Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

The Republic of San Marino is improving the con- servation status of the 17 species of bats present on the national territory through the EUROBATS programme [ ] 195 Biodiversity education and training in schools In line with European directives and the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity, San Marino has established protected areas to safeguard rare biological species. There have also been several stud- ies of the state of the environment and biodiversity, vertebrate and invertebrate fauna, vegetation, and the quality of water, air and soil. As a result, knowledge of the state of conservation of the country’s natural and semi-natural ecosystems is now fairly comprehensive. At the same time, regular education, training and awareness-raising actions are carried out by several stakeholders. In recent years, San Marino has invested significantly in education and training concerning the envi- ronment, climate change and the importance of biodiversity, develop- ing a wide range of activities aimed at promoting knowledge of the natural environment. In San Marino schools, environmental education involves the understanding of relations with or within the ecosystem, active citizen- ship through participation in social processes, and sustainability. The purpose of the country’s En- vironmental and Sustainable Devel- opment Education programme is to substantially change individual and collective behaviours and attitudes. Many environmental issues have been included in the curriculum guidelines for San Marino schools, providing a fundamental reference tool for the local curriculum. This includes a series of interdisciplinary programmes closely linked to the territory and adopted by all school grades. School activities are based on two common elements: to live the environment in order to be able to appreciate it, and to recognize the impact of everyday behaviour on the environment. In kindergarten (3–6 years), the programme is mainly focused on experiences and games, as well as on space and time dimensions as key parameters to understand the interdependence of environmental components. In elementary school (6–11 years), children learn how to protect ecosystems and recognize the effects of human activities on the environment. In junior high school (11–14 years), children become acquainted with specific terms and cause-effect relations. With regard to climate change, students learn to as- sess the global impact of technologies and products on the environment. In high school (14–19 years), students are invited to adopt a complex and comprehensive point of view in their analysis of the San Marino landscape in order to develop their skills to correlate local and global aspects. The towers of San Marino on the three peaks of Monte Titano San Marino T he Republic of San Marino is located around 15 km from the Adriatic Sea on the northern ridge of the Romagna Apennines. The territory is heavily anthropized and urbanized, with numerous elements of interest from a naturalistic point of view, constituting a complex landscape. Despite its limited territorial dimension of 61 km2, San Marino boasts a great variety of natural environments and micro-habitats and a rich heritage of biological, geological and landscape diversity. The country has been adopting environmental legislation aimed at promoting sustainable development which does not threaten the quality and quantity of natural heritage and reserves. Wikimedia Commons