CHAPTER FIFTEEN
          INTRODUCTION                                                        The key international conventions on
                                                                        environment place a high value on public awareness,
                The pursuit of sustainable development and              education and training and obtaining information
         environmental conservation policies, objectives and            through monitoring as essential elements for the
         targets requires the public to be sufficiently sensitized      success of the conventions.  For example, the
         about the multiple dimensions of environment and               Convention on Biological Diversity, emphasizes the
         development.  Awareness and understanding of                   importance of public education and awareness
         environmental issues provide the basis and rationale           through promoting and encouraging measures
         for commitment and meaningful action towards                   required for the conservation of biological diversity.
         environmentally sound and sustainable development.             Since the convention came into force in December
                This chapter provides an overview of                    1995, the contracting parties (countries) have been
         developments in environmental education,                       motivated to address issues related to education and
         information, awareness and training in the Asian and           awareness on biodiversity.
         Pacific region during the 1990s.  The trends and                     In addition countries in the region recognize
         patterns in environmental education in formal and              the immensity of the challenges they face, and of the
         non-formal sectors, and initiatives and programmes             vital role that environmental education can play in
         that have been undertaken by governments,                      meeting these challenges.  There is a growing
         non-governmental organizations, communities and                perception by governments of the need to integrate
         by regional and international organizations are also           environmental education information and
         identified.  The underlying needs for environmental            communication into the country’s on-going
         education, information and communication are also              programmes.  As a result of the Agenda 21, the level
         discussed with a particular emphasis on the                    of cooperation and collaboration between
         constraints and key issues that need attention.                environmental and the educational institutions has
                                                                        increased.  In some countries, governmental
          ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION                                       environmental agencies have statutory requirements
                                                                        to engage in activities related to environmental
         A.     Main Trends and Conditions                              education and awareness.  For example, the
                Education has been identified as a critical             Malaysian Department of Environment has
         driving force for change in the Asian and Pacific              established an educational division under the
         Region, and countries and regional organizations               Environmental Quality Act, which is actively engaged
         have adopted a range of strategies for implementing            in promoting and implementing a variety of activities.
         programmes in environmental education (Fien 1999a).                  In many countries of the Asian and the Pacific
         The overall trends in environmental education                  Region environmental topics have been included in
         information and communication in the region reflect            education courses, through integrating environmental
         the concerns of people and societies in transition.            concerns in other subjects and through specific
                Environmental education is now being seen as            courses for the environment.  Government, NGOs,
         an instrument and a process that enables participation         educational institutions and media have undertaken
         and learning by people of all ages, based on                   some serious efforts to meet the growing
         two-way communication rather than the old                      environmental challenges by promoting
         paradigm of a one-way flow of information, from                environmental education, information and
         teachers to pupils.  The content and substance of              communication in their respective countries.
         environmental education is also undergoing review              Activities such as green bank, green press, eco-lubs,
         and change.  Reorienting education as a whole                  eco-polies, eco-farming and eco-harvesting; are
         towards sustainability involves the various levels of          emerging in the region.  Special economic incentives
         formal, non-formal and informal education at all               (such as subsidy, tax-exemption and other incentives)
         levels of society.  Environmental education has                are provided to schools in some countries where
         developed within the conceptual framework that                 environmental education courses are offered.
         emerged from the first international conference in                   There is greater recognition of the role of NGOs
         Tbilisi (1977) and is now seen as education for                and civil society organizations, and the need for
         sustainability.  This allowed environmental education          meaningful community participation in debates and
         to address the broad range of issues and concerns              action programmes aimed at education and training
         included in Agenda 21 and others which evolved                 for sustainable development.  NGOs and
         through the meetings of the Commission on                      governments are increasingly working together,
         Sustainable Development (UNESCO 1997).                         reinforcing each other’s strengths and outreach.
