S tu d ia Ecologiae et Bioethicae
2/2004
Luc HENS*
Concepts and Trends in Environmental Education
for Sustainable Development
Introduction
Promoting environm ental awareness, behaviour, and eventually action through education, and raising public awareness and training are the goals of environm ental education (EE). This field of grow ing complexity and interdisciplinarity, grows in importance as the discussion of environmental issues increasingly involves whole societies.
Historical background
It is not easy to trace the origins of environm ental education (EE). However, it is certain that the nature conservation movement, from the beginning of its activities during the second half of last century, both in the US and in Great Britain, had an agenda of dissem inating its ideas through public education. Specialized publications were set up to achieve this objective. This m odel has been used not only by the nature conservation m ovem ent in m any countries, but also by associated groups, such as the environmental movement and consumer groups.
Other factors that have contributed to the developm ent of EE are national and international events, existing educational traditions, and the rise of concern for the state of the environm ent, to name a few (MESAGES, 1996). Table 1 lists a series of recent international key events in the area of EE. One of the elem ents the table highlights is the internationally leading role of UNEP and UNESCO and more particularly, UNESCO's EE-programme. They motivated the organisation of the Tbilisi conference in 1977, which still is a main point of reference, and continue to prom ote EE worldwide.
Event Venue Feature 1970 IUCN International
Workshop on E E
Carson City, Nevada (U SA )
first definition on E E
1972 Intergovernmental Conference on the Human Environment
Stockholm, Sweden recommendation on E E , decission to create the UN Environment Programme 1975 Workshop on E E Belgrade, former
Yugoslavia Belgrade Charter on E E Launching of U N E P /U N ES C O International E E Programme (IIE P ) 1977 Intergovernmental Conference on E E
Tbilisi, former U S S R Review of developments on E E and Declarations and Recommendations on E E 1987 Intergovernmental
Conference on E E
Moscow, former U S S R Review of progress since Tbilisi and priorities for E E in the 1990s
1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Chapter 36 on E E - E E as a transsectoral element in Agenda 21
Table 1. Selected international key events on environmental education during the period 1970-1992 Definitions, goals and methods (Palmer and Neal, 1994)
There is no unique, universally agreed upon definition of EE. Box 1 lists an exem plary collection of definitions of EE. Although the list is limited, reading through them leads to the discovery of the critical elements guiding the discussion on EE. They entail:
— EE is directed towards behavioural changes (IUCN definition) or at creating participatory citizens (EU definition)
— EE is directed towards local issues (the original aim of the nature conservation m ovem ent) but also aims to address global issues (Chapter 36, Agenda 21)
— EE is focused towards understanding nature and its processes (eco- centric), but also aims at understanding hum an-environm ent relation ships (entailing an important anthropocentric component)
Another element the definitions make clear, is that EE is a broad field and due to its relative vagueness, it is sometimes interchanged, and some times (partially) overlaps related fields. Figure 1 shows a set of fields of education related to environmental education. It is im portant to note in this discussion that all these fields now tend to merge towards „Education for Sustainability". This points to an education that should encourage an understanding of basic ecological principles, the unsustainable nature of pure economic growth, and the connections between the many parts of a global environment. Thus, environmental education for sustainable deve lopment will be much more far-reaching and holistic than simply educa tion for careful management of resources (MESAGES, 1996).
Although there is quite some variability in the definitions of environmental education, there is relatively more consensus on its goals than hierarchy of these goals. EE should aim consecutively at the following: 1. First EE should increase know ledge: people should understand how
their environments work.
2. Second, increased knowledge should lead towards more awareness of human environmental behaviour: this is a matter of promoting values and obtaining com m itm ent which people need for protecting and improving their environment.
3. Third, after knowledge and awareness, skills should be developped for the investigation and evaluation of the environm ent. A critical mind is of fundamental importance.
4. Fourth, after the three previous steps, action and active participation of individuals, groups and the society as a whole, conclude the target list.
