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, individuals develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues and have the skills to make informed and responsible decisions.
International events that influenced the development of environmental education
• 1946 (UNESCO) The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation focused on conservation and environmental awareness and later on became part of the process of developing environmental education
• 1961 (WWF) World Wildlife Fund focused on raising fund to conserve wildlife
• 1972 The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stolkholm brought both poor and rich countries together to discuss environmental concerns which led to the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP)
• 1975 First International Workshop on Environmental Education in Belgrade, Yugoslavia Organised by (UNESCO) and (UNEP)
• 1977 First International environmental education conference held in Tbilisi and hosted by (UNESCO) resulted in the declaration of 12 principles which provided guidelines for the practice of environmental education on global, regional and national scale
• 1980 Publication of IUCN/UNEP/WWF-sponsored World Conservation Strategy. They created a ground-breaking document in which it achieved wide recognition and constituted a basis for national policy making.
• 1983 Brandt Commission Report which entitled Common Crisis North-South: cooperation for world recovery
• 1987 International Conference on Environmental Education held in Moscow Reaffirmed Tbilisi Principles as sound guidelines of Environmental Education programmes.
• 1991 Publication of IUCN/UNEP/WWF-sponsored Caring for the Earth: a strategy for sustainable living – they revised and updated the document in which was created in 1980
• 1992 the Rio Earth Summit/ United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 (UNCED, 1992) is a key document from this conference, the document emphasized the need
for wide scale environmental education programmes and forged a treaty on environmental education for sustainable
societies. Formed the NGO forum principles.
• 1997 The Earth Summit +5. Environmentalists and policy-makers from around the globe gather in Rome to review progress since the 1992 Earth Summit. They reemphasised the role of environmental education in support of sustainable development.
• 1997 Thessaloniki Conference on Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability – The 1997 (UNESCO) published document Education for a sustainable Future: a transdisciplinary vision for concerted action provided framework of discussions at this conference
• 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg – The role of education was emphasised as a response to issues of poverty, global inequalities and the need for sustainable development in all societies
• 2007 International conference on Environmental Education in India – This conference the need for green jobs for young entrepreneurs were emphasized so that the developing world can fight climate change and contribute to local economies
Environmental education is a complex field, and it covers a variety of different topics that are related to the environment. It even has some aspects of engineering in it, which means that a person can even start to understand how they can play a role in environmental engineering.
Components of Environmental Education
Awareness and Mindfulness: Mindfulness and affectability to nature’s turf and environmental difficulties that you may encounter as a result of being in the corporate sector today.
Knowledge and Learning: Learning and understanding of nature and environmental difficulties that are holding people back and/or causing the world to change in negative ways.
Attitudes: Disposition of sympathy toward nature’s domain and inspiration to enhance or keep up environmental quality, which will spill over into any plans that you make or anything else that you do that is related to the organization that you currently are working in or developing.