Public Awarness
Building capacities for increasing public awareness
Biodiversity and its conservation ares complex issues that can be perceived differently according to the varying needs, knowledge and values of people. It happens that this conservation is not always welcomed by those who have other priorities (e.g. economic development). However, since many of the things we do have an impact on biodiversity - sometimes in a catastrophic way - is essential to make people aware of the importance of preserving biodiversity, among others through conservation and sustainable practices.
The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Science (RBINS), being both a research institute and a natural history museum, has a long-lasting experience with education and public awareness. Activities include the development and coordination of exhibitions, the development of educational material, the organisation of workshops, etc. Traditionally, these have mainly been focused on the Belgian public.
Since 2004, with the support of the Belgian Development Cooperation and in its quality of National Focal Point to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the RBINS has developed a capacity building programme that includes an education and public awareness component. Currently, activities are still in an exploratory phase. They essentially support other components of the programme, i.e. activities for the exchange of information in the framework of the Clearing-House Mechanism or activities in support of taxonomy in the framework of the Global Taxonomy Initiative.
These capacity building activities contribute to the Convention on Biological Diversity's global initiative on Communication, Education, and Public Awareness (CEPA).
Recent examples of taxonomic-related projects
The first project, entitled 'Amphibians and Reptiles of Kaieteur National Park: An Environmental Workshop for the People of the Amerindian Village of Chenapau, Guyana', was carried out in 2004, in complement of a taxonomic field mission to Guyana. A RBINS scientist and an American PhD student spent four days at the end of their mission in the Patamona village of Chenapau, to conduct a teacher’s workshop that included demonstrations and sensitisation about the critical importance of establishing formal and informal protected areas and the potential benefits for local people. The emphasis was put on the local herpetofauna.
The second project started early 2005 and is entitled 'Didactical tools for biodiversity awareness in Siem Reap and Angkor, Cambodia'. It aims to raise awareness of both local and international public about Cambodian biodiversity, by designing interpretative tools in the Sam Veasna Center in Siem Reap and to prepare a nature trail in Preah Khan temple, Angkor. The project is implemented by the Sam Veasna Center for wildlife conservation and comes as a complement to the taxonomic project ‘Biodiversity assessment at three protected areas in Northwest Cambodia’.
Public awareness and the Clearing-House Mechanism
In the framework of its 'public awareness' component, the RBINS desires to reinforces the activities of CHM National Focal Points in their contribution to the implementation of the CBD. National CHM Focal Points play an essential role in the education and information of the general public and policy makers, on the value of biodiversity and on the opportunities offered by the Convention.
For this reason, the RBINS contributes to concrete actions aiming for an easy access to information, the promotion of a greater transparency and the facilitation of public participation to the largest possible extent in the implementation of the Convention. It launched a first call for proposals mid-2005. The selected projects are being implemented till March 2006.
