Interactive Game on the SDGs: Analysis of Biodiversity Loss Scenarios

Senior Lecturer of the UNESCO Chair for Sustainable Development, K. Khamitova, conducted an interactive game with first-year students of the educational program “Hydrology”, focused on the United Nations SDG 15 “Life on Land”, with particular attention to biodiversity conservation issues.

During the event, students were divided into small groups, each working with its own ecological scenario. Although all groups were given a common problem situation, the sets of influencing factors and initial conditions differed. This approach made it possible to examine environmental changes from various perspectives and to highlight the multifaceted nature of the causes leading to ecosystem degradation.

Within their scenarios, students analyzed the reasons behind the disappearance of frogs in a pond, the silence of birds, the drying of trees, and the occurrence of black snow. Depending on the given conditions, participants identified various factors, including water and soil pollution, industrial emissions, intensive agriculture, climate change, habitat loss, transport impacts, and increasing anthropogenic pressure. Each group developed its own cause-and-effect chain and presented the results of their analysis.

The work continued with a creative and socially oriented component. Students prepared mini-posters with environmental slogans reflecting the ideas of sustainable development and the importance of biodiversity conservation. In addition, letters addressed to the administration were drafted on behalf of an environmental movement, proposing concrete measures to prevent environmental problems and restore degraded ecosystems.

This interactive format enabled students to gain a practical understanding of SDG 15, recognize the interconnection between natural processes and human activities, and demonstrate analytical thinking, creativity, and an active civic position in environmental protection.