Live&Learn Environmental Education Annual Report www.livelearn.org Partners With great appreciation The Board of Trustees and the staff of Live & Learn Environmental Education wish to acknowledge the support and valuable partnerships shared with organisations, Governments and communities in fulfilling the commitments of our work In particular we thank our major donors; European Union Australian Agency for International development, New Zealand Agency for International Development, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, United Nations development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, Macarthur Foundation, Packard Foundation, Marisla Foundation, Global Green Grants and Vodafone Live&Learn Environmental Education Australia Fiji Islands Solomon Islands International Office Executive Director: Christian Nielsen Ross House - 4th Floor 247-251 Flinders Lane Melbourne 3000 Victoria, Australia P: +61 96501291 F: +61 96501391 E: livelearn@livelearn.org Country Manager: Doris Ravai 87 Gordon Street Private Mail Bag Suva – Fiji P: +679 3315 868 F: +679 3305 868 E: fiji@livelearn.org Country Manager: Jacob Zukuli DSE Building –Lombi Crescent Street New China Town PO Box 1454 Honiara – Solomon Islands P: +677 23697/24453 F: +677 24454 E: solomons@livelearn.org Northern Territory Manager: Robbie Henderson PO Box 1444, Katherine Northern Territory, 0850 Australia M: +61 437 683 929 E: robbie.henderson@livelearn.org Country Manager: Fathimath Shafeeqa H Huba 1st Floor Medhuziyaaraiy Magu Male’ Republic of Maldives Tel: +960 330 3585 E: maldives@livelearn.org Cambodia Papua New Guinea Regional Advisor: Jady Smith Country Manager: Bunthan Keat MRC Building, 3rd Floor, Room 303 #364, Preah Monivong Blvd Sangkat Phsar Domthkov Khan Chamkarmorn GPO Box 91, Phnom Penh Cambodia T: +855 23 997 753 T/F: +855 23 224 053 E: livelearn@online.com.kh Maldives Country Manager: Ben Ngava Talesea Local Level Government Offices PO Box 844 Kimbe, West New Britain Province Papua New Guinea P: +675 983 4716 P/F: +675 983 4237 E: png@livelearn.org Vanuatu Country Manager: Kali Vatoko Fres Wota Four (opposite Fres Wota School) PO Box 1629 Port Vila - Vanuatu P: +678 27448 F: +678 27455 E: vanuatu@livelearn.org Vietnam Country Manager: Do Van Nguyet 32 Xuan Dieu Hanoi Vietnam M: +844 371 901 09 E: vietnam@livelearn.org www.livelearn.org Partners & Offices 31 Annual Report 2008 Contents Vision & Guiding Principle Executive Director Report Organisational Structure Regional Manager’s Report Avoided Deforestation Regional Projects 10 Australia 12 Cambodia 14 Fiji 16 Maldives 18 Papua New Guinea 20 Solomon Islands 22 Vanuatu 24 Finances 26 Board of Trustees 30 Partners 31 Vision & Guiding Principles Live & Learn Environmental Education’s mission is to reduce poverty and foster greater understanding and action towards a sustainable future through education, community mobilisation and supportive partnerships Our Purpose and Aims • Develop and implement projects and programs for teachers, schools, communities and other target groups in the field of environmental and development education • Encourage individual and community attitudes, values and actions that are ethical and environmentally sustainable • Share knowledge, skills, learning experiences and resources with others for the benefit of the physical and human environment • Promote the integration of environmental, human, cultural and peace concepts in all education projects and programs Guiding Principles We believe that local knowledge and global understanding are the starting points in developing an ethic in environmental and development education Local ownership of environmental and development education programs, open participation and equality remain the foundation of our organisation We aim to strengthen this foundation through the following guiding principles: • Live & Learn seeks to establish action-based, effective and creative learning models and teaching methodologies of environmental and development issues in the developed and developing world Vision & Guiding Principles • Live & Learn emphasises the importance of linking schools, school managers and teachers with the community, chiefs, elders, parents and NGOs so that communities in their entirety are involved with environmental and development education • Live & Learn promotes attitudes, policies, institutions and practical actions that support communitybased education and sustainable development • Live & Learn advocates and promotes peaceful and humanitarian activities and actions in recognition that peaceful and cooperative partnerships are a fundamental foundation for building sustainable futures • Live & Learn strives to work in appropriate partnerships with local teachers, communities, NGOs, and government agencies, respecting their position and addressing their needs • Live & Learn shares knowledge, information and lessons learnt with national partners and colleagues along with the wider regional and international community • Live & Learn does not discriminate between gender, race, political opinions, age, sexual preferences or religion and does at all times promote equality and fairness among staff, beneficiaries and partners Executive Director’s Report Building on strengths and commitment This past year Live & Learn has focused on diversifying our support base and networks while continuing to ensure our work is grounded in community-based institutions and organisations The expansion of many local economies has seen an increased interest for natural resources, in particular; timber, fish and palm oil This–often unsustainable–extraction of resources, especially forest resources, has escalated risks associated with climate change and provision of safe drinking water Communities need to be able to continually assess the broad range of risks that large-scale developments can bring and–based on such knowledge and analysis of those risks–be then able to take charge of their own development Live & Learn has continued to advocate and provide support for organising and mobilising communities towards counteracting increased pressure on natural resources This includes aligning community structures and processes with participatory principles, transparency and accountable leadership alongside empowering all groups within communities, especially women, to be advocates for action and change In the context of Live & Learn’s work this particularly relates to mobilising sustainable livelihoods, providing sound environmental management, construction and maintenance of water and sanitation infrastructure, and developing youth leadership One of the most significant achievements of the past year was the provision of safe drinking water and sanitation to more than 30,000 people in rural island communities in Papua New Guinea and Fiji Trials on the development of composting toilets, both in PNG and in Cambodia, were also carried out with promising preliminary results 2007 has also seen a wealth of education resource development; significantly strengthened by our use of local artists to ensure relevant and familiar illustrations, coupled with professional graphic design to ensure that Live & Learn is at the forefront for meeting high standards and expectations