As part of the SEARCH project, an educational workshop was held in Andeket, Upper Akkar.
The project which is funded by the European Union, and coordinated by the IUCN, aims to increase social and ecological resilience in watershed ecosystems of the Mediterranean Region in the face of climate and other drivers of change.
Five members from SPNL led the workshop and gave the training sessions as well as implemented the learning activities. This workshop is part of the pilot project implementation which is in the final phases of the project. The aim of this workshop is to increase knowledge and raise awareness on water, climate change and forest conservation in the Upper Akkar region. Three target groups were chosen which are women, children and farmers first because they were seen as the most sensitive and second because they are the most capable of influencing environmental change at the local level.
These users will acquire the knowledge, skills and tools needed to adapt to environmental changes. Women, being the house keepers, will learn to manage and conserve water at the household level, adapt to climate change and learn best practices for forest conservation. Children, being the young generation and future leaders will gain the skills they need to find alternatives for water use, as well as they will learn to adapt to and mitigate climate change impacts and guide in forest management and conservation. Farmers, being the food producers, will learn to adapt sustainable technologies for water use during agricultural practices such as the use of drip irrigation. They will also learn the impacts of climate change on water resources and on agriculture and adapt to these changes. Moreover, the workshop employed learning through fun approach and hands-on experiences where outdoor activities were done for women, children and farmers. This highlights the flexibility of the educational workshop where no age limit, gender or any other limiting factor can interfere with the learning process.
The overall aim of this educational workshop is to provide knowledge today in order to achieve future sustainability. It is meant to last beyond the SEARCH project duration in terms of increasing knowledge and raising awareness, thus the community can adapt to changes with minimal vulnerabilities.
