Information for School Teachers The project focuses on the three key areas of the Biosphere Reserve – U Minh Thuong National Park, Phu Quoc National Park and the Kien Luong Hon Chong Coastal Area, with the overall objective to develop sustainable natural resource management for Kien Giang Province particularly for the protected areas and coastal mangrove forests.
Information for School Teachers Climate Change ! Biodiversity Waste Environmental Awareness Author Ms Fiona Farley, Education Specialist Editors Dr Karyl Michaels, Biodiversity Expert and Dr Peter Dart, Scientific Expert Published by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Conservation and Development of the Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve Project Address 320 Ngo Quyen Street Rach Gia City Kien Giang Province Viet Nam Email office.kgbp@giz.de Web www.kiengiangbiospherereserve.com.vn Responsible Dr Sharon Brown Graphic Design Heidi Woerner woerner_h@web.de Printed by Vinh Thinh Investment Consulting Ltd., Co HCM City, Viet Nam © giz 2011 Information for School Teachers Environmental Awareness About GIZ The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) was established on January 2011 It brings together under one roof the long-standing expertise of the German Development Service (DED), the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and InWEnt – Capacity Building International, Germany As a federally owned enterprise, it supports the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development We are also engaged in international education work around the globe GIZ operates in many fields, including economic development and employment; governance and democracy; security, reconstruction, peace building and civil conflict transformation; food security, health and basic education; and environmental protection, resource conservation and climate change mitigation For many years, Viet Nam has been a priority partner country for German Development Cooperation Projects and programmes cover the following three priority areas of cooperation, which are closely interlinked with the overarching goal of Poverty Reduction: 1) Sustainable Economic Development and Vocational Training; 2) Environmental Policy, Natural Resources and Urban Development; and 3) Health Acknowledgements Thanks go to Mr Le Anh Huy, Vice Head of the Primary Division, Department of Education and Training (DoET), Kien Giang, for his enthusiastic support throughout the development of the Resource Book Mr Huy organized the active support of over thirty primary school teachers and district education officers from schools in project areas in the province, including Phu Quoc Island The teachers and education officers participated in workshops which developed the way the material would be used, tested the activities described in the book, provided advice on the book design and contents, assisted with editing and provided feedback on the use of the book Thanks also to Mr Luong Thanh Hai, Director of the Department of Science and Technology Kien Giang Province and to Dr Peter Dart, University of Queensland for their support and advice, particularly for comments on International and local environmental and technical issues and for additional editing Thanks to GIZ project staff, Ms Nguyen Thi Viet Phuong, Mr Tan Phong Nguyen and Mr Chu Van Cuong and Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy who actively participated in the production of the manual Foreword Viet Nam was identified by the International Panel on Climate Change as one of the countries to be most affected by climate change The Mekong and Red River deltas with their high population density in low-lying lands are threatened by the rising sea level and intensity of natural disasters such as typhoons, storms and floods Further, the rapid population growth has resulted in a very high pressure on the natural resources of the inland and coastal forests which were of very high biological diversity The Mekong Delta was once renowned for its rich and special biodiversity, especially in the coastal wetlands, mangrove areas and melaleuca forests as well as the few remaining dipterocarp forests These are increasingly under threat both from population pressure and the effects of climate change In 2006, the Kien Giang Man and Biosphere (MAB) Reserve was recognized by UNESCO In response to the need for assistance to help protect the Mekong Delta against the threats from population pressure and the effects of climate change the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Australian Government (AusAID) signed a memorandum of understanding to work together The Conservation and Development of the Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve Project was the first project to be developed under this agreement The project is funded by AusAID and implemented