No abstract

Augmenting low income or subsistence lifestyles in developing countries with knowledge, skills and values to enable communities to live in a more sustainable manner is becoming increasingly important as the demands to simply survive increase. Consequently, education for sustainable development (ESD) has emerged strongly in recent years to become a key mechanism for a more sustainable future. Using a case study approach to determine a non-formal ESD programme’s response to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) (2005) ESD ‘characteristics’, this study aims to gauge the success and value of non-formal ESD. A qualitative research was undertaken in 2017 employing various data collection methods, including interviews, focus group discussions, observations and the examination of national policy documents and the non-formal ESD curriculum. The study found that the non-formal education sector provided significant support to the formal education system, leading to improved vertical integration from international guidelines to local-level implementation. The findings demonstrate the potential of the non-formal sector to augment ESD in developing contexts where the national government may lack policy or the ability to provide schools with adequate educational resources.

Shifting priorities within Europe indicate that climate change is to be increasingly considered in the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) developed as part of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. The BeWater project responds to this challenge by testing innovative bottom-up approaches to integrating global change in river basin management. A key objective of the project is to move away from expert dominated adaptation planning towards a process that will support the co-design of River Basin Adaptation Plans (RBAPs) by stakeholders and experts in BeWater's four Mediterranean case study areas. As a first step towards developing the RBAPs, this deliverable was foreseen to compile best practice examples and experiences with existing adaptation plans. While many initiatives have started to integrate climate change in water management at multiple scales, few attempts have been made to integrate climate change in river basin management. This deliverable thus represents, to the authors' knowledge, the first attempt to learn from initiatives integrating climate adaptation into water management planning processes at river basin or sub-catchment level. Accordingly, the research underpinning this deliverable was mainly explorative, first guided by broad objectives, and subsequently refined as the main themes and issues emerged from the analysis. The research process was also designed to be participatory and encouraged consortium members to take an active part in the global RBAP screening process. On the basis of established criteria, sixteen examples of RBAPs were identified from around the world. An in-depth analysis served to identify and illustrate key areas of interest for the preparation of the four foreseen BeWater RBAPs. More specifically, five main observations have been translated into recommendations for consortium agreement and action. These findings lay the foundation for a collective discussion within the consortium on the appropriate content of RBAPs, and suitable approaches and methods to be used in developing them.