RoNAG Director Shapes Global Nature-Based Education Agenda

December 1, 2025

The Director and Lead Campaigner of the Rights of Nature–Ghana Movement (RoNAG), Dr. Dickson Adom, who also serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Educational Innovations in Science and Technology at the Faculty of Educational Studies, KNUST, has played a pivotal role in launching a transformative global roadmap that places nature at the heart of education to address today’s interconnected environmental and social challenges.

The newly launched document, known as the Salzburg Statement on Nature-Based Education (NBE), was unveiled on November 18, 2025, during a high-level session at the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria. As a Salzburg Global Fellow, Dr. Adom was not only instrumental in drafting the statement but also served as a leading advocate for its vision during the launch event.

The statement presents Nature-Based Education as “a feasible, immediate, and hopeful solution” to the intersecting crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, social inequities, and outdated educational systems. It outlines a bold call for global leaders to rethink education by restoring humanity’s relationship with nature.

In his capacity as an Indigenous Knowledge expert at KNUST, Dr. Adom led a strategic fellowship module focused on the inclusion of diverse knowledge systems. During the launch, he emphasized the critical importance of grounding education in Indigenous knowledge and ancestral wisdom. According to him, for NBE to achieve true transformation, it must actively incorporate these rich and time-tested perspectives.

Dr. Adom also strongly advocated for the creation of a global standard metric to track progress in ecocentric learning. His proposal is reflected directly in the statement’s roadmap, which urges education and climate research communities to support the development of a global indicator that measures advancement in Nature-Based Education.

“We need a synthesis of knowledges from across the world,” Dr. Adom stated. “This includes Indigenous or ancestral wisdom, academic knowledge, and professional knowledge, to define what it truly means to be an ecological citizen and to attain ecological maturity. This isn’t just about being in nature; it’s about a measurable transformation of our connection with nature and being as nature.”

The Salzburg Statement further outlines a structured “Continuum of Nature-Based Education”, progressing from learning in nature, to learning with nature, to taking action for nature, and ultimately to recognising oneself as part of nature. It also calls for ambitious but achievable actions, such as greening one million schoolyards by 2040 and integrating NBE into national education systems worldwide.

The document concludes with a powerful call to action: “Rebuilding our connection to nature is an urgent and achievable priority that will transform learning, improve well-being, and help create a regenerative future.”

About Salzburg Global Seminar
Salzburg Global Seminar is an independent non-profit organisation committed to challenging current and emerging leaders to shape a better world. Through its multi-year programme, Education for Tomorrow’s World, it brings together diverse thinkers and practitioners to reimagine learning and innovation for the 21st century.