by GIZ The project focuses on the three key areas of the Biosphere Reserve – U Minh Thuong National Park, Phu Quoc National Park and the Kien Luong Hon Chong Coastal Area, with the overall objective to develop sustainable natural resource management for Kien Giang Province particularly for the protected areas and coastal mangrove forests Introduction This resource book for teachers developed as an initiative of the environmental awareness component that is part of the Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve Project The aim of the book is to help with building environmental awareness in primary schools The book has been developed along the following steps First a survey of needs in schools was conducted; this was followed by a trainer of trainers workshop in Rach Gia City attended by over thirty teachers and education officers from all districts within the biosphere reserve The content areas for the workshop were linked to key issues being addressed in the project: Climate change and its impact, issues with waste disposal and conservation of the reserve’s biodiversity The idea for the development of this resource book came as a logical step forward from both the workshop and the information provided by the needs analysis survey From the workshop came the idea that teachers in schools in other areas within Kien Giang and other provinces within the Mekong Delta could make use of the basic information and activities for school children introduced during the workshop if they were compiled together into a book From this resource book teachers can learn more about the ways in which climate change has, and can in the future affect Viet Nam and in particular the provinces within the Mekong Delta Practical ideas for saving energy can be shared with students to help understand that we can address some of the impacts of climate change by changing our attitudes and practices towards the use of energy There is also some practical information about the problem with waste and how adopting the practice of the R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle can help to clean up the local environment and reduce the impact of pollutants like plastic bags Information and activities related to the biodiversity within the biosphere areas focuses attention on animals and plants that are threatened or critically endangered and will hopefully help teachers to build up children’s knowledge about these animals and plants and the need to protect them for the future Original line drawings of plants and animals are provided to allow teachers to photocopy them for use in the classroom In line with the Vietnamese Government’s laws relating to protection of the environment the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has issued a number of decisions regarding the teaching and learning about the environment in schools: Decision No 896/BGDT-GDTH (13th February, 2006) – Instructions for the adjustment of the teaching and learning at primary schools – teachers are given permission to use reference materials in order to develop lessons linked to children’s local knowledge Decision No 5982/BGDT-GDTH (7th July, 2008) – Instructions for the teaching and learning of local knowledge at primary schools – teachers are encouraged to provide opportunities for children to learn about such topics as biodiversity within a local context In addition to these decisions the MoET has also instituted two sets of criteria for schools to help them work towards achieving the status of a “Green, Clean and Beautiful School” Both decisions support teacher use of references to provide information about the local area This resource book is in line with the MoET’s current initiatives to highlight the importance of teaching and learning about the environment and will help schools build their capacity to become clean and green Hopefully, teachers will enjoy exploring this book and find it a useful resource Table of Contents 10 16 18 20 22 24 29 About GIZ Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction Climate Change Introduction to climate change Impact of climate change in Viet Nam Protecting our coastline in Kien Giang Pollution in the ocean The importance of forests What can we do? Biodiversity 30 34 36 37 38 40 41 42 44 46 52 What is biodiversity? Introduction to special animals of Kien Giang Asian small clawed otters Hairy nosed otters Dugong Green turtles Hawksbill turtles Sarus cranes Lesser adjutant storks Mangroves Seagrass habitats 55 Waste 56 60 Introduction to waste What is recycling? 