for education materials All our education resources, research findings and technical reports are available via our website www livelearn.org and we welcome their use to support other programs and organisations in their work Climate change, water and forests are three big thematic areas for the year ahead New programmes will commence on sustainable livelihoods and rural learning on the Tonle Sap in Cambodia; community-based environmental management and gender training in the Maldives; protection of forest and reef systems in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands; climate change and avoided deforestation in Vanuatu and peace building and waste management in Fiji The most valuable asset of Live & Learn is the immense commitment from our staff and network partners towards improving living conditions for thousands of people living in poor and resource-constrained areas This commitment has strengthened with new realities of climate change, lack of food security and conflict and my greatest acknowledgement goes to our staff and managers that are working and living many hours in the field with communities facing difficult challenges This commitment will pave the way for further achievements in the coming years and we will continue to put communities and people at the centre of everything we Christian Nielsen Executive Director Executive Director’s Report Organisational Structure of Trustees Board VANUATU NAURU MALDIVES CAMBODIA Asia Regional Office FIJI AUSTRALIA International Office Pacific Regional Office PAPUA NEW GUINEA VIETNAM ees Organisational Structure l Advisor y Committ Regional Office SOLOMON ISLANDS Country Office nica Indigenous Programs h Tec AUSTRALIA In-country Program Regional Manager’s Report Growing in a Sustainable Way Live & Learn’s long-term goal is to establish Regional Management Teams to encourage greater regional co-operation, networking and the conscious development of a regional identity and focus The Asian regional program has a focus on Cambodia and the Maldives Over the past 12 months both country programs have grown exponentially, now with more projects and larger teams of skilled and committed staff that will continue to work on a range of challenging issues community-based organisations, communities, special interest groups, and students Our Strategic Vision covers a very diverse scope of thematic areas and to effectively cover these we have developed strong partnerships to strengthen our approach rather than to duplicate the work of others Ultimately we hope that through such partnerships the communities we work with can gain increased benefits as the activities of different organizations become more coordinated The Live & Learn Strategic Vision 2020, completed last year, has helped to coordinate and focus our approach The Maldives and Cambodia Live & Learn teams have made significant progress on developing their individual country strategies that complement and build upon the organisations Strategic Vision The thematic areas of priority in the Asia program include: water sanitation & hygiene, sustainable use of biodiversity, environmental governance, natural resource-based conflict management, sustainable energy options, and waste management In the Maldives we have formed some mutually beneficial corporate partnerships such as with ecotourism resorts where we work with their staff and local communities on environmental management issues One of our larger organizational partnerships has developed for the specific focus of developing a ‘Floating Latrine Design’ in collaboration with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) as well as other partners This partnership helps us to maximize the use of action-based approaches: merging the technical engineering skills of EWB with Live & Learn’s education and community mobilization skills Live & Learn strives to work in appropriate partnerships and we are working with a wide range of partners including: Government, non-government organisations, Live & Learn is expanding in response to interest from individuals, government and organizations in other countries that are seeking a more sustainable quality of life Over the past year the first steps towards setting up Live & Learn in Vietnam were taken and potential opportunities in South Asia, particularly in response to specific requests from Sri Lanka, Bhutan and India, will be pursued From its early Pacific focus Live & Learn now truly has an Asia Pacific focus, but it is not just geographical –it is philosophical: we are unified by a desire to work toward reducing poverty and fostering greater understanding and action towards a sustainable future through education community mobilization and supportive partnerships It is certainly challenging work but it is important to remember that you are part of a large and growing team of like-minded people who are there to support you I wish you all lots of success in your activities for the future and look forward to continuing to strengthen Live & Learn through our collaboration with all the offices Jady Smith Regional Manager: Asia Regional Manager’s Report Avoided Deforestation Protecting livelihoods and tackling climate change T hose working in the climate change arena are looking at ways of mitigating dangerous climate change through curbing the manner in which we treat our forests There exists a key relationship between forests and climate change Deforestation and degradation accounts for approximately 20% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (Mollicone et al., 2007) While this loss of forests contributes to emissions, forest ecosystems are also important for sequestering and storing carbon Forests, as large stores and potential emitters of carbon are therefore a key element of the climate change debate Among the many and varied tools for mitigating climate change is that of Avoided Deforestation The central idea is to create an economic incentive to curb the need for deforestation by forest dependent people For each tonne of carbon not released through avoiding deforestation and degradation of the world’s forests, one carbon credit (equivalent to one tonne) can be produced and sold into the ever growing carbon market This idea is gaining increasing attention in both voluntary carbon markets and in mandatory schemes These projects, otherwise known through the Reduced Emissions through Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) policy mechanism, are on the table for implementation within the post2012 Kyoto Protocol framework Avoided Deforestation Governments, NGOs and international organisations are turning their attention to Avoided Deforestation as a way to speed climate change mitigation, conserve forest ecosystems, pursue sustainable development objectives and involve developing nations further in the climate change agenda While Avoided Deforestation projects provide an avenue for climate change mitigation, few examples of their implementation and overall success are currently available Current debates about how to structure and manage these projects focus on technical, political and financial issues The involvement of local forest dependent people is, however, one of the most important but under emphasised issues in