughts at the conference.
The Conference was organized by Engagement Global gGmbH. German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) —the Federal Government's think tank on Global Environmental Change was partner to the Conference.
From CEE, Ms. Sanskriti Menon, Programme Director; Mr. Satish Awate, Programme Coordinator and Ms. Rajeswari Gorana, Programme Coordinator attended this conference.
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