67 References ! Waste Plastic litter pollutes our environment Everyday we throw things away Many things we buy come in some form of packaging like cans, boxes and bottles This ends up as waste too The waste we throw away may contain harmful chemicals Rotting food contains methane gas, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in our atmosphere and adds to global warming About one third of what we throw away is organic waste that will rot Food waste is an important part of this The softer parts of plants such as leaves and flowers break down quickly but woody parts such as stems can also eventually be broken down The rest of our waste is mostly plastic, glass, metal and old clothes Much of what we throw away is buried in holes in the ground called landfills But landfill spaces are filling up very quickly and we will eventually run out of places to bury our waste Plastic Plastic is made from oil Many scientists believe that we will not have much oil left in another 50 years Plastic takes a very long time to break down Plastic bags can take 10 - 20 years to break down and plastic bottles can last indefinitely Because plastic is very light this means that it will float easily in the air and on water, often traveling long distances Plastic litter pollutes our environment It gets into rivers and oceans There are about 18,000 pieces of plastic floating in each square kilometre of our oceans It is estimated that plastic kills up to 1,000,000 sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals and huge numbers of fish each year Turtles, dolphins and killer whales can choke or starve by confusing plastic bags with jellyfish Did you know? ton of Recycling one ough plastic saves en energy to run a one refrigerator for month Recycle lady 56 It takes 125 recycled plastic bottle s to make one of the large garbag e bins sometimes se en on our streets Paper and cardboard Our natural resources like trees will not last forever unless we manage our forests in a sustainable manner Many trees have been cut down to provide timber and to be used in making paper But trees are vital to the life of other living creatures They help to regulate the temperature, affect the amount of rain on land and keep our air supplied with oxygen which we breathe in and need to live The process for making paper also uses a lot of water and that’s another resource we need to look after Cardboard When paper that has been thrown into the waste goes to a landfill it produces dangerous greenhouse gases when it breaks down Newspaper is the greatest source of paper waste followed by magazines and advertising material Many people think that because paper is biodegradable that it is OK to dump it in the natural environment However, paper waste can cause harm to animals and marine life if it gets into their environments Did you know? Rec y of p cling t ape r an on card d b 15 t oard s ave rees s Most of the f paper o n o t cardboard u Every sed in ves: a s d e l p c a c y k a c g , in e l r g has also oi itres of been used b • 400 l lowatts of efore ki • 4,100 ity, 30 % of electric eters of More than ic m used to the paper • cub nd rs is a ater newspape t landfill w in r f p o s litre • 31,78 recycled Keeping Rach Gia City ‘Clean and Green’ 57 WASTE Metals – steel and aluminium People dig minerals out of the ground to make metals such as aluminium and steel A lot of heat energy is needed to turn the minerals into metal When oil, gas and coal are used in the production of metals they give off dangerous greenhouse gases When steel and aluminium are not recycled they often ends up in landfill Recycling steel and aluminium including drink and other cans means less mining of raw materials used to make them Recycling aluminium saves millions of tons of greenhouse gases each year Did you know? Producing 20 s aluminium can from recycled the materials uses s same energy a om making can fr raw materials ne cling o By recy you m can u i n i m alu ugh ing eno ur v a s e r a yo to run e energy for thre n o i s i v tele pa nd kee a s r u p o h n for u o b l u b light ours to 12 h So much ene rgy is needed for m aking aluminium th at the factories tha t make it need to ve their own generato rs Polystyrene Polystyrene is made from petroleum It does not biodegrade and it crumbles into small pieces that not break down Polystyrene takes up more space in landfills than paper It is mostly the polystyrene that hasn’t been used to package food that is used for recycling This would include the polystyrene foam that is used to package things like TV‘s and DVD players The things we use in our daily lives made from polystyrene include coolers to keep drinks cold and food cold and the containers we get when we buy food from a ‘com binh dan‘ to take away These coolers and containers have most probably been made from recycled polystyrene Polystyrene does not biodegrade Glass Glass is made from sand and other minerals People dig sand out of the ground or sandhills This can damage the environment When we recycle glass jars and bottles we don’t use as much sand Glass can be melted down and turned into new products again and again This is much cheaper