Elaboration of a strategy to integrate training on adaptation to climate change within the educational system of cameroon
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- 1.4 Rationale and justification
1.3.2. Specific objectivesThe specific objectives were to:
1.4 Rationale and justificationEnvironmental parameters such as temperature, precipitation and humidity, and their extremes can have major impacts on our lives. Observational data sets of these parameters are accordingly used to monitor land and atmospheric climate variables in an attempt to understand how the climate has changed over time and to examine the occurrence of extremes in temperature and heat stress for example. Such observations are extremely important for conceiving adaptation strategies, which can be used for training programmes in the educational system and also for stakeholders and local communities. The effects of climate change constrain the ability of developing countries to reach their sustainable development objectives under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Each of the MDGs is affected by climate change and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has accordingly made a commitment to integrate adaptation to climate change in all its strategic plans in order to safeguard the MDGs. UNDP is actually positioned to help developing countries to cope better with climate change such as by supporting in identifying financing options for adaptation initiatives and other adaptation efforts in an attempt to secure the MDGs in the face of climate change risks and its associated impacts. According to Dixon et al. (2003), donor countries do provide financial and technical support towards studies of climate change in order to help African nations meet their reporting needs under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Such technical assistance is to assist in vulnerability and adaptation assessments which include training of analysts, sharing in the use of contemporary tools such as data assessment and simulation of models, organisation of workshops, and international exchange programme of analysts (cf the funding of the present study by the government of Japan, and other similar initiatives). Dixon et al. (2003) further state that such analysis in 14 African countries indicated their vulnerability to climate change in more than one of the following socio-economic sectors: coastal resources, agriculture, grasslands and livestock, water resources, forests, wildlife, and human health, and that this vulnerability is exacerbated by widespread poverty, recurrent droughts, inequitable land distribution, environmental degradation, natural resource mismanagement and dependence on rain-fed agriculture. They blame underdeveloped human and institutional capacity as well as the absence of adequate infrastructure for rendering the conception of coping strategies ineffective or insufficient, and highlighted the need for national climate change action plans which happens to be the raison d’être of the present project, which is aimed at training the youths in the entire educational system. The Climate Change Act of the United Kingdom (UK) which became law in November 2008 requires the Government to prepare a programme of adaptation measures towards addressing climate risks and producing an action plan. Based on recent projections which suggest that climate impacts could be more severe than previously predicted, the UK Government plans to publish a climate change risk assessment to inform its National Adaptation Programme (NAP) which will be published in 2012. Special courses have accordingly been designed (e.g., a 2 days short course at Imperial College London and a Research Masters Programme on Climate Change Adaptation for Engineers at Strathclyde University, Glasgow) for training of stakeholders and youths on this theme. The mainstreaming of climate change adaptation into the educational system in Cameroon using similar courses, will consequently lead to the training of Cameroonian youths who will, in the near future, design similar strategies of coping with impacts of climate change in the country. It will create awareness and contribute to the transformation of our youths into future experts for effective and continuous monitoring and evaluation of the trends and impacts of climate change. Improved systems and skills for monitoring and reporting extreme weather events linked to climate change will be acquired and early warnings signals of impacts of the phenomenon will assist governments in decision making on the conception of adaptation strategies. As Cameroon seeks to become an emerging economy by 2035, this mainstreaming process also falls within the context of the Cameroon Vision for 2035 which highlights, amongst other things, the necessity to address major problems linked to the impacts of climate change especially within the most vulnerable ecological zones of the country. Incidentally, the present study which, just like ONACC, is also under the tutelage of MINEPDED will hopefully reinforce one important term of reference (ToR) of ONACC which is to reinforce the capacities of institutions charged with the responsibility of collecting and managing data on climate change within the entire country. The implementation of this study will accordingly provide an avenue of collaboration between the relevant ministries (MINEPDED, MINEPAT, MINEDUB, MINESEC and MINESUP) to forge ahead on this common endeavor. It will equally serve as part of the implementation of the outcomes of the German-Cameroon intergovernmental negotiations of September 2010 on cooperation which, amongst other things, highlighted counseling on adaptation to climate change as part of the realization of the Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) process. Furthermore, the current state of teaching of climate change issues in the educational system in Cameroon is not systematic .Examples are evident in the English speaking Presbyterian Primary Schools and the Teachers Training College in Buea where the syllabi which is different from what obtains in other similar institutions, on climate change and adaptation were designed by experts (NGOs) in the field. Other private Francophone and Anglophone institutions also run specialised courses on this subject although the documented syllabi are not readily available. The present mainstreaming process will accordingly close this gap through the development of functional and holistic curricula at all levels of the educational system. These will be supported by well articulated course/module contents and will be backed by a proposed professional Masters Degree programme at the tertiary level for training specialists in the field. 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