Dates: 15-16 March 2013
Place: Dadaab, Northern Kenya
The Dadaab refugee camps and the environs is naturally a semi-arid area that has increasingly undergone extensive environmental degradation since the early 1990s when the influx of Somali refugees into the area started. The carrying capacity of the camps has actually been surpassed. There has been ever growing competition over the scarce natural resources between the refugees and the host community as well as within each group to meet their needs. The end result has been not only degradation but also fuelling of human conflict in Dadaab. UNCRD, through the Capacity Building Programme for Somali Refugees in Kenya Project has prioritized the need for environmental protection conducted environmental education training for school age children to provide them with knowledge, strategies and skills first to become familiar with the important link between environmental protection and sustainable human development.
Outputs of the training workshop
- School age children given a forum for sharing views, ideas, experiences and concerns about their living environment
- Awareness raised among Dadaab children and a sense of responsibility instilled on key environmental issues and challenges in Dadaab
- Children in the Dadaab refugee camps familiarized with the broader issue of the link between environmental protection and sustainable human development in which conflict is a key factor
- School children in Dadaab helped to embrace relevant values and genuine concern for the environment and the motivation to actively participate in its protection and improvement
- Strategies developed and skills to be used by school age children to practically care and maintain their environment imparted
(Office: UNCRD Africa Office)