than making new glass Most glass bottles and jars contain some recycled glass Waste 58 Organic waste Waste that will rot is called organic waste It may be food waste, grass, branches, leaves and other garden waste This can be recycled too Almost one third of the food we buy ends up in the bin Some of this is peelings and trimmings from vegetables and things that we don’t normally eat such as bones from meat However we could reduce food waste by saving leftovers and not buying more food than we need ! Reduce food waste Some kinds of organic waste such as vegetable peelings can be left to rot in an empty rubbish bin with the bottom cut out or left in a corner of a garden After a while the waste turns into compost Compost can be added to soil to improve soil quality and make plants grow better Egg shells, tea leaves and tea bags can also be composted Even sewage can be recycled Once it has been treated in a special way it can be used as fertilizer on farmland In some cities solid waste residues are filtered out and can be burned to produce electricity Gas from the sewage treatment plant can also be burned to create electricity Using compost to grow plants Organic food waste 59 WASTE ! What is recycling? R’s Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Recycling is the process of turning waste products into usable products Recycling can be divided into three categories: REDUCE means lessening the amount of items or resources that are consumed, using only what is needed and looking for alternatives that will lessen our use We use energy saving products to reduce energy and water usage In our homes this means using energy-saving light bulbs REUSE means extending the life or reusing an item rather than throwing it away If products are well made they will last for a long time and we can sometimes easily repair them We can use rechargeable batteries We can pass on clothes we don’t want anymore to another family in need We can wash out our glass jars and reuse them to store something else We should try to use things more than once gs can be used Plastic shopping ba try a cloth or again and again or sket instead woven shopping ba Use both s ides of a piece of paper RECYCLE means to process old, used items in order that the material can be used to make new products Products we buy in shops should be packaged in recycled materials Factories can be involved in using recyclable materials to make new products instead of making a product from raw materials Plastic Examples of things that are often recycled rs glass bottles and ja mixed papers Children playing Recycling game 60 plastic bott les newspape rs aluminium cans Recycling tips Aluminium recycling Aluminium soft drink cans and beer cans can all be recycled Steel recycling Steel cans that can be recycled include: food cans, pet food cans, coffee tins, oil cans, aerosol cans and bottle tops • Paint cans can be recycled but make sure the paint left on the insides of the can has dried thoroughly before giving to recycler Glass, bottles and jars Only recycle glass bottles and jars, not drinking glasses ceramics or ovenproof glass • Don’t put any broken glass out for recycling Wrap in newspaper and put out in the garbage Milk and juice cartons Milk and juice cartons can be recycled • The containers can also be used to plant seedlings to protect them from weeds 61 WASTE ! Plastic Recycled plastics are processed to create polyethylene granulates, which are used for the production of garbage bags and plastic pipes Recycle to save energy and the environment Plastics made from different chemicals are labeled by number Generally only plastics labeled with a 1, or can be recycled • Don’t mix containers with plastic bags • Empty bottles can be used as mini greenhouses Cut off narrow end and place over seedlings Other ways to reuse plastic or an alternative to using plastic g food Instead of coverin y with plastic wrap tr wl or using a plate or bo hable store food in a was container with a lid Use empty dishwashing liquid g bottles for waterin plants or filling a steam iron Reuse plas tic containers to store foods like r ice and grains as w ell as spices Collect yog hurt, margarine and ice cream tainers to give to kindergarte ns and schools Use small empty soft drink or water bottles as drink bottles for school Newspapers • Keep the paper dry for recycling Other ways to reuse plastic or an alternative to using plastic Plastic bags You can also use p up newspapers to wra re organic waste befo e ag putting in the garb Newspapers can be used to clean glas s Newspape rs shredde d can also be added to compost o r used on or in soil to smother weeds Things made of plastic Paper and cardboard Used paper is a valuable resource (paper can be recycled - times) so be sure to put it out to be recycled Newspaper 62 Products that can be recycled Cardboard