The Economics of Biodiversity – The Dasgupta Review was published last week and is available to download. The final Review comprises the Full Report, an Abridged Version and Headline Messages. It calls for changes in how we think, act and measure economic success in order to protect and enhance both our prosperity and the natural world. The Review sets out how we should account for Nature in economics and decision-making. Biodiversity Review encourages us to look at its Flickr page, where we can view, download and share the Review’s graphics and social media assets.
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Dasgupta calls for environmental education – The Dasgupta Review contains a plea that our education systems should “introduce Nature studies from the earliest stages of our lives, and revisit them in the years we spend in secondary and tertiary education.” The report goes on: “The conclusion we should draw from this is unmistakable: if we care about our common future and the common future of our descendants, we should all in part be naturalists.” Tellingly, the review says the following in section 6.7 on page 184: “If we are to make peace with Nature, which in effect means make peace with ourselves, we each will have to serve as both judge and jury. The checks and balances on our actions need to have an internal source, we cannot rely on others to discipline us into using the biosphere only as far as is justifiable. That justification has to be provided by us to our personal selves. And that cannot happen without education. Which is why the Review concludes (Chapter 21) with a plea for a transformation of our education systems towards one where children from an early age are encouraged to try to understand the infinitely beautiful tapestry of processes and forms that is Nature.” This section concludes: “The realisation that we are embedded in Nature would be a route to an understanding that desecrating Nature is like desecrating our own home. It is only when we appreciate that we are part of Nature and that Nature nurtures us that we will have fewer needs for reviews of the economics of biodiversity.”
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The awe and wonder of the natural world – If there is only one chapter that those responsible for curriculum policy ought to read in this comprehensive report, it should perhaps be chapter 21: Options for Change. Here are a few quotes from the Education section [#231.3.4] of the chapter: “Every child in every country is owed the teaching of natural history, to be introduced to the awe and wonder of the natural world, and to appreciate how it contributes to our lives” / “Connecting with Nature needs to be woven throughout our lives” / “It is a cruel irony that we surround children with pictures and toys of animals and plants, only to focus subsequently on more conceptual knowledge, marginalising environmental education relative to the wider curriculum” / “There is every reason universities should require new students to attend a course on basic ecology” / “Field studies that would accompany such a course would be a way to connect students with Nature”.
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A course on basic ecology – Some will wonder why it’s only university students who should be blessed with a “course on basic ecology” with field studies accompanying it. If such a course would be of benefit to students making up less than 50% of the cohort (which it would) – and be of benefit to all of society – it would surely be of value to all the cohort. In which case, perhaps it ought to be a core course in secondary schools that follows on from a firm grounding (no pun intended) in primary education. DfE – are you paying attention?
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Teach the Future – There’s a new strategy at TTF with invitations to write to our MPs and a petition to sign calling for climate change education.
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Scotland’s Learning – The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC Scotland) has published Learning for Sustainability: a Professional Guide for Teachers in partnership with Learning for Sustainability Scotland. The guide aims to help teachers understand their responsibility to embed learning for sustainability in their practice, “inspiring and motivating learners to address the challenges of learning to live within the environmental limits of our planet and to build a just, equitable and peaceful society.” Betsy King, Development Manager at Learning for Sustainability Scotland says, “Curriculum for Excellence has sustainability at its heart and embedding this approach into all learning and teaching can support learners to develop the knowledge, skills and values to support our journey towards a more sustainable future. This guide provides practical advice and support for that journey.”
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The Future Speaks – In the first of a number of online events: Sustainability Partnerships with Teach the Future held on 22 January, three high school students from Edinburgh and Lothian quizzed 6 politicians from across the parties on a set of challenging topics, including the achievability of the 1.5-degree target, and why climate action still feels like Business as Usual. Politicians were also pointedly asked what professional learning support would be provided to enable teachers to deliver climate and ecological emergency education and reminded that some 75% of teachers have said they have not received adequate training. The Future Speaks took place in South Scotland on 5 February and there will be another meeting in West Scotland on 19 February.
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Accessing satellite images – The World Economic Forum says that better access to climate data could help emerging economies recapture billions in lost revenues. Digital Earth Africa provides insights on how to do this. The platform, powered by Australian technology, allows satellite images to be translated into information and accessed by decision-makers in various fields, such as science, policy, agriculture and industry. Its data infrastructure helps to make both current and historical satellite images relevant and usable by improving their availability, quality and frequency. More information here.
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A newly identified whale – The good news is that a new species of whale has been identified in the Gulf of Mexico; the whales, which can weigh up to 30 tonnes, went unidentified because of their resemblance to Bryde’s whale, a widespread species. The bad news is that there are thought to be fewer than 100 left in the world. It’s been called Rice’s Whale after the biologist who did the most to identify it.
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Ocean Science – ECO Magazine and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO announced the first edition of the 2021 digital series, dedicated to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, co-produced as a partnership between the Magazine and IOC-UNESCO. There is much more detail here.
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Brave new Ocean – In December 2020, Heirs To Our Oceans hosted a two-day global virtual Youth Summit for the Ocean Decade. 120 young people from all continents came together to get ready for the start of the Decade. The Summit offered a chance for young students and professionals to identify national specific priorities for action and solution-oriented approaches to ocean sustainability. Youth leaders from the Summit took part in the Ocean Decade’s first high-level event “Brave New World – Brave New Ocean”, organised by IOC-UNESCO on 3 February. It can be viewed on YouTube. For more details of the Decade, click here to read the ocean decade newsletter.
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Marine Management – Bottom-trawlers are set to be banned from four areas around the UK’s coasts. Bylaws published for consultation by the Marine Management Organisation will prohibit vessels from dragging weighted nets along the sea bed. The largest of the areas is Dogger Bank in the North Sea which is a habitat for critically endangered species such as common skate. Currently, bottom trawlers fish here for cod and plaice as well as sand eels that are an important food source for sea birds and mammals. The other three areas are [i] Inner Dowsing, Race Bank and North Ridge Special Area of Conservation, off the Lincolnshire coast, where sandbanks and reefs support lobster, crabs and pink shrimp; [ii] South Dorset Marine Conservation Zone, where protection will come to sea squirts, crabs, sponges, scallops and starfish; and [iii] the Canyons Marine Conservation Zone off Cornwall, which has cold water coral reefs. A number of fishing interests condemned the move, while marine charities said it didn’t far enough. There’s more detail and comment in The Times.