this debate and deserves much attention their access and rights to forests become increasingly restricted by ranchers, loggers, public and private expansion Poorly managed Avoided Deforestation projects could continue this pattern of disenfranchising and further marginalising local, forest dependent communities There is the possibility that once large amounts of money become available through these projects, corruption and abuse of community rights will increase as land speculation, land grabbing and increased state and expert control over forests ensues Conversely, well managed Avoided Deforestation projects can recognise the important role of local communities in sustainable forest management by providing an avenue for their continued or increased stewardship A well managed project If locals not understand why international investors are sending money, or even what the climate change issue is, it will be very difficult to ensure that deforestation and degradation are avoided Much of the world’s remaining forests exist in developing nations, especially tropical forest ecosystems The numbers of people dependant on these forests for their livelihoods is immense A report by the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development states that over 350 million of the world’s poorest people rely almost entirely on forests for their subsistence and survival needs (Salim & Ullsten, 1999) These least developed communities face continuing challenges as will create income generation, social capital and raise living standards through generating meaningful involvement with local communities Involvement needs to start very early on in the process where land rights and general project viability is being discussed Conflicts over land to be used under these projects can only be resolved with the consultation and involvement of locals An important aspect of the involvement issue is that of knowledge transfer If locals not understand why international investors are sending money, or even what the climate change issue is, it will be very difficult to ensure that deforestation and degradation are avoided This knowledge transfer to local communities is especially important where contracts will be signed between local communities and companies Without education and involvement of local communities, these projects could produce extremely negative outcomes High level involvement from local communities will provide greater opportunity for communication and information exchange In less successful Avoided Deforestation projects, there has been a large communication gap between local communities and other key players such as project developers, governments and international investors This gap is often seen through power imbalances translated through language, knowledge and information In failing to address this inequity, these projects have produced poor outcomes for local communities and have damaged the project overall NGOs can play an important role in generating and supporting local community involvement Donor agencies and NGOs may be central in ensuring that the benefits of Avoided Deforestation projects reach local peoples These organisations are often highly experienced in projects within the developing world and bring high-level experience and technical knowledge In addition to this, they are generally not seeking large profits for projects and come with a prosustainable development mandate As project developers, they can represent the rights of locals and in cases be objective intermediaries Avoided Deforestation projects address real and very necessary environmental needs Whether these needs are effectively responded to requires an understanding that environmental, social and economic issues are intrinsically linked By ensuring the meaningful involvement of local forest dependent communities, Avoided Deforestation projects may be highly successful This meaningful involvement will require trust, responsibility and partnership on behalf of all players but the projected outcomes more than justify this commitment References Mollicone, D et al., (2007) Elements for the expected mechanisms on ‘reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation REDD’ under UNFCCC, Environmental Research Letters, vol.2, pp.1-7 Salim, E & Ullsten, O., (1999) Our Forests, Our Future, Report of the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, Cambridge University Press Written by Anjali Brown Avoided Deforestation Regional Projects Biodiversity Conservation Project T he Education for Biodiversity Conservation Project is a European Union funded regional project that aims to strengthen the capacity of teachers and educational institutions to deliver quality education about biodiversity conservation to communities across the Pacific The major achievement for the Education for Biodiversity Conservation Project for this year was the completion of the teaching and learning resource to support the integration of Biodiversity Conservation Education across the region ‘Discovering Biodiversity – An Educators Guide to Exploring Natures Variety’ provides teachers and students with an opportunity to learn about, investigate, and take action to conserve the amazing variety of life in the Pacific The resource was developed to fulfil the following criteria; • Complement existing curricula, • Challenge educators to adopt student centred methods of teaching and learning, • Be relevant to address the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan priorities, and • Be conducive to increasing youth participation in sustainable biodiversity management 10 Regional Projects The completed resource contains: • A teachers guide including a ‘How to Use the Resource’ section; an introduction to student centred learning; Teaching Techniques and definitions of best practice; Environmental Education; and key biodiversity conservation concepts • Teacher’s pre-reading, a short text that introduces the concept of each learning outcome in detail for preparation for each of the learning activities • 35 learning activities following the Inquiry Learning Model, designed to teach the key concepts and learning outcomes in each module • Schools Action Project section designed to give teachers inspiration and clear instruction as to how to carry out focused action projects to complement their students learning Along with Live & Learn’s Biodiversity Education team, this resource was developed with assistance and support from many organisations, teachers, government departments and individuals Considerable effort has been made to ensure the final resource is effective, appropriate and adequately reflects the educational needs, practical constraints and biodiversity issues, which exist across the region The ‘Discovering Biodiversity’ resource was launched in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea on May 22nd to coincide with local celebrations for the International Day for Biological Diversity The next phase of the project will see the Biodiversity Education team running training workshops across the region aimed at strengthening the capacity of teachers and educators to use the resource and become effective facilitators of action based and critical biodiversity education Another