Environmental education in Benin phase 2

In order to tackle the widespread problems of degradations of the dry areas in Benin, the organisation Benin Nature is striving for a national strategy for environmental education (EE). The aim of this project is to organise and activate three different groups of stakeholders, in order to push the EE on the government’s agenda and get it included in the curriculum of schools. The three groups are: EE teachers, government officials that deal with Educational aspects and NGOs that work on EE issues. All three groups involved will come together at workshops to discuss the strategy and the steps that need to be taken to achieve their common goal. In addition, an extra issue of BN’s magazine ‘Woutoutou’ will be made to raise the public interest and communicate about the role of EE in tackling the nation’s environmnetal degradation issues.

Three stakeholder groups, Environmental Education (EE) teachers, government officials that deal with Educational aspects and NGOs that work on EE issues, have met several times to activate a network of professionals with the common goal to include EE in the national educational system. A consultant was hired to produce a report on the current state-of-affairs with regard to EE in Benin. This report was actively discussed within the three groups and a common strategy plan was formulated. The minister of Education has shown his sincere interest in the outcomes of the report which stressed the importance of mainstreaming EE in the educational system. Two issues of the magazine ‘Woutoutou’ have been produced, the first on sustainable management of forests and the other on the role and importance of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) in the restoration of degraded soils.