E n v iro n m en tal e d u ca tio n is th e p ro cess o f re co g n isin g v a lu e s and clarify in g co n cep ts, in ord er to d ev elop skills n e cessa ry to u n d erstan d and ap p reciate the in te r-re lated n e ss am o n g m an , h is cu ltu re , and h is b io lo g ical su rro u n d in g s. E n v iro n m e n ta l e d u ca tio n a lso e n ta ils in d ecisio n -m a k in g and se lf-fo rm u la tio n o f a co d e o f b e h a v io u r a b o u t issu e s co n cern in g en v iro n m en ta l q u a lity . IU C N (1970)
T h e o b je ctiv e o f e n v iro n m e n ta l e d u ca tio n is to in cre a se th e a w a re n e ss o f the p ro b lem s in th is field , as w ell as p o ssib le so lu tio n s, an d to lay the fo u n d ation s for a fu lly in fo rm ed an d activ e p a rticip a tio n o f th e in d iv id u al in the p ro te ctio n o f th e e n v iro n m e n t an d the p ru d e n t u se o f n a tu ra l re so u rces. E U (1990)
E d u catio n , in clu d in g fo rm al e d u ca tio n , p u b lic a w a re n e ss an d tra in in g sh ou ld b e re co g n ised as a p ro ce ss b y w h ich h u m a n b ein g s an d so cietie s can reach th eir fu lle st p o te n tia l. E d u ca tio n is critic a l fo r p ro m o tin g su sta in a b le d ev elo p m en t an d im p ro v in g th e ca p a city o f th e p e o p le to ad d ress e n v iro n m en t an d d e v e lo p m e n t issu es. W h ile b a sic ed u catio n p ro v id e s th e u n d e rp in n in g fo r an y e n v iro n m en ta l an d d ev elo p m en t e d u catio n , the la tte r n e ed s to b e in co rp o ra te d as an e sse n tia l p a rt o f learn in g . B o th fo rm al an d n o n -fo rm a l ed u catio n are in d isp e n sa b le to ch an g in g p e o p le 's a ttitu d e s so th a t th e y h av e th e c a p a city to a sse ss and ad d ress th e ir su sta in a b le d e v e lo p m e n t co n cern s. It is a lso critica l for a ch iev in g e n v iro n m en ta l an d e th ica l a w a ren e ss, v a lu e s and a ttitu d e s, sk ills and b eh a v io u r co n siste n t w ith su sta in a b le d ev elo p m en t an d for effectiv e p u b lic p a rtic ip a tio n in d ecisio n -m a k in g . To b e e ffectiv e, e n v iro n m en t and d e v e lo p m e n t e d u ca tio n sh o u ld d ea l w ith the d y n am ics of b o th th e p h y s ic a l/b io lo g ic a l an d so cio -e co n o m ic e n v iro n m en t and h u m an (w h ich m ay in clu d e sp iritu a l) d ev elo p m en t, sh o u ld b e in teg rated in all d iscip lin es, an d sh o u ld e m p lo y fo rm al and n o n -fo rm al m eth o d s and effective m ean s o f co m m u n icatio n . A gen d a 21 (1992)
The action com ponent in this list stems from the NGO approach towards EE, and although it is clearly present in some official points of view (see e.g. EU definition in Box 1), world-w ide consensus was not reached on this element in preparing Rio's Agenda 21.
These goals are intim ately linked w ith m ethods. Obtaining „know ledge-aw areness-skills-action" necessitates not only a pure intellectual approach. Learning about the environm ent is a matter of „head, heart and hands". It entails cognitive, affective and kinetic ways of learning. In depth learning should be the goal of any EE process.
Earth Education
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Outdoor Education International Events Conservation Educationr\
Environmental Education>
X J
Human Rights Education Peace Education Education for Sustainability Development EducationFigu re 1. Influences on the content and direction o f environmental education
Some of these learning techniques have to do w ith environmental
information and environmental communication.
Environmental information is often described as the activity which
provides inform ation for reaching the goals of EE. It is highly instrum ental in its approach and involves a broad scale of instruments ranging from the mass m edia over a wide array of printed materials (brochures, posters, books...), com puter databases and networks, draw ings, m usic, lyrics, role-play, games, on field activities to demonstrations and contests.
Environm ental com m unication concerns how the environmental
m essage can be brought over to the audience. Its effectiveness depends m ainly upon five conditions:
1. The message should reach the target person or target group.
2. Knowledge of the target group and its social environm ent is necessary.
3. The advantages and disadvantages of environm ental „(un)friendly" behaviour should be transparent.
4. The communicator of the message should be credible to the recipient: opposing target groups often try to m inim ise each other's
inform ation, som etim es by decrediting the content of the inform ation.
5. Feed-back is necessary to build in attitude changes on a long term basis: very often however evaluation and feed back of environmental com m unication lacks or is reduced to a suboptim al component. Corrections based on evaluations can substantially im prove the expected outcome.
Environmental inform ation, com m unication and education are interrelated. Figure 2 shows their hierarchy. The first step is information, the acts of providing data, com m ents, and guidance. This inform ation needs to be communicated in a professional way. Both information and communication are im portant instruments for environmental education. The figure expands this further into the objectives of EE as environmental aw areness, literacy and knowledge. This capacity on its turn might provide a sound basis for e.g. environmental management.
Environmental Management |
reflecting on
Environmental Awareness,
Literacy, Knowledge, Skills
which leads to
Environmental Education
fosters
Environmental Communication
through
Environmental Information
Figu re 2. Relationship between environmental education, communication, awareness and management (after W. Leal-Filho, 1999).
In view of these goals and m ethods, environm ental education is clearly a long term (life-long) process, which necessitates continuity to be
effective. It uses a broad range of teaching and learning techniques and instruments to reach these targets.