boxes, magazines and brochures, photocopy paper, envelopes, paper folders, coloured paper and some office stationery Products that can’t be recycled Carbon paper, food wrappers, sticky tape and sticky labels, tissues and paper towels, wax or plastic coated paper, tissue gift wrapping paper, fax paper rolls, staples, paper clips, spiral bindings and other metal fasteners on some folders Magazines Get organised by setting up a container at home or school to collect paper and cardboard for recycling Reusing Paper r for Use shredded pape of packaging instead form r buying some othe l or packing materia Donate old books and magazines to a school or public library Teachers c an use cardboard to make teaching a nd learning aid s for the classroom Reuse gift wrapping paper, pap er bags, envelopes , paper boxes, files and posters Use both sides and as much of each sheet as possible Reuse empty packets of food for maths activities in the classroom 63 WASTE ! If different types of materials are mixed up they cannot be recycled What can’t we recycle? Not all kinds of waste can be recycled it is hard to recycle different kinds of rubbish if they are mixed together Paper covered with food scraps can’t be used to make new paper So DON’T mix recyclables with non-recyclables Some packaging mixes plastic and metal If the two different kinds of waste cannot be separated, they cannot be recycled Some snack packets are made of plastic and metal – these cannot be recycled Some chemical waste from factories is too dangerous and difficult to recycle However even waste like this doesn’t have to end up in a landfill or dumped in places where it might cause harm There are safe ways to burn this waste and the heat produced can be used to make electricity How can you make a difference? Remember the three R’s: REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE much Try to REDUCE how ur rubbish you and yo family produce king a For example try ta ping plastic bag or shop n you bag with you whe go to the market or supermarket Before you put anything in the rubbish bin ask yourself if you could REUSE it in stead Try to RECYCLE as much of your waste as possible and don’t forget to separate your recycling into paper, glass, metal and plastic Remember – If different types of materials are mixed up they cannot be recycled Take a bag to the market and reduce the use of plastic bags 64 65 WASTE 66 References 67 References Hill, Tracy Reduce, Reuse, Recycle/Addressing Environmental Concerns in the Community Ready-Ed Publications, Western Australia, 2003 Tsernjavski, Nancy A.B.Sea/A Cross-curricular Coastal and Marine Studies Planning Guide Level 1-5 (Prep-Year 8) Gould League of Victoria Ltd, Victoria, 2001 Orme, Helen Earth in Danger – Rubbish and Recycling ticktock media Limited, Great Britain, 2008 Bingham, Caroline and Morgan, Ben, Nature Encyclopedia/First Reference Book for young readers and writers Dorling Kindersley, London, 2008 Reid, Alan Coasting Activities for coastal excursions and beach holidays Gould League of Victoria Inc., Victoria, 1992 Cowling, Sid, Wetlands Wildlife/The Nature of Wetlands in South Australia Gould League of Victoria Inc., Victoria, 1989 Wilkes, Angela First Nature Activity Book DK Publishing, London, 2007 Reed, Hannah The Pond Eleanor Curtain Publishing, Australia, 2001 Green Forest Magazine, Issue 15 published by Education for Nature Viet Nam (ENV), Hanoi, March 2002 O’Keefe, Maureen and Pike, Katy, Go Facts/Why Recycle? Blake Education, New South Wales, 2004 Green Forest Magazine, Issue 18 published by Education for Nature Viet Nam (ENV), Hanoi, September 2003 Croser, Nigel Recycling Plastic Era Publications, South Australia, 2004 Green Forest Magazine, Issue 21 published by Education for Nature Viet Nam (ENV), Hanoi, February 2005 Wallis, Wilhelmina and Smyth, Chris Ponding Activities for your local lake, pond or puddle Gould League of Victoria Inc, Victoria, 1992 Gould League, Environmental Starters Gould League of Victoria Inc., Victoria, 1981 68 Photo credits and captions All photographs and drawings were produced by GIZ Viet Nam 69 ! Climate Change Biodiversity Waste DoET Kien Giang Department of Education and Training DoST Kien Giang Department of Science and Technology ... Vinh Thinh Investment Consulting Ltd., Co HCM City, Viet Nam © giz 2011 Information for School Teachers Environmental Awareness About GIZ The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit... management for Kien Giang Province particularly for the protected areas and coastal mangrove forests Introduction This resource book for teachers developed as an initiative of the environmental awareness. .. came the idea that teachers in schools in other areas within Kien Giang and other provinces within the Mekong Delta could make use of the basic information and activities for school children introduced