Educating for integrated island management

Building capacity for broad environmental planning within small island administrations
Training multi-discipline managers for sustainable development of small island states
Training on integrated island management

Context

Since populations of small island developing states cannot maintain all necessary specializations, training for integrated coastal management and development should aim to produce cadres of managers or scientists, engineers and coastal planners able to integrate the many factors that need to be considered in integrated coastal management.

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities. Agenda 21 recommends that educational systems should be modified to meet specific needs and special training programmes developed in integrated island management and development. It specifically recommends that local planning should be integrated in educational curricula of all levels and public awareness campaigns developed with the assistance of non-governmental organizations and indigenous coastal populations.

Claim

Resource users should be prepared to execute both management and protection functions, to apply the "polluter pays" principle and to support the training of their personnel. Educational systems should be modified to meet these needs and special training programmes developed in integrated island management and development. Local planning should be integrated in educational curricula of all levels and public awareness campaigns developed with the assistance of non-governmental organizations and indigenous coastal populations.