significant achievement for this year was the regional project being showcased at the 8th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas, in October 2007 in Alotau, Papua , New Guinea The Conference is a key regional meeting of government agencies, NGOs, community based organisations, and donor bodies to discuss and develop a joint vision for conservation in the Pacific islands At this conference Live & Learn’s Biodiversity Education project was selected by the conference drafting committee as one of the success stories of biodiversity conservation projects in the whole Pacific Region This acknowledgement in front of regional biodiversity conservation peers will contribute significantly to the success and acceptance of this project across the region Maldives The Maldives office has had a busy and productive year whilst also reflecting on their approaches The staff constantly strive to improve community engagement and empowerment Mobilising communities through community based facilitators L ive & Learn Maldives, through the Environmental Awareness component of the Regional Development Project (phase 2), is–for the first time–trialing community based facilitators to mobilise the communities into action on issues regarding water and sanitation, waste and land and beach management Live & Learn discussed the approach with stakeholders and considered the proposed approach for a number of reasons Reflection on past activities identified some weaknesses in previous approaches centered on using only trained, employed facilitators Whilst there are benefits to using trained and experienced Live & Learn staff to conduct training sessions there are also some disadvantages; namely high travel costs and lost time through travel, but most significantly there is the methodological weaknesses of reduced sustainability and potential 18 Maldives disempowerment of the community This is of particular concern when community mobilisation is a key goal for the actions The new approach involves community facilitators, trained as a core group of personnel, to deliver training in the respective communities and report back to Live & Learn Two Community Facilitators have been resourced by Live & Learn on each island to deliver training The criteria used to select facilitators were; having a teaching and facilitation background; being well respected by the members of the communities in which they work and live and their motivation and enthusiasm to conduct training in their own communities These community facilitators will receive intensive training on how to deliver and effectively use the training materials and resources This approach is considered to be much more aligned with the aspirations of ‘regional development’ with multiple benefits, including: strengthening capacity at Atoll level (capacity), benefits would be sustained at local level (sustainability) links the community and trainers (empowerment) and significantly reduced travel costs (time & money) While the field time of the Live & Learn team will be slightly reduced, the support role to the community facilitators will significantly increase In terms of quality, Live & Learn will ensure that they up-skill the facilitators and also monitor their performance This approach will require increased monitoring and evaluation to ensure quality control but the sustainability of such an approach is higher as more skills are developed within the community and there is less reliance on external inputs The modified approach is strongly linked with adaptation of materials and specific development of skills in local community facilitators and is aimed to increase the local capacity and support community empowerment Training materials will be developed based on the community toolkits from the TA 4614-MLD Promoting Sound Environmental Management in the Aftermath of the Tsunami Disaster Overall the programme incorporates a wide variety of methods for planning, action, record keeping, reflection and monitoring and evaluation–from the beginning of the project to the end The methodology itself has application in project implementation as well as management National Environmental Studies curriculum For the latter half of 2007 Live & Learn staff in the Maldives concentrated on finalising the curriculum materials developed for the Educational Development Center under the UNICEF funded project The materials have been finalised with the support of the respective staff from the Educational Development Center and other stakeholders An e-learning course has been developed by Live & Learn for the teachers in the outer island communities to familiarise themselves with the approaches used in the materials developed for the Environmental Studies curriculum Web and CD-based-courses have been developed for teachers who teach environmental studies in primary schools Chilli project The chilli project is a joint venture between the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) in Australia, the Live & Learn Environmental Education Maldives (LLEE) and Soneva Fushi Resorts This project, officially titled “Towards Environmentally Sustainable Equitable and empowered communities” is funded via IWDA Board Member Trisha Broadbridge’s annual Tsunami anniversary fundraising event and donations made to IWDA’s tsunami appeal from the Australian public The purpose of the project is to enhance the strategic development of women through capacity building in livelihood opportunities and increasing participation in decision making through gender and environment training The livelihood opportunity comes in the form of chilli cultivation and the development of chilli sauce which would be the first of its kind in the Maldives as chilli sauce is imported from other countries rather than processed locally The island of Kelaa in H A Atoll has been selected for the pilot phase of the project The activities of the project for the years 2008 – 2009 will be based on the following objectives Provide sustainable opportunity to women farmers in target communities in Maldives; Increase Women’s participation in decision making and leadership and increase awareness and understanding of gender and environment issues in target community The activities looming ahead in this “Hot Project” includes among others, a recipe competition for the chilli sauce, development of the chilli production facility, training with women’s group on processing chilli sauce and community training on environment and gender National Public Awareness Campaign on Waste The National Public Awareness Program has successfully utilized print and electronic media to convey messages about waste management Furthermore sectoral and community training were also conducted During 2008 we will concentrate on monitoring and evaluating the campaign through training and other mediums We have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Information Arts and Legal Reform and have embarked on a joint venture of producing a weekly TV program called “Asseyri” which is aired on the local Television channel The year ahead looks promising and the team is very much inspired by the work carried out in the Live & Learn Maldives Office Maldives 19 Papua New Guinea Live & Learn PNG has continued to raise awareness