From 3-7 October 2016, five Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) pilot schools in the Bakossi landscape were supported to review developed draft model lesson notes and to address some of the issues related to the implementation of ESD activities in the pilot schools.
The activity also established dialogue with stakeholders, ead teachers, teacher coordinators, and PTAs/Councils and outlined a work plan for the remainder of the year.
The ESD/Capacity Building Advisor of the WWF-Coastal Forest Programme, Ekpe Inyang, took the opportunity to introduce EGI as the new temporary partner for ESD in the region, and to present the goals and focal areas of the programme.
The EGI Director, Mr John Takang explained how the ESD activities would contribute to the activities of EGI, which are: community/council mobilisation to have access to mining and forest royalties; promoting community participation in Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and follow up of implementation of Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP); Follow-up environmental and social management plan; Work with Village Forest Management committees (VFMCs) around logging concessions and protected areas; ESD around the Takamanda National Park to mobilise local resources for local development, among others.
The work plan of the remaining ESD activities to be implemented was presented in each school by Yvette Mboneng. Copies of videos of the 2016 ESD Day celebration, refresher course in the teaching of LORETs, the ESD award ceremony in Ecole Publique Nsoung, as well as some posters, were also shared with pilot schools.
Stakeholders discussed the issues surrounding ESD in Bakossi landscape, and committed to a more coordinated approach. For example, ENIEG Nkongsamba, has had many challenges in the recent past. The costs of producing lesson material had not been paid, burglars had destroyed some of the infrastructure and trees put up with the help of WWF, and the school received little feedback about their ESD activities, just to state a few.
The mayor of Nkongsamba 2 Council, explained that due to limited funds, the Council focuses more on supporting rural schools that are in more advanced states of dilapidation than those in towns. He however advised ENIEG Nkongsamba to submit a list of their needs to be included in the council plan before the next planning/budgeting session. He also requested that the school should, through their ESD teacher coordinator, remind him of the ESD activities in which its Council is supposed to intervene. All PTA board members we discussed with also agreed to support the implementation/follow-up of the pilot school ESD activities in order to achieve conservation and development goals.
Apart from ENIEG Nkongsamba, other schools that were visited include GTTC Bangem, BHS Melong, EP Nsoung and GHS Nysoso. These pilot schools will now be supported by EGI, which is the temporary host of ESD activities supported by WWF.