                                                                        Linkages between governmental institutions and
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             NGOs are improving in most countries of the region,         and awareness programmes highlight issues of the
             and in some cases, governments are actually                 marine environment emerging from the National
             depending on mature and experienced NGOs to                 Environment Action Plan of 1989 (IUCN 1998).
             promote environmental awareness, communication,             Whereas in Nepal, the national goals of education
             and training activities (See Chapter 14).                   are to teach thoughtful protection and wise use of
                                                                         the natural environment and national heritage.  In
             B.    Formal Environmental Education                        Nepal, the general need of environmental protection
                   Environmental education is increasingly a             from specific problems resulting from population
             prominent part of primary, secondary and tertiary           pressure on natural resources, and the links between
             education in Asia and the Pacific.  The formal              environment, population and natural resources, were
             education sector plays a vital role in environmental        addressed in the environmental education plan
             education and awareness by exposing the younger             (IUCN 1998).
             generation to the information, issues, analyses and               In Republic of Korea, during the 1990s,
             interpretations on environment and development.             “Environment” and “Environmental Science” were
                   A number of factors have influenced the               included in the middle school curriculum as separate
             development of environmental education in the               courses, attributing to the common understanding
             region.  The two over-arching factors are national          that environmental education for young children was
             education policy and national environment and               the most important means to solve persistent
             population policy.  These policies are a reflection of      environmental pollution (Kang 1999).  In order to
             national cultural values, priorities and socio-economic     raise young people’s awareness of environmental
             goals in most countries.  The national environmental        preservation, and to cultivate environmental
             education policy is usually the result of decisions         perspectives, the Republic of Korea designated
             made in these broader fields (UNESCO-PROAP 1996).           63 schools as demonstration environmental schools
             For example, environmental education in Australia           from 1985, and has disseminated their best practices
             has seen two major shifts since 1970s.  First, there        to an additional 26 schools in 1999.  These schools
             has been a distinct move away from nature and               are now eligible for subsidies and environment-
             science-based environmental education to a concern          related educational materials (Green Korea 1999).
             with the social, economic and political aspects of                In People’s Republic of China, environmental
             sustainable development.  There has also been a             education is coupled with the working schedule of
             major shift from schools to adult and community             public agencies and educational institutions.  This
             environmental education.  (Fien 1999b).                     was formalized by a regulation issued by the National
                   Rather than establishing a new subject, most          Bureau in the Conference of National Environmental
             countries have opted to infuse environmental                Education in 1992.  At pre-school and primary levels,
             education objectives and strategies into the existing       environmental education is carried out through
             curricula, while some other countries practice both         games, audiovisual means and the study of natural
             options.  In addition, the focus on practical learning      systems.  In secondary schools, environmental
             in the real world in environmental education helps          concepts are infused into the courses of physics,
             schools to address important general educational            chemistry, biology and geography.  At the same time,
             objectives related to values and to skills development      the teachers use local examples to help develop
             (UNESCO-PROAP 1996).                                        environmental understanding among the students
                   Nationally determined syllabi often provide for       (UNESCO-PROAP 1997).
             a coordinated programme of environmental topics in                In small island countries of the South Pacific
             both primary and secondary schools in countries of          subregion, considerable effort is directed towards
             the region.  However, there is some lack of                 infusion of environmental education into various
             coordination at different levels of education in the        subjects within the primary and secondary school
             national framework, which prevents the development          systems.  The syllabus for the secondary level has a
             of a comprehensive environmental education                  strong emphasis on environmental studies, developed
             programme.                                                  either independently, as in the Solomon Islands and
                                                                         Papua New Guinea, or in collaboration with the South
             1.    Primary and Secondary Levels                          Pacific Regional Environmental Programme, SPREP
                   The diversity of approaches in primary and            (Ravuvu 1998).
             secondary education seen across the Asian and Pacific
             Region are based on each country’s major and                2.    Tertiary Level
             threatened resources, and issues of concern.  For                 Tertiary level education has responded to the
             example, in the Maldives, environmental education           increasing demand for environmental managers and
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         CHAPTER FIFTEEN
         experts in the 1990s.  Key trends have been observed          year undergraduates.  The courses raise awareness
         across the region in relation to environmental                and understanding of topical environmental issues
         education at tertiary level these include:                    and are integrated with other courses, especially
                                                                       science and social science (UNESCO-PROAP, 1997).