of local and regional environmental and social issues amongst the communities where we work It has been a very challenging but productive year Our staff and partners RiverCare ne of the pioneer members of our staff, Mrs Elyne Jonda, has returned to secondary school teaching We would like to extend a warm thank you for her contribution towards the establishment and expansion of Live & Learn PNG, since it started in 2004 A smooth transition took place in January as the reigns of Country Manager were passed to Ben Ngava The current RiverCare program was successfully completed this year We plan to continue the work in our pilot schools together with the Education for Biodiversity Conservation project There is interest and desire to extend the program into other schools in the province and indeed throughout PNG, however, such expansion is dependent on funding During 2007 the PNG office has , been fortunate to have had the support from several volunteers Robert and Kate, (Australian Volunteers International (AVI)) have provided immense technical input and capacity building in the areas of finance and administration The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (RWSSP) is greatly assisted by “Engineers Without Borders” and also New Zealand Volunteer Services Abroad (VSA) volunteer, Paul, who will assist our national engineer with project implementation Community-based Water Management and Education O 20 Papua New Guinea To date this programme has seen the completion of 20 tanks and over 66 youths from the target communities trained in the construction and maintenance of ferro-cement tanks To record the success, a film crew from Asia Works Television visited to make a documentary of the project In addition we were delighted with an invitation for Ben Ngava to attend the 13th Poverty Environment Partnership Conference, Manila and share experiences and lessons learned with people from organizations from other parts of the Asia Pacific regions funded under the Poverty Environment Partnership Program This project is due to be completed in mid-2008, however, we would like to see it expanded into other communities Education for Biodiversity Conservation (EBC) This has been a very busy and exciting year for the project in PNG Siwa Kupe and the PNG EBC team have worked tirelessly over the past year in a coordinated effort with EBC officers from Vanuatu and Solomon Islands and the regional coordinator to develop and produce the Education for Biodiversity Teachers Manual which is now completed and printed Awareness workshops and meetings were held between stake-holders, partners and teachers from our pilot schools throughout the period The EBC Teachers’ Manual was officially launched in PNG on the 22nd of May, International Biodiversity day, at the Independence Park and involved students and teachers from pilot schools and our partners; The Nature Conservancy, Mahonia Na Dari and New Britain Palm Oil Company It was a great success Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) PNG is part of the regional Education for Sustainable Development project Following on from workshops held last year–and the results of the survey carried out by the ESD committee– training workshops were held to address identified needs and issues faced by communities Two of these involved demonstrations and training conducted by our engineer, Peter Pak, in the construction of VIP latrines and the third was a training workshop on how to write project proposals and make submissions for funding to government agencies for community projects Another important activity, led by Clarence Burain, was the development of a traveling story book based on the pilot community’s experience This will be used as a case study when the project moves into its replication stage With the project ending in early 2009, we are making arrangements with the Education Department, partners and stake holders to develop an ESD course for student teachers in teacher training colleges Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (RWSSP) This has been one of our most challenging projects though we have managed to meet many of our targets Funded by EU under the PNG Department of Health Rural Health Improvement Program and coordinated by the EU agency, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation program, the project aims to improve health and living conditions of people in rural communities It has two components this project we have been able to deliver health, hygiene and sanitation education to more than 2500 people in four communities and trained 35 HIV/AIDS community trainers We have also completed one gravity feed water supply system, 24 rainwater catchments and tanks, bore wells and 360 VIP latrines Five year Strategic Plan This year marks another milestone for Live & Learn PNG With the assistance and guidance of our AVI volunteer, Kate Mutsaers we have been able to develop our year strategic action plan which sees us through to 2013 The strategic action plan covers main thematic program areas which we hope will shape our Through this project we have been able to deliver health, hygiene and sanitation education to more than 2500 people in four communities and trained 35 HIV/AIDS community trainers The education component aims to provide educational training and awareness on health and sanitation issues and HIV/AIDS The technical component is responsible for the construction of water supply systems and sanitation facilities (VIP toilets) in target communities Through work and priorities through to the year 2013 These thematic program areas are consistent with the Live & Learn 2020 vision The Live & Learn PNG team would like to extend our sincere thanks to Kate for her assistance Papua New Guinea 21 Solomon Islands Imagining Tomorrow: Peace Building Education in the Solomon Islands T he ‘Imagining Tomorrow: Peace Education project’ in Solomon Islands has expanded its peace education network program through linking and working with partner organizations and schools This was done through several joint activities with other partner organizations, stake-holders and schools In July 2007 a Youth Quake Cultural Festival , activity for the young people was jointly conducted with Honiara City Council in Honiara The Youth Cultural Festival is part of the local government’s youth development policies for young people and is aimed at providing opportunity for young people of different ethnic groups to interact, share their experiences and cultures It also aimed to promote indigenous Solomon Island cultures and traditions and provide the opportunity to compare changes and to build understanding among different ethnic groups through interaction, dialogue and experiences During the youth festival week, Live & Learn conducted peace education training sessions for young 22 Solomon Islands people A total of thirty students including teacher guidance staff from Malaita and Guadalcanal provinces participated in the training We were delighted to support Nguvia Community High School of Guadalcanal Province in organizing a ‘Peace Education Club’ Speech competition The competition, based on the theme ‘With Peace We Achieve The Best’, drew more than sixty students of different ethnic backgrounds to