Climate education: a remedy for hazardous child exploitation?

Abstract

This study investigates the role of climate education in combatting hazardous child labour in Burkina Faso and Benin. Poor climate resilience, the status of climate education and unmet needs in combatting hazardous child labour were explored in order to investigate this role. Using semi-structured interviews (N=10), this research shows that although there are a lot of dynamics in hazardous child labour, an impact can be made through climate education and that climate education is not yet carried out on a structural, accessible basis. There is a need for new skills, means and materials to adapt to climate change, using an inhabited perspective and ownership of the issue. This calls for a close collaboration between NGOs and the local people to be able to improve knowledge, skills and materials that are already present. Next to that, the gap between policies and governments and the regional and local levels, including the local people, needs to be covered through close collaboration. Overall, the research findings contribute to the understanding of the potential role of climate education in combatting hazardous child labour in Burkina Faso and Benin. Future studies should investigate a deeper understanding of the local context, an experiment on implementation of climate education and the role of local organizations in cooperation with international NGO’s. Further implications for practice and policy are discussed. Keywords: climate education, hazardous child labour, climate resilience, Burkina Faso, Benin