Unit 3 Development of Environmental Education

a) Historical Developments: Stockholm conference (1972), Intergovernmental conference

(1977), Kyoto Protocol (2005), Tbilisi +30 (2007).
b) Environmental Education: Meaning, Objectives, Principles, Significance.
c)Approaches of teaching Environmental Education (Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary)

a) Historical Developments: Stockholm conference (1972), Intergovernmental conference

(1977), Kyoto Protocol (2005), Tbilisi + 30 (2007).

Historical Developments:
Stockholm conference (1972):
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, by name Stockholm Conference,
the first United Nations (UN) conference that focused on international environmental issues.
The conference, held in Stockholm, Sweden, from June 5 to 16, 1972, reflected a growing
interest in conservation issues worldwide and laid the foundation for global environmental
governance. The final declaration of the Stockholm Conference was an environmental
manifesto that was a forceful statement of the finite nature of Earth's resources and the
necessity for humanity to safeguard them. The Stockholm Conference also led to the creation
of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in December 1972 to coordinate global
efforts to promote sustainability and safeguard the natural environment.

The 1972 conference was attended by delegations from 114 governments. Documents
created during the conference influenced international environmental law; one notable
example was the final declaration, which elucidated 26 principles concerning the
environment. The conference also produced the "Framework for Environmental Action," an
action plan containing 109 specific recommendations related to human settlements, natural-
resource management, and pollution, educational and social aspects of the environment,
development, and international organizations.

The final declaration was a statement of human rights as well as a acknowledgment of the
need for environmental protection. The first principle began "Man has the fundamental right
to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that
permits a life of dignity and well-being."

Features:
1. That the natural resources of earth including air, water land, flora and fauna, especially
representative samples of natural ecosystems must be safe-guarded for the benefit of present
and future generations through careful planning and management as appropriate.
2. That man has a special responsibility to safeguard and manage the heritage of wild life and
its habitat.
3. That science and technology for the economic and social development must be applied to
the avoidance, identification and control of environmental risks and the solutions of
environmental problems for the betterment of human beings.
4. That scientific research and department in the context of environmental problems both
national and multinational must be promoted in all countries especially in the developing
countries where most of the biological diversity is available.
5. That free flow of up to date scientific information, transfer of technology must be
maintained in order to facilitate the solution of environmental problems of developing
countries and that states should ensure that international organizations play a coordinated
role for the protection of environment.

Intergovernmental conference (1977):

The first Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education convened by Unesco
was held in Tbilisi (the Georgian SSR, USSR) from 14 to 26 October 1977. The Conference
was organized by Unesco in co-operation with the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) in accordance with resolution 1.161 adopted by the General Conference of Unesco
at its nineteenth session and at the kind invitation of the Government of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics.

The Conference had the following main points on its agenda: major environmental problems
in contemporary society; role of education in facing the challenges of environmental
problems; current efforts at the national and inter- national levels for the development of
environ- mental education; strategies for the development of environmental education at the
national level; regional and international co-operation for the development of environmental
education: needs and modalities.

Delegates from 66 Unesco Member States and observers from two non-Member States
participated in the Conference as well as representatives and observers from eight
organizations and programmes of the United Nations system, three other intergovernmental
organizations, and 20 international non-governmental organizations.

Certain criteria to develop environmental education at the national, regional and

international levels:

A basic aim of environmental education is to succeed in making individuals and

communities under- stand the complex nature of the natural and the built environments
resulting from the interaction of their biological, physical, social, economic and cultural
aspects, and acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes, and practical skills to participate in a
responsible and effective way in anticipating and solving environmental problems, and the
management of the quality of the environment.

A further basic aim of environmental education is clearly to show the economic, political and
eco- logical interdependence of the modern world, in which decisions and actions by the
different countries can have international repercussions. Environment should, in this regard,
help to develop a sense of responsibility and solidarity among countries and regions as the
foundation for a new inter- national order which will guarantee the conservation and
improvement of the environment.

Special attention should be paid to understanding the complex relations between socio-
economic development and the improvement of the environment.
The role of education
The role of education in the face of environmental problems and opportunities is therefore a
crucial one. Environmental education should be integrated into the whole system of formal
education at all levels to provide the necessary knowledge, understanding, values and skills
needed by the general public and many occupational groups, for their participation in
devising solutions to environmental questions.

Environmental education must also help create an awareness of the economic, political and
ecological interdependence of the modern world so as to enhance a spirit of responsibility
and solidarity among nations.