participate knowledge and skills that would support their livelihoods This came about after several Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) training activities conducted by Live & Learn in Makina and Aola communities, in Guadalcanal Province In Makina and Aola, Live & Learn conducted a series of Pilot Demonstrated Activities (PDA) for communities on a range of priority issues surrounding sustainable More village women and men in rural communities of Solomon Islands have taken an interest in acquiring knowledge and skills that would support their livelihoods As well as the student networking activities, ongoing school based peace education teacher training forums were conducted by teachers trained using the Peace Education Modules Communities Learn Livelihood Skills More village women and men in rural communities of Solomon Islands have taken an interest in acquiring development Reforestation, soapmaking, kerosene and starting your own business are some of the PDA’s introduced to the communities The reforestation training has focused mainly on native forest governance, reforestation of cleared lands and planning and reservation of natural forests Most importantly, it aims to help communities say no to logging In soap and kerosene making training, women and men in target communities have the opportunity to learn skills on how to produce these products using their available resources such as coconuts With growing inflation and increasing cost of goods in rural areas, communities are unable to meet some of their needs Thus, communities have acknowledged and appreciated that the appropriate technology skills training provided will help use their environment in a sustainable way Women have attended many of these workshops funded by NZAID The ESD PDA training activities also had officers from government departments and NGOs to participating and providing expertise in the field of forestry governance and business More ongoing PDA activities and partnerships are planned for coming years Communities Participating in Research Participatory research introduces communities to the concept of–and engages people in the process of–developing a project The activitybased approach of the research encourages participants to explore and share experiences, ideas and opinions, question and clarify environmental problems, their root causes and their links to people’s wellbeing Six communities in Choiseul province, Solomon Islands participated in research activities looking at peoples’ thoughts towards natural resource based conflict This research sought to provide an understanding of the perceptions held by community members regarding their needs, problems, opportunities and capacity to undertake projects associated with sustainable development Over 135 men and women of various ages, including youth participated Analyses of the findings have been in conservation management and ecotourism and have been working in African and Australian wildlife and tourism projects The ERWHS project was originally initiated from the conservation and resource management planning and awareness programmes supported by UNESCO and New Zealand’s Overseas Development Agency undertaken in partnership with East Rennell communities in the late 1990s Six communities in Choiseul province, Solomon Islands have participated in a RAP research activities looking at peoples’ thoughts towards natural resource based conflict documented into a report which is available through the Live & Learn Solomons Islands office or our website The research undertaken was part of the main activities on the project ‘Managing Coastal Community Conflict and Advancing Marine Conservation’ AVI Volunteers, Perfect Combination Two volunteers from Australian Volunteers International (AVI) joined Live & Learn’s staff in late 2007 to implement the East Rennell World Heritage site (ERWHS) management plan on the island of Rennell The two volunteers, Mike Heywood and Kasia Gabrys have wide experience Mike and Kasia’s involvement with Live & Learn will help build the capacity of the rural communities in Rennell Community members will acquire basic skills and knowledge to be used together with their traditional practices and current communitybased resource management practices to manage their natural resources Since their arrival, the two AVIs have had first hand experiences participating in several Live & Learn community outreach programmes before they head to the remote island of Rennell in early 2008 They will settle in Rennell where they will be spending the remainder of their eighteen months assignment Solomon Islands 23 Vanuatu Commitment to communities and resource development have been the mainstay of activities in Vanuatu over the last year, providing strength and sustainability to already well-established projects Sustaining forests through improved decision making T his project focused on improving the capacity of communities to conserve forest resources through sustainable use, funded by Canada Fund, IWDA & Global Green Grants Education tools, namely a Forest DVD, Forest Education Manual, poster and brochures were developed and used to reach over 160 community members, including 63 women The project assisted community leaders to make informed decisions about how they use their land, particularly forest areas Communities identified Oil Palm development on Santo as a potential issue: Live & Learn was able to mobilize quickly in response by bringing the experience of a Live & Learn, PNG staff member to Santo to share her extensive knowledge and experience of Oil Palm impacts in PNG Community workshops and forums held in Santo and Vila raised awareness of the issues and of sustainable alternatives 24 Vanuatu Monitoring of community reactions to the program demonstrated a positive impact Education for safe drinking water, hygiene and sanitation Through education and awareness, Live & Learn (with funding from SOPAC and WHO) aims to support the implementation of the Water Safety Plan project in Vanuatu through provision of education and awareness for safe drinking water supplies, hygiene and sanitation Thirty water ambassadors have been trained in the pilot communities of Luganville, Espiritu Santo and Mele village, Efate These water ambassadors have completed 90 water safety surveys in households around Luganville and 64 in Mele village The surveys were used to develop local solutions to water safety problems for households and to identify broader issues requiring community level solutions Media was an important project component completed during the year Posters conveying the message of clean water being everyone’s responsibility were designed, printed and distributed in the two pilot communities Stickers, with a message that prompts the audience to think about the water they are drinking before they drink it and mugs with the same message, were also distributed Brochures were designed to convey information on river care, well hygiene, caring for water tanks, taps and hygiene in the house, and water conservation All the media items were printed in the local vernacular of Bislama Two radio slots and one TV advert continue to be aired on “Television Blong Vanuatu” and Radio FM 98, Vanuatu A teacher’s resource is currently