PERSGA Regional Initiative on Education for Sustainability (RIEFS) of Marine and Coastal Resources
 

Aligned with the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development-ESD (2005-2014 ) and to fulfill its commitments to the Islamic Declaration, the Millennium Declaration and the WSSD recommendations, PERSGA seeks to join international efforts in re-orientating the role of education within the sustainability agenda. 

This Initiative will contribute to PERSGA efforts in protecting coastal and marine resources and to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of coastal education and capacity building initiatives. The Initiative will study and evaluate experiences in management and community education to identify the critical success factors associated with management and change outcomes in coastal management. Furthermore, a major output of the Programme is the development of an indicators tool for coastal management education and capacity building. The indicator tool will assist in promoting good practice and assessing how current initiatives are aligned with the objectives of the Jeddah Convention and the PERSGA Operational Framework.

The pilot phase for the RIEFS will be launched in one or two of the PERSGA Member States during 2006-2007.  Accordingly, and based on the evaluation results of the pilot phase, the project will be expanded as a regional initiative to be implemented in all PERSGA Member States. 

Launching Workshop

PERSGA organized a Workshop on Education for Sustainability of Marine and Coastal Resources in Aqaba, Jordan, from the 21-24 of January,[1]  2007.  The Workshop was conducted with the following objectives:

1. Design the best approach to implement the programme by reviewing and learning from many   nationwide, whole-school initiatives  around the world that reflect a range of innovative approaches to sustainability and be aligned with the UNESCO “Draft International Implementation Scheme (IIS)” for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development was approved at the UNESCO Executive Board session in September 2005;
2. Build a broad framework of national Education for Sustainability indicators that will be used to assess the effectiveness of national EFS initiatives, report on progress and improve implementation and effectiveness of the regional and national policies and programs on sustainable development;
3. Prepare an easy to use manual for teachers (in Arabic) on ‘educating for sustainable development” along with a trainer guide and a website.

(For the Report Annexes, please contact information@persga.org)