         •      basic environmental concepts and elements                     In People’s Republic of China and Pakistan,
                added to existing courses at undergraduate and         many colleges and universities have introduced
                postgraduate levels, for all students irrespective     environmental courses for undergraduates and
                of their courses;                                      postgraduates, and have also directed then towards
         •      new environmental units or modules                     training professionals and officials.  In Mongolia,
                introduced into a large number of courses at           the government has prepared a masterplan for
                undergraduate and postgraduate levels, thus            environmental education and awareness, which will
                increasing the depth and detail of                     cover both formal and non-formal education and
                environmental study;                                   communication (IUCN 1998).
         •      new non-degree programmes and courses                         However, constraints that prevent countries in
                (at foundation, certificate or diploma levels)         Asia and the Pacific from achieving their
                introduced by tertiary education institutions to       environmental education and training needs are
                cater to the demand for in-service training and        evident.  At a UNESCO sponsored regional seminar
                upgrading of knowledge and understanding               on environmental education in 1996, it was noted:
                on environmental issues and practices;                 “Each country has already initiated a number of
         •      an increase in the publication of relevant             education and training programmes at the tertiary
                textbooks and audio visual material;                   or higher level of education that are related to aspects
         •      greater emphasis on training the trainers, and         of the environment.  In various ways and to varying
                in strengthening the tertiary education system         degrees, each of the countries has responded to the
                and research capabilities;                             problems of the environment with environmental
         •      more research on environmental education               laws and regulations, and with associated political
                policies and practices;                                and institutional initiatives.  However, in all countries,
         •      a greater dialogue and information exchange            the development of persons with the conceptual
                between the users of environmental skills and          understandings and skills that these regulatory
                talent, in government, private and NGO sectors         intentions require for implementation and
                etc., and the institutions of tertiary education,      management lags well behind what is needed”
                ensuring, education and training address               (UNESCO-PROAP 1997).
                prevailing practical needs; and
         •      increasing emphasis placed on adult and                3.     Materials and Study Aids
                community education, using both formal and                    In line with the growing interest and activity
                non-formal methods to raise the overall                in environmental education, awareness and training,
                environmental literacy levels.                         the demand for educational materials and study aids
                Increase in environmental studies has been a           has also increased.  However, the limited availability
         response to the market realities, and also to the             of materials may not meet individual country
         growing recognition of the environmental crisis and           requirements in terms of local language, and in
         the management options available.  Countries have             coverage of the most relevant issues to the country.
         adopted different mechanisms to cater to their specific              Many government and non-government
         needs in tertiary education.  For example, in Viet            institutions have risen to this challenge.  For example,
         Nam in 1995, the Ministry of Teaching and Education           in Malaysia, the Academy of Writers was enlisted to
         made it compulsory for a course in Environment and            produce storybooks that will instill environmental
         Man to be taught in all aspects of natural sciences,          values and attitudes amongst primary school
         social sciences, humanities, agriculture etc., with more      children.  A similar initiative has been made in the
         specialized environmental science and technical               South Pacific subregion where there have been several
         courses in other university courses.  Since the early         efforts to produce locally relevant environmental
         1990s, short, medium and long-term postgraduate               education material at the primary and secondary
         courses for environmental managers and researchers            school levels.
         have been conducted in various specialized centres                   A widely felt constraint has been the lack of
         (UNESCO-PROAP 1997).                                          standardization in textbooks and other material on
                Specialized degree courses have been                   environmental issues and a failure to provide the
         introduced in Thailand, at graduate level, with               full information base.  While the subject of
         compulsory course introduced and targeted to first            environment can be interpreted and presented in
                                                                       many ways, and it can be looked at through a
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             scientific or cultural angle, there is a basic need to     educational systems are often insufficiently dynamic
             present facts accurately and discuss issues in a           to accommodate the evolving social, economic,
             balanced manner.  If this is lacking, the wider goals      political and conservation aspects of sustainable
             of environmental education cannot be met.  An              development.