being produced and will be used as part of the project next year Promoting Waste Minimisation This project is being carried out in Port Vila and Luganville and is scheduled for completion in December 2008 School workshops, held in Port Vila and Luganville, highlighted the issues of using and burning plastic bags as well as the separation of rubbish Students were involved in building and maintaining low cost compost heaps Planning of new commercial initiatives that use ‘rubbish as a resource’ such as using bottle cutters to make drinking glasses and commercial composting for women in local markets have also commenced These activities have been trialed and will be rolled out to the community in the future Shop assistants have been trained on how to serve customers with the idea of reducing the number of plastic bags: they wear a green ribbon to show that they are “going green” and care for the environment Media releases in the local newspaper and television and radio adverts are now being developed to expand the reach of the program RiverCare RiverCare teacher training workshops (funded by AusAID) were conducted on five main islands of Vanuatu The workshops focused on training teachers on best practice environmental education techniques and how to use the RiverCare Teaching & Learning Resource (developed with funding by NZAID) Collaboration with teachers and the Peace Corps program saw resources distributed to several other islands not reached with these workshops Nearly 200 teachers at 40 schools have been reached through the past year through this project and we anticipate a much broader reach through making RiverCare resources available to other NGOs and stakeholders who share the same vision and goals Education for Sustainable Development This past year saw a variety of activities carried out to assist in setting up the Sarakata Catchment Group, commencing with a meeting and workshop to get the group together and to identify objectives and priority actions for the group The vision developed and agreed to by the group was: “Our vision is to work with our communities and stakeholders to create a better future for our people and our environment Our communities take responsibility to conserve and protect our precious clean freshwater and natural resources” The Catchment Group participated in numerous training workshops during the year, which provided opportunities for the committee to practice their roles and work towards empowering their communities to make positive changes and take action to address catchment management issues and protecting water sources Live & Learn also established a partnership between the group and the International Water Centre to provide further training opportunities The lessons learned from the Catchment Group were used to create a Pacific Catchment Group Handbook, which will allow the project to be replicated elsewhere This programme is funded by NZAID Education for Biodiversity Conservation Much of our work in this EU funded regional project has centered on producing the resource “Discovering Biodiversity”Through a commitment from the Vanuatu and the other Live & Learn Pacific-based offices, the resource was completed and launched on International Biodiversity Day, May 22nd We are looking forward to taking it out to schools and communities next year Live & Learn Vanuatu has seen a change of management this year We said goodbye to our acting Manager Robbie Henderson, who left us to concentrate on climate change and indigenous programmes and establish the Live & Learn Northern Territory (Australia) office We thank Robbie and Emily Findlay for all their assistance over the past two years and warmly welcome Kali Vakoto as the new Country Manager for Vanuatu Vanuatu 25 Finances Income Statement for the year ended 30 June 2008 Live & Learn Environmental Education: ABN 44 945 150 299 2008 Revenue Donations and gifts - monetary and non monetary Legacies and bequests 2007 $ $ 48 - - - Grants AusAID Australian other Overseas grants 189,109 77,343 - - 1,823,611 2,550,337 Investment income 15,679 12,531 Other Income 30,345 35,009 2,058,792 2,675,220 Total revenue EXPENSES Overseas projects Funds to overseas projects Other project costs 1,877,252 1,849,101 213,228 166,617 Domestic projects - - Community education - - Fundraising costs Public - - Government, multilateral and private - - Administration Total EXPENSES 174,460 115,785 2,264,940 2,131,503 Excess of revenue over disbursements (shortfall) (-206,148) 543,717 before extraordinary items Extraordinary items - - Excess of revenue over disbursements (shortfall) from continuing operations (-206,148) 543,717 26 Finances Finances Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2008 2008 2007 $ $ 790,853 1,154,733 ASSETS Current Assets Cash and cash equivalents Financial Assets 794 794 Non-current Assets Property, plant and equipment Other Total assets 87,824 94,114 238,080 3,476 1,117,551 1,253,117 current LIABILITIES Trade and other payables 242,067 154,753 - - Provisions NON-current LIABILITIES Payables - - 28,231 44,962 TOTAL LIABILITIES 270,298 199,715 Net assets 847,253 1,053,402 Other EQUITY 1,053,402 Reserves 1,053,402 - - Funds available for future use 847,253 1,053,402 EQUITY 847,253 1,053,402 Statement of Changes in Equity for Year Ending 30 June 2008 Retained Earnings Reserves Total $ $ $ Balance 1-Jul-07 Excess of revenue over expenses Amount transferred (to) from reserves Balance 30-Jun-08 1,053,402 - 1,053,402 -206,148 - -206,148 - - - 847,254 - 847,254 Finances 27 Finances Cash Movements for Designated Purposes for year ended 30 June 2008 Cash available at Cash raised Cash disbursed Cash available beginning of year during year during year at end of year 01-Jul-07 Public Fund 60 1,000 14,700 727 ,308 734,672 ,336 224,945 413,873 381,901 256,917 Solomon Islands Community Capacity 26,601 223,690 & Sustainability Development 179,156 71,135 Cambodia - Asian Development Bank 112,155 437 ,592 452,215 & European Community 97 ,532 - New Zealand (1) River Care 99,195 203,131 278,319 24,007 Maldives - Asian Development Bank 91,026 309,469 299,657 100,838 3,432 25,338 28,523 247 264,201 317 ,778 549,345 32,634 Papua New Guinea - Asian Development Bank 29,397 46,659 73,591 2,465 Education for Sustainable Development - Regional 63,775 140,231 198,683 5,323 3,137 44,542 47 ,596 83 Solomon Islands - MacArthur Foundation 123,335 23,656 145,026 1,965 Vanuatu Global Green Grants (10,000) 47 ,494 29,017 8,477 92,639 164,812 186,398 71,053 6,162 6,274 - 12,436 97 ,345 - 97 ,345 Project Suport - All Offices Governing Water Maldives - UNICEF Fiji - European Community - Regional General Reserve Solomon Islands - Imaging Tomorrow Cash on Hand Cambodia Domestic NGO Services 28 Finances - 1,1154,733 3,230,192 - 30-Jun-08 3,584,099 1,060 790,853 Finances Independent Audit Report to the members of Live & Learn Environmental Education: ABN 44 945 150 299 Report on the Financial Report Auditor’s Responsibility We have audited the accompanying financial report of Live & Learn Environmental Education Inc which comprises the summary balance sheet as at 30 June 2008, and the summary income statement, statement of changes in members’ funds and table of cash movements for designated purposes