Integrate climate change in education curriculum Botswana urged to invest more into main emitting sectors: energy, transport and agriculture
Climate change advocate and environment activist Walter Oratile Sikalesele recently returned with a renewed passion from a rigorous two- week training in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by the Pan African Climate Justice Africa ( PACJA) at the Kenyatta University. Sikalesele, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics from BUAN, is a project manager at Botswana Network for Climate Change. Sikalesele joined the organisation under the stewardship of PACJA, GUARD Africa, as a digital activist to mobilise, engage and catalyse the interests of youth on climate change and the broader environmental sustainable development goals, while also linking them with national and international processes for the benefit of local communities. Sikalesele was one of two participants selected from Botswana alongside Tsaone Amogelang Mokgwasa. During the training, the two got to engage with experts, researchers, campaigners and activists. Sikalesele said that the workshop taught him that youth are the beam of hope for Africa, reflecting on the just pathways to low- carbon, resilient development trajectory. “Climate justice and just transition are some of the new concepts that we can use in advocacy work. We also got clarification courses, especially the issue of human- induced activities and climate change as a security threat,” he said. He also said that school curriculum in Botswana should be reviewed through the integrated approach, to include climate change, from grassroots level ( primary and secondary) and also introduce climate change courses/ modules at university level. “There is opportunity in that entrepreneurs can go into a green growth industry ( green collar jobs) to solve ill- faced issues such as unemployment, pollution, health challenges, technological advances and GBV, to achieve poverty eradication, social inclusion and protect healthy environment,” he said. Sikalesele said that gender mainstreaming is also important to empower women for climate justice, and to reinforce human rights as environmental in- sustainability worsens existing inequalities. He further said that indigenous and marginalised groups are often the most affected communities, which calls for mobilisation at grassroots level. “We should step up on our groundwork at the grassroots level through capacity building and awareness, and engaging local communities in the policy- making processes, for example, in kgotla meetings, capacity- building training, and also identify linkages between indigenous knowledge systems and modern- day scientific solutions,” he said. Sikalesele reiterated that the main emitting sectors in our country are energy, transport, and agriculture. “The electric car for one is an alternative to fossil fuelpowered. In terms of agriculture, we should do modern technologies and learn the concept of climate- smart agriculture and in the energy sector, the only alternative right now is renewable energy ( solar, wind, biogas).”