Mass awareness focuses on four key approaches: • campaigns • participatory learning • informal education • formal school-based interventions. Public awareness and education programmes can be started modestly, and tai lored to meet . the needs of speci f ic populations, risks, and target. groups. These approaches can be integrated into almost all existing initiatives, whenever and wherever they take place. They can build on and support existing volunteer mobilization and peer-to-peer communications. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognises that humans are a major force in changing nature. Vast parts of the earth’s surface are transformed to meet. human needs and wants for agricultural production, water, energy, urbanisation, construction, tourism, transport and industry. In the process humans are causing threats to and massive extinction of species, depleting natural resources, reducing ecosystems and unwittingly increasing threats from natural disasters. Cultural practices that use particular species for ceremonies or medicinal purposes can put pressure on people to act in certain ways that threaten species. With climate warming, threats to the diversity of life on earth and to human well-being increase. What is CEPA? Article 13 of the Convention on Biological Diversity directs the Parties to promote and encourage understanding and develop education and public awareness programs. This Article has been interpreted in subsequent decisions to encompass communication, education and public awareness or CEPA. It is not enough to simply tell people about biodiversity and what is happening so that they can correct what they do. The changes required will not come about by rational individual choice alone. Biodiversity planners need to think differently about using communication, educationand public awareness rather than just as a way to make scientific information available to the public. What does CEPA mean? CEPA stands for Communication, Education and Public Awareness and is a term introduced for the work program of the CBD on this cross cutting theme. - CEPA deals with the processes that attract motivate and mobilize individual and collective action for biodiversity. - CEPA comprises a broad range of social instruments including information exchange, participatory dialogue, education and social marketing. - CEPA brings out common interests amongst stakeholders to conserve and use resources sustainably. - CEPA provides the means to develop networks, partnerships and support knowledge management. - CEPA provides the ways to manage the processes of multi stakeholder dialogue, and to gain cooperation of different groups. - CEPA includes action learning or action research as means to learn reflectively from experience, such as in adaptive management. - CEPA provides the tools to develop capacity to support biodiversity. - CEPA is a change management process vital to implement National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). The terms associated with CEPA C for communicating, connecting, capacity building, change in behaviour; E for educating, empowerment (learning and professional updating); P for public, public awareness, public participation, policy instrument; Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the 37 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
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