for the year ended on that date We expressed an unmodified auditor’s opinion on that financial report in our auditor’s report dated December 2008 Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the summarised financial report based on our procedures, which were conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards These Auditing Standards require that we comply with relevant ethical requirements relating to audit engagements Board of Trustees’ Responsibility for the Financial Report The board of trustees of the association are responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial report in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards (including the Australian Accounting Interpretations) and the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Victoria) Hayes Knight Audit Pty Ltd In our opinion, the information reported in the summarised financial report is consistent, in all material respects, with the financial report from which it was derived For a better understanding of the scope of our audit, this auditor’s report should be read in conjunction with our audit report on the financial report G.S Parker Dated this 1st day of December 2008 Melbourne Auditor’s Opinion Director Finances 29 Board of Trustees Our Board of Trustees exists to ensure good governance, financial integrity and that the Organisation’s focus remains true to its intended purpose The Trustees provide their time and expertise on a voluntary basis Christian Nielsen Jai Prakash Narayan Australia & Executive Director Fiji Jai is an active member of the Labasa community as a teacher and a Vice Chairman of the Fiji Teachers Union Labasa Branch Jai brings a wealth of grass-roots knowledge about the teaching culture in Melanesia Christian has an extensive background in educational management and research in developing countries with both government and nongovernment organisations Christian has a practical background in learning methodologies and has applied these skills in the NGO environment across the South Pacific and in Australia Nikki Parker Australia Nikki is an environmental consultant and a board member of the Australian Conservation Foundation A keen campaigner, she has spearheaded successful campaigns for protecting areas of ecologically important bushland and also has particular interest in innovative community education platforms, including web-based tools Waheed Deen & Abdullahi Majeedh Maldives Waheed, Bandos Islands Resort and Abdullahi, Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water joined our Board in 2007 and reflect two focus areas of work in the Maldives; Government partnership and collaboration and also working with the main industry of tourism Franco Rodi Solomon Islands Rodi is from Vella lavella in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands He is currently the Director of the Curriculum Development Centre in Honiara where he oversees the management and development of the Solomon Islands curriculum Rodi holds a Masters Degree in Science and has more than 10 years experience in curriculum development in the Solomon Islands He is a strong advocate for environmental education locally and regionally Morgan Wairiu Solomon Islands Morgan studied at the Ohio State University where his research of soil and water quality in the Solomon Islands earned him his Phd in Soil Science He has longstanding involvement in peace education and reconciliation, including advising Marau leaders in the implementation of the Marau Peace Plan Edward N Molou Vanuatu Edward has worked in the Supreme Court in Vanuatu in civil and criminal law He has also been providing legal advice to landowners regarding logging agreements Live & Learn Environmental Education is a signatory to the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct which defines minimum standards of governance, management and accountability for non-government development organisations Adherence to the Code is monitored by an independent Code of Conduct Committee elected from the NGO community Our voluntary adherence to the Code of Conduct demonstrates our commitment to ethical practice and public accountability More information about the ACFID Code of Conduct can be accessed at www.acfid.asn.au 30 Board of Trustees Partners With great appreciation The Board of Trustees and the staff of Live & Learn Environmental Education wish to acknowledge the support and valuable partnerships shared with organisations, Governments and communities in fulfilling the commitments of our work In particular we thank our major donors; European Union Australian Agency for International development, New Zealand Agency for International Development, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, United Nations development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, Macarthur Foundation, Packard Foundation, Marisla Foundation, Global Green Grants and Vodafone Live&Learn Environmental Education Australia Fiji Islands Solomon Islands International Office Executive Director: Christian Nielsen Ross House - 4th Floor 247-251 Flinders Lane Melbourne 3000 Victoria, Australia P: +61 96501291 F: +61 96501391 E: livelearn@livelearn.org Country Manager: Doris Ravai 87 Gordon Street Private Mail Bag Suva – Fiji P: +679 3315 868 F: +679 3305 868 E: fiji@livelearn.org Country Manager: Jacob Zukuli DSE Building –Lombi Crescent Street New China Town PO Box 1454 Honiara – Solomon Islands P: +677 23697/24453 F: +677 24454 E: solomons@livelearn.org Northern Territory Manager: Robbie Henderson PO Box 1444, Katherine Northern Territory, 0850 Australia M: +61 437 683 929 E: robbie.henderson@livelearn.org Country Manager: Fathimath Shafeeqa H Huba 1st Floor Medhuziyaaraiy Magu Male’ Republic of Maldives Tel: +960 330 3585 E: maldives@livelearn.org Cambodia Papua New Guinea Regional Advisor: Jady Smith Country Manager: Bunthan Keat MRC Building, 3rd Floor, Room 303 #364, Preah Monivong Blvd Sangkat Phsar Domthkov Khan Chamkarmorn GPO Box 91, Phnom Penh Cambodia T: +855 23 997 753 T/F: +855 23 224 053 E: livelearn@online.com.kh Maldives Country Manager: Ben Ngava Talesea Local Level Government Offices PO Box 844 Kimbe, West New Britain Province Papua New Guinea P: +675 983 4716 P/F: +675 983 4237 E: png@livelearn.org Vanuatu Country Manager: Kali Vatoko Fres Wota Four (opposite Fres Wota School) PO Box 1629 Port Vila - Vanuatu P: +678 27448 F: +678 27455 E: vanuatu@livelearn.org Vietnam Country Manager: Do Van Nguyet 32 Xuan Dieu Hanoi Vietnam M: +844 371 901 09 E: vietnam@livelearn.org www.livelearn.org Partners & Offices 31 Live&Learn Environmental Education Annual Report www.livelearn.org ... www.livelearn.org Partners & Offices 31 Annual Report 2008 Contents Vision & Guiding Principle Executive Director Report Organisational Structure Regional Manager’s Report Avoided Deforestation Regional... Audit Report to the members of Live & Learn Environmental Education: ABN 44 945 150 299 Report on the Financial Report Auditor’s Responsibility We have audited the accompanying financial report. .. auditor’s opinion on that financial report in our auditor’s report dated December 2008 Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the summarised financial report based on our procedures, which