             extensive review of environmental textbooks,                     The important pre-requisites for the successful
             supplementary readers and other material is required       introduction of environmental education in schools
             in many countries of the region as part of a process       include:  the existence of clear and well
             to improve their quality.                                  communicated policies; the political will and
                   Establishment of environmental study centres         availability of sufficient resources for implementation;
             has helped a great deal in developing materials and        curricula revision; proper preparation of teachers
             study aids for both formal and non-formal                  through in-service training; the availability of relevant
             environmental education.  Such centres also provide        materials in local languages; networks for exchange
             students with information, insights and practical          of expertise between teachers; and adequate
             activities, and adult visitors gain information and        assessment and incentives for teachers development.
             advice.  In Indonesia, the Ministries of Environment       It is encouraging to note that in spite of many
             and Education have been collaborating since 1979 in        constraints, practitioners and promoters of
             establishing Environmental Study Centres (PSLs) in         environmental education have found innovative ways
             all public universities.  By 1997, there were more than    of teaching throughout the region.
             72 PSLs covering all 27 provinces of Indonesia.  These
             centres perform three functions:  education and            C.    Non-formal Education
             training pertaining to environmental management;                 Non-formal environmental educational
             extension services, fostering public education and         activities exist alongside the formal educational
             awareness; and research and surveys in support of          systems, at curricular and extra curricular levels, in
             environmental management.                                  occupational training, and through wide public
                   The Department of Environmental Quality              awareness activities through non-formal channels
             Promotion (DEQP) in Thailand has supported the             such as mass media, and voluntary organizations.
             establishment of Provincial Environmental Education        Different communities, institutions and individuals
             Centres (PEEC) in selected schools since 1995 and          choose methods and practices that best suit their local
             are expected to expand these to every province by          needs and capacities.
             2001.  The main objectives are to develop
             environmental education materials and tools in             1.    Learning by Doing
             relation to local environmental problems, and to                 In several countries, there are efforts to get
             strengthen the capability of environmental educators       students to relate to local problems, while
             in all parts of the country.                               understanding their global implications.  In
                                                                        Bangladesh, an environmental education programme
             4.    Issues and Constraints                               called  Muktangan Siksha, or open-air education,
                   There are many constraints and barriers to the       encourages field programmes related to the
             widespread adoption and practice of environmental          surroundings and communities.  In Myanmar, an
             education in the region.  In the formal education          imaginative pre-school and lower primary
             sector, class sizes are often large and teachers lack      environmental programme bases its teaching on a
             resources and experience in interactive pupil-centred      study of the surroundings, or patwinkyin, without
             teaching strategies.  School curricula are also            formal textbooks (Kartikeya V. 1995).  In Sri Lanka, a
             dominated by competitive academic curricula which          WWF-supported innovative environmental education
             prioritizes end–of-course examinations and                 programme involving over 750 schools has been
             discourages the development of locally and                 implementing an approach called ‘greening of
             personally relevant intellectual skills.  Outside the      learning’.  In this, students are encouraged to beautify
             formal education sector, environmental education is        the school garden, start a plant nursery or engage in
             often poorly organized and resourced.                      other ‘green’ activities within the school premises.
                   Another common constraint is the lack of clear       Due to its success the WWF has started introducing
             integration of environmental education objectives          the same concepts and approaches in other countries,
             and programmes with national education and                 such as Viet Nam.
             environmental policies.  In some countries, the                  Research and advocacy organizations are
             absence of national policies or guidelines for             increasingly involved in developing non-formal
             environmental education has resulted in a lack of          environmental activities.  For example, Development
             coherent strategies and long term planning.  Even in       Alternatives (DA) located in India, has launched the
             those countries which do have such policies, the           Community Led Environmental Action Network
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