Environmental education must adopt a holistic perspective which examines the ecological,
social, cultural and other aspects of particular problems. It is therefore inherently
interdisciplinary. However, the problems it addresses should be those familiar to the learners
in their own home, community, and nation and it should help the learners acquire the
knowledge, values and skills necessary to help solve these problems.

The particular content, methods and materials for environmental education must be adapted
to the needs of the learners. Distinctions have to be made in the role of education, either
formal or non-formal, for developing an increased awareness and understanding of
environmental problems among the general public (children, youth and adults); for preparing
certain occupational groups whose responsibilities bear directly on environmental problems
and opportunities (for example, engineers, planners, architects, medical personnel, teachers,
administrators, industrial managers) and for training specialists for research or other work
relating to the environ- mental sciences.

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000032763

Kyoto Protocol (2005):

The Kyoto Protocol was an agreement negotiated by many countries on February 16,
December 1997 and came into force with Russia's ratification on February 16, 2005. The
reason for the lengthy time span between the terms of agreement being settled upon and the
protocol being engaged was due to terms of Kyoto requiring at least 55 parties to ratify the
agreement and for the total of those parties’ missions to be at least 55% of global production
of greenhouse gases.

The protocol was developed under the UNFCCC - the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. Participating countries that have ratified (which is an
important term that M'I clarify) the Kyoto Protocol have committed to cut emissions of not
only carbon dioxide, but of also other greenhouse gases, being:
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
Hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs)
Per fluorocarbons (PFCs)
Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)
If participant countries continue with emissions above the targets, then they required
engaging in emissions trading; i.e. buying "credits" from other are participant countries that
are able to exceed their reduction targets in order to offset. The goals of Kyoto were to see
participants collectively reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% below the
emission levels of 1990 by 2012.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce
greenhouse gases emissions, based on the premise that
(a) Global warming exists and (b) man-made CO2 emissions have caused it.

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into
force on 16 February 2005. The Kyoto Protocol implemented the objective of the UNFCCC
to fight global warming by reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to "a
level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system"

Features:
 The Protocol's major feature is that it has mandatory targets on greenhouse emissions
for the world's leading economies which have accepted it.

 Commitments under the Protocol vary from nation to nation. The overall 5 per
cent target for developed countries is to be met through cuts (from 1990 levels) of 8
per cent in the European Union (EU[15]), Switzerland, and most Central and East
European states; 6 per cent in Canada; 7 per cent in the United States (although the US
has since withdrawn its support for the Protocol); and 6 per cent in Hungary, Japan,
and Poland. New Zealand, Russia, and Ukraine are to stabilize their emissions, while
Norway may increase emissions by up to 1 per cent, Australia by up to 8 per cent
(subsequently withdrew its support for the Protocol), and Iceland by 10 per cent.

 To compensate for the sting of "binding targets", as they are called, the agreement
offers flexibility in how countries may meet their targets.

 The Protocol not only has to be an effective against a complicated worldwide problem
- it also has to be politically acceptable.

 There is a delicate balance to international treaties. Those appealing enough to gain

widespread support often aren't strong enough to solve the problems.

 Some mechanisms of the Protocol had enough support that they were set up in
advance of the Protocol's entry into force.

 Internationally, Environmental Education gained recognition in this UN conference.

 It was UN Conference on the Human Environment.

 It declared environmental education must be used as a tool to address global

environmental problems.
Tbilisi-+ 30 (2007)
The 4th International Conference on Environmental Education was held at Centre for
Environment Education, Ahmedabad from November 24th to November 28th, 2007. The
five day Conference was attended by over 1500 participants from 97countries.

Year 2007 marks the completion of 30 years of the first international Environmental
Education (EE) conference held in Tbilisi, Georgia. Year 2007 is also the third year of the
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) and many countries have already
launched the decade integrating DESD priorities and processes in the national context.

The Conference was hosted by the Centre for Environment Education on behalf of the
Government of India. Two ministries of Government of India, namely the Ministry of
Human Resource Development and the Ministry of Environment and Forests were co-
organizers of the event. The event was co-sponsored by UNESCO and UNEP.

The 2007 Conference titled "Environmental Education towards a Sustainable Future-Partners

for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development" was held at the Centre for
Environment Education (CEE), Ahmadabad, and was the fourth international conference in
the journey of EE since Tbilisi. "It also helped set the roadmap for progress through DESD.

The Conference looked into understanding what has emerged out of the discipline of EE
since Tbilisi and the role of EE within ESD. Specifically the Conference aim was to
understand what has emerged discipline of Environment Education (EE) since Tbilisi and the
role of EE within Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The conference provided a
forum for practitioners to consider how EE and ESD can partner and strengthen each other
towards building sustainable future.

