Exploring Strategies for Addressing Climate Change: The Role of an Education for Sustainable Development Perspective in Lake Victoria Catchment, Kenya

The purpose of the study was to examine Education for Sustainable Development as a possible modality of dealing with the climate change challenges in Lake Victoria and Kenya in general. The study was carried out in the Lake Victoria catchment in Kenya with the main objective of demonstrating the role that a sound and practical ESD programme can play in addressing the adverse effects of climate change, thereby contributing to solutions to the current climate change challenges. The study focused on the Kenyan project sites of Homabay, Nandi and Transmara. Options for combating the effects of climate change are of key interest to policy makers globally. International, regional and national policy makers have come up with and implemented various strategies for combating the effects of climate change such as information sharing about national greenhouse emissions, international cooperation and national activities, wide range of climate change policies and measures, energy, industry, agricultural and educational sectors related policies, international carbon trading market amongst others; despite these actions, the effects of climate change continue to worsen. In 2010, the Kenya Government came up with the National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS), this is one of the guidelines against which the study bench marks the capacity of ESD to support the efforts towards climate change abatement. The case study of Lake Victoria Catchment Environmental Education Programme (LVCEEP), an ESD project, was conducted using multiple methods of data capture. The study used random sampling to select 6 sample project schools. Total population sampling was done for the community groups and project stake holders. While the primary source of data collection was done using semi-structured in-depth interviews, questionnaires, direct observations, focus group discussions and field observations, secondary data was obtained from programme literature. The results showed that LVCEEP positively influences response to climate change. 66.7% of the teachers in the study felt that the LVCEEP activities are addressing real climate change issues. Further, 82.6% of the community members in the study were of the opinion that the projects they are implementing under LVCEEP are closely related to the subject of climate change because the projects are aimed at conserving the catchment resources and restoring the catchment ecosystem as it was before, and thereby combating the effects of climate change. Moreover, the findings indicated that there is a relationship between LVCEEP interventions and the expected outcomes of climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. The study concludes that Education for Sustainable Development should be recognized as a possible response to the effects of climate change and recommends that the findings of this exploration of the ESD programme (LVCEEP) interventions should be promoted to enhance the methods for coping with climate change and climate variability in Kenya.

DOI: openalex:W1084160501 mag:1084160501