Advance Climate-Smart Education for Pastoralist Communities
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 28 July 2026 – Ethiopia is advancing efforts to build more climate-resilient and inclusive education systems for pastoralist communities through the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative (CSESI), a global initiative implemented in Ethiopia by the Ministry of Education with technical support from UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO).
Pastoralist communities account for an estimated 12–15 percent of Ethiopia's population and inhabit more than 60 percent of the country's land area. Increasing temperatures, prolonged droughts, and erratic rainfall are placing growing pressure on livelihoods while disrupting children's access to education, underscoring the need for education systems that are flexible, inclusive, and responsive to the realities of mobile communities.
To better understand these challenges and identify effective responses, a comprehensive analysis was undertaken involving policy reviews, stakeholder mapping, interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory engagement with pastoralist communities. The process generated evidence on climate-related risks to education, existing policies, and promising practices to inform the development of strategic guidance that strengthens climate resilience while respecting pastoralist livelihoods, culture, and indigenous knowledge.
Building on this work, UNESCO and the Ministry of Education convened a two-day national workshop in Addis Ababa from 28–29 July 2026 to validate the findings and co-develop strategic guidance for inclusive, gender-responsive, and climate-smart education for pastoralist communities. The workshop brought together participants from the Ministry of Education, Regional Education Bureaus from Ethiopia's four major pastoralist regions, UNESCO, IIEP-UNESCO, Save the Children, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands, the Ethiopia Environmental Protection Authority, the National Education Cluster, UNICEF, FAO, the World Bank, the Pastoralist Forum of Ethiopia, and technical experts.
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