TOGO: In Dapaong, a school manual for natural disaster prevention ...

“Reducing the risk of conflicts, disasters and climate change”. This is the title of the new manual made available to teachers in the town of Dapaong in the Savannas region of Togo. According to the Togolese Ministry of Security and Civil Protection, which published the book, it aims to equip primary and secondary education actors (students and teachers) on environmental issues so that they contribute to climate resilience.

“The first part of the book is devoted to generalities and includes an appropriation of key concepts, content guidelines, and teaching methodology for disaster risk reduction and climate change. As for the second part, it is reserved for the specification tables,” explained Agbodjivé Elom, the focal point of the National Agency for Civil Protection (ANPC).

For his part, Ourognaou Tchaledji, the regional director of Education in the Savannah region, said that this manual would help prevent “bushfires, violent winds, and even floods” that affect people in Togo. To combat climate change, the West African country launched its National Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2009.

This policy has led, for example, to the implementation of the project Strengthening the Resilience to Climate Change of Togo’s Coastal Communities (R4C-Togo). Under this project, 70 women’s cooperatives, including women who depend on local natural resources for their livelihoods, were recently supported to build their climate resilience. In the Plateaux region, the Togolese authorities’ support focused on securing water supplies and collecting fuel for cooking and heating many homes.

  Benoit-Ivan Wansi