Environmental Education and Awareness

INTRODUCTION

Creating an Environment to Educate about the Environment

The environment is becoming increasingly contaminated by our imagination. Most human activities cause the environment to become contaminated. This will affect both the global and regional levels. Thinning of the ozone layer and the increase in greenhouse gas emissions are examples of global losses. While water pollution, soil erosion is one of the few regional outcomes created by human activities and by them the environment is also affected. Environment education and awareness is comprehensive, continuing process, rooted in broad interdisciplinary base.

Environment education is multifaceted and touches upon every aspect of life. It aims to assist individuals an understanding that people are inseparable parts of an environmental system and that whatever they do alter their surroundings in both harmful and beneficial ways.

Therefore, our voice is essential for environmental education for environmental protection and management. It is a right step to teach people and society the best way to utilize present and future resources. Through environmental education, all people can gain knowledge of correcting the fundamental issues leading to local pollution.

What is Environmental Education (EE)?

Environmental education is a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of man’s problems of maintaining a livable Earth. Technically, environmental education is an expansion of study of ecology, a branch of biology dealing with inter-relationship of living organisms with one another and their surroundings. In environmental education, people are told that how to manage the ecosystem in order to maintain the environment and the pollution free environment.  Environmental education provides the necessary skills and specialized knowledge to meet the challenges related to it. The main purpose of this education is to provide knowledge, to create awareness, to create an attitude of contemplation and to provide the necessary skills to control the environmental challenges.

Environmental Education after the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment organized by UNESCO in 1972 had gained reputation on a global scale. The concern for the environment in the present era found expression in the proclamation made to ‘Defend and improve the environment for the present and future generations’ by United Nations.  Immediately after this conference, UNESCO also launched the International Environmental Education Program (IEEP). Since then, the environmental problems have attracted the attention of a world cross- section of people all over the world.

Objectives of Environmental Education

The inter-governmental conference on environment education held at Tbilisi, USSR (1977) listed the following objectives of environmental education.

1. Knowledge: To help people acquire basic understanding of the total environment and associated problems.

2. Attitudes:To help people acquire social values, strong feelings of concern for the environment and the motivation to act in protecting and improving it.

3. Awareness: To help people acquire an awareness of and sensitivity to the total environment and its allied problems.

4. Skills: To help people to acquire skills for solving such problems and to evaluate environmental measures.

5. Participation: To help people develop a sense of responsibility and urgency regarding environmental problems and solutions.

Why is environmental education necessary?

Each country is engaged in efforts to solve environmental concerns with education. According to these different countries, environmental education should not only be a part of the education system, but also participate in the political system, so that the work, policies and appropriate plans can be prepared at the national level.

Environmental education should be able to assess the environmental condition and play a leading role in reducing environmental damage. It should be planned according to the rules, because normal changes in daily life can make a huge contribution in improving the environment.

Environmental Education and its Relevancy

Environmental education shall have relevance to the following aspects;

1. Public awareness
2. Identifications of environmental problems and solutions
3. Conservation and preservation of natural resources
4. Sustainable development
5. Successful and effective planning of national economy

Security of the environment is the responsibility of everyone. Therefore, environmental education should not be confined to a group or society, but every person should be aware of environmental protection. It should be a continuous and lifelong process and should be pragmatic towards environmental education so that it can be implemented properly.

Environmental Awareness

Environment awareness is the ABC of environmental literacy, environmental education, environmental issues, and environmental programs. It is the first step of the ladder to the environmental security for sustainable development. We all know the environment is close to linked to human beings and hence influences their health and quality of life. So improving our environment by environmental awareness and education will improve the human health and well being of all.

If the children are taught about the resources, environmental pollution, soil erosion, deflation and the protection and protection of endangered plants and extinct animals, the protection of the environment can be substantially improved. Education is a type of investment that changes over time as a valuable asset.

In India universities, there has been considerable focus on education, research and training. Over 20 different universities and institutions are taught courses like Environmental Engineering, Conservation and Management, Environmental Health and Social Science.

Importance of environmental awareness

• Environmental Awareness leads to understanding the environmental issues.
• Helps implementation of environmental programs, laws etc.
• Creates concern about environmental impact on Flora and Fauna and well being of man as well.
• Forms sink of environmentally aware people  - Human Resource.

In order to promote nationwide environmental awareness, Government of India had established the Environmental Education Center (CEE) in August 1984 with the support of Ministry of Environment and Forests. One of the main functions of CEE is that efforts should be made to give proper recognition to the role of environmental education. CEE runs many educational programs related to it.