The Conference brought together over 1500 participants from 97 countries. The participants
were from a variety of stakeholder groups including government officials from UNESCO
Member States, representatives of UN agencies, civil society/NGOs, Corporate, academics
and media. Efforts were made to get representation from diverse fields including
environment, health, water and sanitation, human rights, gender, peace, citizenship, social
justice and others.

The Tbilisi Declaration together with two of the recommendations of the Conference constitutes
the framework, principles, and guidelines for environmental education at all levels—local,
national, regional, and international—and for all age groups both inside and outside the formal
school system.

The Conference recommends the adoption of certain criteria which will help to guide efforts
to develop environmental education at the national, regional, and global levels:

1. Whereas it is a fact that biological and physical features constitute the natural basis of
the human environment, its ethical, social, cultural, and economic dimensions also
play their part in determining/he lines of approach and the instruments whereby people
may understand and m~e better use of natural resources in satisfying their needs.
2. Environmental education is the result of the reorientation and dovetailing of different
disciplines and educational experiences which facilitate an integrated perception of the
problems of the environment, enabling more rational actions capable of meeting social
needs to be taken.
3. A basic aim of environmental education is to succeed in making individuals and
communities understand the complex nature of the natural and the built environments
resulting from the interaction of their biological, physical, social, economic, and
cultural aspects, and acquire the ~knowledge, values, attitudes, and practical skills to
participate in a responsible and effective way in anticipating and solving
environmental problems, and in the management of the quality of the environment.
4. A further basic aim of environmental education is clearly to show the economic,
political, and ecological interdependence of the modern world, in which decisions and
actions by different countries can have international repercussions. Environmental
education should, in this regard, help to develop a sense of responsibility and
solidarity among countries and regions as the foundation for a new international order
which will guarantee the conservation and improvement of the environment.
5. Special attention should be paid to understanding the complex relations between
socio-economic development and the improvement of the environment.
6. For this purpose, environmental education should provide the necessary knowledge
for interpretation of the complex phenomena that shape the environment, encourage
those ethical, economic, and esthetic values which, constituting the basis of self-
discipline, will further the development of conduct compatible with the preservation
and improvement of the environment. It should also provide a wide range of practical
skills required in the devising and application of effective solutions to environmental
problems.
7. To carry out these tasks, environmental education should bring about a closer link
between educational processes and real life, building its activities around the
environmental problems that are faced by particular communities and focusing
analysis on these by means of an interdisciplinary, comprehensive approach which
will permit a proper understanding of environmental problems.
8. Environmental education should cater to all ages and socio-professional groups in the
population. It should be addressed to (a) the general nonspecialist public of young
people and adults whose daily conduct has a decisive influence on the preservation
and improvement of the environment; (b) to particular social groups whose
professional activities affect the quality of the environment; and © to scientists and
technicians whose specialized research and work will lay the foundations of
knowledge on which education, training, and efficient management of the
environment should be based.
9. To achieve the effective development of environmental education, full advantage must
be taken of all public and private facilities available to society for the education of the
population: the formal education system, different forms of non formal education, and
the mass media.
10. To make an effective contribution towards improving the environment, educational
action must be linked with legislation, policies, measures of control, and the decisions
that governments may adopt in relation to the human environment.
b) Environmental Education: Meaning, Objectives, Principles, Significance.

Environmental Education:-
Meaning:-
Environmental education is a process by which people develop awareness, concern and
knowledge of the environment and learn to use this understanding to preserve, conserve and
utilize the environment in a sustainable manner for the benefit of present and future
generation.

Environmental education is a process that allows individuals to explore environmental

issues, engage in problem solving, and take action to improve the environment. As a result,
individual develop deeper understanding of environmental issues and have the skills to make
informed and responsible decisions.

Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments
function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live
sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating disciplines such as biology, chemistry,
physics, ecology, earth science, atmospheric science, mathematics, and geography.

Definition:
“EE refers to the awareness of physical & cultural environment & perceive its relevance for
real life situation.” - R. A. Sharma (1996)

Specific objectives:
The above goals were better defined by 5 objectives which were outlined in UNESCO -
UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) Environmental Education Newsletter Vol.1,
No1 (January 1996). These objectives are to improve: awareness, knowledge, attitudes, skill
and participation.
1. Awareness - to help social groups and individuals acquire awareness and sensitivity
towards: "the environment as a whole, and;" issues, questions and problems related to
environment and development
2. Knowledge - to help individuals, groups and societies gain a variety of experience in, and
acquire a basic understanding of what is required to create ate and maintain a sustainable
environment.
3. Attitudes - to help individuals, groups and societies acquire: " a set of values and feelings
of concern for the environment, and " the motivation to actively participate in protection of
the environment.
4. Skills - help individuals, groups and societies acquire the skills for: identifying,
"anticipating ", preventing and “solving environmental problems”.
5. Participation - to provide individuals, groups and societies with an opportunity and the
motivation to be actively involved at all levels in creating a sustainable environment.

