Objective: Environmental awareness and knowledge about desertification and other challenges raised among Mongolia's youth as well as in the general public

The motivation to cope with the challenge may be found with lots of the stakeholders; the readiness of politicians, public administration and teachers receptiveness is a great chance for the project and of its education component.

In addition, many of the people affected by desertification are partly aware of the problem and its causes, but do often not understand the dimension and complexity of it. Measures taken are therefore often inadequate or insufficient.

CODEP is supporting the development and conceptualizing of Education for Sustainable Development, which has been approved as a government policy.

With the support of CODEP the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (MECS) has developed and approved a 2008-2015 plan of ESD curricula development and established an ESD team mandated to implement this plan. Within a short time SDC has gained a leading role in ESD and the project is highly recognized by MECS, which is taking ownership in the development of this ESD curricula in Mongolia.

Component 3 has two main subcomponents:
- Informal education
- Formal education

Each subcomponent has two parts: 
Informal education
- directed at people mostly affected by desertification, i.e. herders and farmers in selected fragile areas, i.e. Khovd,  Bayankhongor and Gobi-Altai aimags
- having a general public in its scope with a countrywide approach

Formal education:
- dealing with the integration of (ESD) into the curriculum revision,
- initiating a number of schools at basic education level showing extra efforts as to environmental commitment, called Eco-Schools

An Eco-school concept was initiated in five schools in Khovd Aimag and three in Ulaanbaatar. in 2009 adiitional schools in Bayankhongor and Gobi-Altai aimags are involved in the netowork, bringing number of eco-schools to 24. 

The concept is built on encouraging and supporting the schools to show environmental stewardship. The students and teachers make a plan for their schools. They have regular trainings and are given access to manuals, references and other ideas to improve the school environment. This activity is implemented by the Mongolian Nature and Environment Consotrtsium (MNEC) and Information and Traning Centre for Nature and Environment NGO (ITCNE)  together with schools.

The project had a close cooperation with a national newspaper "‘Zuunii Medee" and Eco TV and Khovd news newspaper in Khovd aimag to raise awareness about desertification. Bi-monthly coverage of desertification related topics in the media is evoking the nationwide debate and interest of the public in these issues and at the same time increasing the visibility of the project. Likewise, Khovd Eco TV and local newspaper make weekly broadcasts of desertification and environment related issues in Khovd aimag.

Together with National Committee for Comating Desertification (NCCD) and Ministry of Nature and Environment and Tourism (MNET), CODEP annually organizes a public event on the World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) to raise the awareness in Ulaanbaatar and Khovd.

Another activity of the Component is to develop and produce a National Environmental Encyclopedia, which will become a strong tool to advocate people in understanding the importance of nature protection.