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My First Impressions of the UK (Part Two)
This short message is intended to share the experiences I had during my placement in the Penkrit area of the UK. The time went very fast, but the unforgettable memories will stay with me forever. Two weeks out of the three months of the GED fellowship program were in particular very enjoyable and delightful, especially in terms of learning new things. Things were quite different from what is practised in my home country, and it was a joy getting to know some of the more interesting areas, especially in Stafford, as well as people who are very friendly and supportive. In particular, I'd like to express my gratitude to the host organisation, FWAG- Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, who were very, keen on taking care of our placement group (Adrian and I, KRY from Cambodia). These people are Julia, Chris, Patricia and Nigel, who took turns picking us up and dropping us off, which actually took about a two-hour drive to and from the hotel Holiday Inn every working day, and always responded to our enquiries in relation to the environmental works. Some particular areas of note that we visited: Cannock Chase- an Area of Outstanding for Nature Beauty (AONB).
We were busy in every place that we visited during the placement. Management within most of these areas is different from ours. Here, the inside of AONB or parks we re really new to me as everything mixes together to serve for the benefit value of people, wildlife and economic purposes. In the Peak National Park different forms of involvement such as is usual in a residential area; business shops, offices and so on are found. Communities go on with normal daily activities and their leisure time - particularly with their lovely pets. Of course it is the way of good governance and environmental democracy that various participants can be reflected, as well as a link between people, education, raising awareness, nature, wildlife and integrated planning at every stakeholder level. Involvement is fully applied in this simple way. Charity membership is always found in each organisation, which to my understanding leads to the basis of sustainable development conceptual practice that one can not easily object to. Also the important thing is that most of the areas mentioned were the ex-mining quarries where everything was destroyed, with total rebuilding from a negative point towards the restoration and acceptance for the whole country. Visiting Schools Another important activity during my stay was linked to visits to schools and other local educational institutions to share information on ecological tourism and climate from our country with the students. These topics were selected by programme co-ordinators and are a part of students' learning programmes. The most relevant thing about the visit to schools are the different levels of interest amongst students – those ranging between 9 and 12 are far more interested in the subjects and information shared than those between 14 and 18. This lead me to believe that efforts must be focused on working with future generations and the seeds of curiosity and desire to learn should be planted and grown in every child. The other important thing is that schools visited are called Eco-Schools, which are part of an international programme developed by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), and also a part of the 5 programmes sponsored by the Green Key, Young Reporters for the Environment, Blue Flag and Learning about Forest foundations. These projects have a presence in 40 countries, and their objective is for schools to work under a framework of sustainability by promoting and developing different environmentally sustainable topics. Around 40% of schools in England are involved in the programme, which means some 9000 Eco-Schools. And depending on programmes they conduct and audits performed, schools may obtain a range of awards and prizes, including bronze, silver and the prestigious green flag, which was raised and waving at the school where I gave my talk. Children conducted the presentation and tour. These children have a wide knowledge of environmental issues and good practices. I think it is important to analyse this programme in our country –with cooperation from educational and environmental authorities- with an aim to develop eco-schools, based on the leadership of our country in environmental issues. One more thing to consider is the fact that the Blue Flag concept is already applied successfully in many schools.
Poster presentation Responsibilities agreed with the Chevening Programme included preparing and presenting a poster dealing with a binding issue of Environmental Governance and Democracy. Considering experience and leadership of Costa Rica, acquired since a long time ago, I decided to share one of the priorities set forth be Costa Rican President Oscar Arias –Pace Nobel Laureate- who undertook the challenge of declaring peace at the end of last year. The objective of Peace with Nature initiative is calling all countries of the world to strengthen actions and the political commitment in order to revert environmental degradation trend resulting from the impacts of human actions on ecosystems of the globe. The presentation took place at the Eden Project premises, a wide scope, environmental complex initiative based in Cornwall, UK. The complex is made up of a series of vaults housing plant species from all the world, each of them under a reproduction of their natural environments. Vaults are made of hundreds of hexagons and some pentagons connecting all the facilities. Each one of these is a transparent pad made of hard plastic. The first vault replicates a tropical environment; the second a tempered warm environment, and the last one replicates a Mediterranean environment. Apart from the various environments, there is also a modern environmental educational centre for the general public, where topics as science, biology and other areas are taught. The presentation was made in the presence of the technical, administrative and scientific staff working on the project. The most valuable part of this presentation was the opportunity to position Costa Rica as a destination for ecological tourism, with a long history of environmental management and committed to develop a proactive international agenda in favour of global objectives stemming from environmental conventions. This is aimed at promoting a greater commitment and political action, as well as facilitating dialogue and consensus between countries, aiming at offering a quick response to the environmental crisis. In the domestic sphere, my country has acquired a voluntary commitment to turn environmental sustainability into long-term state policies reaching all aspects of economic and social development. This includes focusing on solutions, finding partners beyond the public sector, developing solid and coherent environmental management frameworks, developing action plans and the implementation of best environmental practices in public administration. Those present welcomed the initiative and the importance of following the steps of a small nation with great environmental commitments and a vast environmental and human wealth was stressed. Finally, the focus of the course enabled going deeper into the need and importance of analysing the interaction between the government, the civil society and the private sector in all decision making areas affecting the environment, and how this analysis may lead to a better governance on natural resources and sustainable development. In order to fulfil this objective, the course was conducted with key themes, and each one of them was widely discussed at class and with professors, who, in many cases, complemented their views by incorporating specialists' comments in various areas. The issue of governance building focused on innovative ways of public management and leadership and how they are now demanded as a result of the huge environmental crisis which the human race is faced with –and how they are increasingly urgent as a result of the confrontation between humans and nature, ad the need to develop new management and public policies mechanisms in decision making and leadership with a wide-ranging participation. This enabled moving deeper in terms of global initiatives and treaties, definitions of democracy and governance and how these can be linked to the environment, as well as to accountability and leadership. Concerning the issue of concepts of sustainability, better understanding was sought between the meaning of sustainability and sustainable development, as these are often used as headlines for practices and policies of many organisations, at a global, domestic and local levels. In many cases, however, doubts persist around a true understanding of concepts, a true commitment and usefulness of methods to measure success in the implementation of different policies and initiatives. In this case a deep analysis of definitions and their applicability in real life was performed, as well as on the need to manage some key concepts and methods in terms of their applicability and measurement. Concerning the issues of communication and practical tools for policy management, I have to mention that the most important part was the opportunity to work on these concrete cases and issues that colleagues selected and helped develop several tools in accordance with learning and progress they produced. A problem tree was developed with three projects and ultimately we reached conclusions on risks, and communication strategy for them. Projects might be re-taken by those working in these areas. Focus of this work in the UK was changing Londoners life style, and results are potentially interesting, although time was not enough to go deep enough into it, due to time limitations. As a general conclusion, and due to the importance of the course, I must underline the need for continued availability of resources for these programmes and allow participation of more professionals from our region (Central America), as we have a host of experience to share and help create knowledge to contribute to our countries' development, and the development of the region as a whole. I want to thank most sincerely those people who made my stay in the UK possible through the Chevening Programme, particularly Bruce Callow, political / public affairs officer, British Embassy in Costa Rica, and Ronald Vargas, Director General for the National System of Protected Natural Areas in Costa Rica, who selected me and have remained very interested on my progress in the UK.
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