Environmental Education: A Vital Component of Environmental Awareness Towards Sustainable Development
Environmental Education: A Vital Component of Environmental Awareness Towards Sustainable Development
By Liwayway Memije-Cruz
"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts." - Rachel Carson
Indeed, environmental education plays the key role in putting into action what Tbilisi, United Nation Conference on Environment and Development, Earth Summit and Agenda 21 had endorsed with regards to environmental education ethics. This is from the standpoint of the individual to the whole international community whatever their age, geographical position, cultural background or intellectual group. According to them a new awareness of the complex and dynamic interrelationship between man and his total environment had to be recognized. One of the primary aims of environmental education as endorsed by the Tbilisi Conference was to enable people to understand the complex nature of environmental issues arising out of biological interaction. The individual and the community had to be provided with the means of interpreting the independence of these various elements in space and time so as to promote a better use of resources. A key concept relates to the view that fostering responsible and effective participation concerning the quality of natural, social, and cultural environment is basic to improvement. To this end, education’s role should center on the dissemination of information on development methods likely to maintain and enhance a harmonious relationship with the environment. In short, EE has to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and the acquisition of attitudes and skills required for the preservation and improvement of the quality of environment.
For a long time the solution to environmental problems was perceived to be the replenishment of the resources that were being depleted, for example, deforested areas required reforestation programs. There is now-growing recognition that long-term solutions to environmental problems need to be directed towards changing behavior. The complexity of some environmental problems and the inability of people to solve them also challenge the traditional view. Problems such as the depletion of the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect, caused by excessive carbon emissions, cannot be resolved using the traditional approach.
There is also greater acknowledgement of the need to change our consumption habits. The world’s resources cannot meet the demands of the world population where consumption levels are on the rise and developing countries follow the pattern set by people in the developed countries. And even if this were possible it would still be impossible to provide for future generations with similar demands.
The world wide environmental crisis affects every member of our species. No single individual, group or nation, regardless of our economic status or privileged political position can escape the global consequences of these overarching new environmental realities. Their impacts will continue to be felt by every human being and by every other species with which we share this planet. We are now into climate change which is greatly affecting the air, land and water including animals, plants and we humans.
As we welcome the next few years of the millennium there is no doubt that our lives would be more relevant if we will be able to live in harmony with the massive changes taking place around us and fully reflect today’s new realities. We all have to work hand in hand in saving our planet not only for today… for us but for the future generations who will be inheriting this place we all live in.
Liwayway Memije-Cruz is based in Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines, and is a Reporter for Allvoices.
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