Goals of Environmental Education

In 1977, the goals of environmental education were agreed in the Tbilisi Declaration at the Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education held at Tbilisi.

They were amended at UNESCO meetings in the Asia-Pacific region in order to capture the notion of sustainability. The three goals of environmental education agreed upon are:

To foster clear awareness of, and concern about, economic, social, political and economic interdependence at local, regional, national and international/global levels;  To provide every person with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes, commitment and skills needed to protect and improve the environment;  To develop and reinforce new patterns of environmentally sensitive behavior among individuals, groups and society as a whole for a sustainable environment.

The above goals were better defined by 5 objectives which were outlined in UNESCO-UNEP Environmental Education Newsletter Vol.1, No1 (January 1996). These objectives are to improve:

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. Knowledge - to help individuals, groups and societies gain a variety of experience in, and acquire a basic understanding of what is required to create and maintain a sustainable environment. 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. Skills - help individuals, groups and societies acquire the skills for: " identifying, " anticipating, " preventing and " solving environmental problems. 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.

Environmental Education: Objectives, Aims and Principles of Environmental Education

Environmental education is concerned with those aspects of human behaviour which are more directly related to man’s interaction with bio-physical environment and his ability to understand this interaction.

One of the most glaring problems which the world faces today is the environmental pollution. Man has exploited nature excessively at the cost of the environment. There is an immediate need to make people aware about environmental degradation. Education and public participation may change and improve the quality of environment.  

According to UNESCO, “Environmental education is a way of implementing the goals of environmental protection. It is not a separate branch of science but lifelong interdisciplinary field of study.” It means education towards protection and enhancement of the environment and education as an instrument of development for improving the quality of life of human communities.

Objectives of Environmental Education:

The following are the objectives of environmental education:

1. Awareness:

To help the social groups and individuals to acquire knowledge of pollution and environmental degradation.

2. Knowledge:

To help social groups and individuals to acquire knowledge of the environment beyond the immediate environment including distant environment.

3. Attitudes:

To help social groups and individuals to acquire a set of values for environmental protection.

4. Skills and Capacity Building:

To help social groups and individuals to develop skills required for making discriminations in form, shape, sound, touch, habits and habitats. Further, to develop ability to draw unbiased inferences and conclusions.

5. Participation:

To provide social groups and individuals with an opportunity to be actively involved at all levels in environmental decision making.

There are four areas of decision making:

(a) The types of environmental issues on which decisions might be made;

(b) The physical setting of the prospective environmental decision, including its spatial scale;

(c) The types of social groups and individuals who might interact in a process leading up to an environmental decision; and

(d) The time frame within which the decision must be made.

Aims of Environmental Education

UNESCO has highlighted the following aims of environmental education:

The aim of environmental education is clearly to show the economic, social, 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.

The main aim of environmental education at the grass root level is to succeed in making individuals and communities understand the complex nature of the natural and the built environments. Further, to acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes, and practical skills to participate in a responsible and effective way in anticipating and solving social problems, and in the management of the quality of the environment.

Therefore, necessary steps for environmental education are:

(a) Awareness;

(b) Knowledge;

(c) Attitude building for motivating to protect environment;

(d) Evaluation of environmental measures; and

(e) Skill and capacity building!

According to D.H. Meadows’, environmental educators on every continent develop materials and methods as varied as the different cultures and ecosystems on earth. He lists some key concepts which underlie all environmental education. These are food for thought, levels of being, complex systems, population growth and carrying capacity, ecologically sustainable development, socially sustainable development, knowledge, uncertainty and sacredness.

Guiding Principles of Environmental Education:

These are as follows:

1. Resource Principles:

(a) Resource use demands long-term planning if we are to achieve truly sustainable development.

(b) Rationale utilization of a renewable source is a sensible way of preserving the resources while obtaining maximum benefits from it.

(c) A mode of life heavily dependent upon rapidly diminishing non­renewable energy sources (i.e. fossil fuel) is unstable.

2. Soil Principles:

(a) The protection of soils and the maintenance of sustainable agriculture are essential factors into the survival of civilizations and settlements.

(b) Soil erosion is the irreversible loss of essential resources and must be prevented.

(c) A vegetation cover (grass, forest) is important for the balance of nature and for the conservation of soil, besides being exploitable natural resources.

3. Wildlife Protection Principles:

(a) Wildlife population is important aesthetically, biologically and economically.

(b) Nature reserves and other protected wilderness areas are of value in protecting endangered species because they preserve their habitats.

(c) The survival of humanity is closely linked to the survival of wildlife both being dependent on the same life-supporting systems.

4. Environmental Management Principles:

(a) Sound environmental management is beneficial to both man and environment.

(b) Management of natural resources should be done in a rational manner.

(c; Elimination of wastes through recycling and the development of clean.

Technologies are important to modern societies to help reduce the consumption of resources.

(d) Human activities and technologies influence considerably the natural environment and may affect its capacity to sustain life, including human life.

5. Other Principles:

(a) The relations between humans and their environment are mediated by their culture i.e.

(b) Cultural, historical and architectural heritage are much in need of protection.

Concepts of Environmental Education:

Any curriculum should be based on well-thought out and clearly defined concepts that one wishes the learner to acquire. Some important concepts of environmental education have interdisciplinary significance such as environmental pollution, carrying capacity, ecosystems, ecology, and conservation etc.