General objectives:
1. To enlighten the people on the physical components of the environment
2. To inform them about their dependence on the environmental resources
3. To enlighten them about the changes in the environment in the last decade and the
consequences of their present actions.
4. To alert them about the consequences of human actions on the environment both on man
himself and other forms of life
5. To create concern for environmental quality and conservation and to foster understanding
of man's relationship and interactions with the ecosphere
6. To develop personal, community and national sanitation and conservation ethics
7. To kindle a sense of responsibility that will motivate ordinary citizen to seek and acquire
more knowledge about the environment and its problems and propagate such knowledge to
others in the community
8. To awaken appreciation of the aesthetic quality of nature in order to encourage its uses for
recreation.

Principles:
1. Consider the environment in its totality, natural and built technological and social
structures (economic, political, technological, cultural, historical, moral and aesthetic)
2. Environmental education to be a continuous lifesaving process, (beginning at the pre-
school level continuing through all formal and non-formal stages).
3. Environmental education to be interdisciplinary in its approach.
4. Examine major environmental issues from local, national and international point of view.
5. Environmental education to focus on current and potential environmental situations.
6. Promote the values and necessity of local, national and international cooperation in the
prevention and solution to environmental problems
7. Explicitly consider environmental aspects of plan for development and growth
8. Enhance the position of learners in making decision concerning their environment and
accept responsibility
9. Enable learners to discover symptoms real and potential causes of environmental
problems.
10. Enhance the learner's ability to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Significance:
1) Environmental Education must strongly promote the need for personal initiatives and
social participation to achieve sustainability:
2) Environmental Education is important for understanding the basis of our existence and
those around us.
3) Environmental education, together with sound legislation, sustainable management, and
responsible actions by individuals and communities, is an important component of an
effective policy framework for protecting and managing the environment.
4) Environmental Education is a new focus for education. It is a way of helping individuals
and societies to resolve fundamental issues relating to the current and future use of the
world's resources.
5) Environment pollution in different forms continues to trouble us but environmental
education makes it possible for us to understand the clear outcome of human activity on the
environment
c) Approaches of teaching Environmental Education (Multidisciplinary & Interdisciplinary)

Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary approaches constitute complete models for

environmental education implementation. Both of them present environmental education
content through a range of disciplines, contributing, in that way, to its holistic character. The
difference between the two approaches lies in the organization of the matter, either by means
of infusion through the curriculum, or by the formation of a single subject.

Multidisciplinary Approach:-
A Multidisciplinary approach presents environmental matters through a range of disciplines
(infusion) (UNESCO, UNEP, IEEP, Environmental Education Series 22., 1993).
Environmental matters are distributed and presented through the various curriculum subjects.
Entwistle (1970) (in Theophilides, 1998:15) states that "environment is presented to the
students through various disciplines parted and unconnected. Knowledge and skills remain
isolated in different “departments...” knowledge exists in unconnected packages and students
have difficulties in understanding the environment as a unity"

Fig: Multidisciplinary approach to environmental education (infusion)

This happens because the teacher deals with only a few factors of the issue, (the ones
connected to his/her discipline) in isolation from the others. Sterling and Cooper (1992)
describing this method as one of the holistic approach methods, comment that the learners
"will gain only a partial or worse distorted understanding of the issue"

Interdisciplinary Approach:

Fig: An Interdisciplinary approach to environmental education (single subject)

The problem of the lack of curriculum coordination is resolved by the interdisciplinary
approach which does provide the links between the disciplines. Within the interdisciplinary
approach the content of the teaching becomes unified by using matter from various
disciplines simultaneously and forming single subject within which "Distinct subjects are
abolished and replaced by an interdisciplinary form of work, i.e. activities which relate to
many disciplines at the same time" (Theophilides 1998, p.13)

Environmental education "fuses" the disciplines in an organised and connected way, to help
students conceive a global image of the issue. In this case, the environmental (or
sustainable) part of the context of various disciplines, joins to form the multi-dimensional
profile of the environmental education issue (otherwise, the various disciplines contribute to
environmental education formation).