Education for sustainable development
Agenda 21 (1992) provides a world-wide fram ew ork for sustainable developm ent. Chapter 36 analyses the education as an instrum ent to reach sustainability. The general objective was to develop an environmental development literacy, to be established by the year 2000, as the learning requirement for an environmental competent citizenry.
As shown in figure 1, education for sustainable development broadens the environmental education paradigm. It liases environmental education with peace, hum an rights, development, and earth issues. In this w ay EE addresses not only aspects of nature conservation and environmental quality, but also societal and economic aspects (figure 3).
Nature - ► Environment
► Economics
F ig u r e 3. A re a s c o v e re d b y e n v ir o n m e n ta l e d u c a tio n i n a s u s ta in a b ility c o n te x t
Issues dealt with in this sustainability context partially reflect this broader scope: population, fair trade or environm ental security issues provide an example of this. On the other hand, the key issues in EE as desertification, biodiversity, pollution, waste, resource and energy use rem ain on the agenda. As this point the context provides specificity. W aste e.g. will be discussed on a background of changing production and consum ption patterns. This scope will not only facilitate to understand qualitative and quantitative changes of the waste problem such as the increasing am ount of plastic packaging, but also provide indications for managem ent options.
Sustainable development as a scientific concept and a reference point for environmental policy is not univocally accepted anymore. Reasons for this are multiple:
1. Sustainable development has always been felt as a counterdiction in terms. One of the most obvious reasons is that utilization rates below
the natural restoration speed are hardly imaginable in a free market economy. Consequently for m any resources depletion, and the deprivation of the next generations is unavoidable.
2. Sustainable development has less been used to move environmental concerns to the center of decision making, but rather to bring down the environmental necessities in favor of socio-economic reasons. 3. The introduction the sustainable development concept has not
resulted in an over all improved environmental quality. In too many countries, for too much param eters environm ental degradation continues.
This critical discussion does not negate that there is a broader
framework for environm ental education. However sustainable
development is too much felt as a com m ercial and prom otional term, which has lost most of its content. A discussion focusing on e.g. a „viable future" is preferred.
Poverty and environmental education
During recent years the attention of (part of) the international community moves from environm ent to poverty. Already at the Stockholm Conference (1972), M. Ghandi proclaimed poverty as the main driving actor behind environm ental degradation in m ost developing countries.
At the local level bush-fires, hunting, fishing using pollutants or explosives, m ost form s of sm all and medium scale m ining, offer clear manifestations of the relationship betw een poverty and environm ental degradation. Those involved in these practices m ost often do so solely for survival. In the forem ost m ajority of these cases people do not appreciate the harm caused to the environment. They even feel that protection of the environm ent or enforcing environm ental laws means denying them of their basic sources of living.
This m ight illustrate the alm ost intim ate relationship betw een poverty and environment. However poverty alleviation has also a much broader context of alphabetization, safeguarding basic necessities and development in its m ost com plex aspects. Therefore, replacing environment by poverty alleviation on the international agenda entails the risk that awareness of and attention for environmental problems will fade out, while m ost of them are m aybe m anaged but fundam entally unresolved.
Actors in E E
There are as m any target groups in EE as there are actors in the environmental policy-making and debate. To some extent, these different groups are characterized by specific aims.
A uthorities, as a rule, have to cover a very broad area of EE. These
range from voluntary initiatives to provide general environmental inform ation (e.g. a forest museum) or to inform and com m ent on a particular policy (e.g. a waste collection policy), to legally structured inform ation procedures such as the free access to environmental information collected by the authorities or the involvement of citizens in environmental impact assessment procedures. In spite of the breadth of the environm ental education m essage, authorities often lack the personnel trained in com m unicating this message. The content of the message is often poorly structured and misdirected.
The consum er-citizen m ainly acts as a receiver of environmental
inform ation, which m ost often has a limited degree of specificity. The specificity increases w hen the consum er is a target in environmental policy. Inform ation on the so called „green-" or „ecolabels" are quite specific. Citizens can substantially increase their active participation in environmental policy by speaking out such as in permit procedures and in hearings or serving on environmental (advisory) councils.
EE should however not only address consumers. The target is more ambitious: through a process of literacy and learning, EE should promote
an environmentally competent and aware citizenry. This citizenry, which has
inculturated environmental values, provides the necessary support for an appropriate long term environmental policy. Addressing how ever large groups, which need to be reached with general targets, are options which need more specific interpretation. This doesnot seem to be an easy task and m ight explain w hy very few EE projects are targeted to the population at large.
Business and industry is a long standing actor in environmental policy.
It is one of the groups which is m ost experienced with EE, but uses it more as a m anagem ent tool rather than in a „deep learning" sense. Com m unication has dual conotations for business and industry. The internal aspects aim to involve all groups operating indoors (m anagem ent, staff, w orkers, supporting personnel) in realising the targets of the com pany's environm ental policy. Externally, companies have to com m unicate w ith authorities on issues such as permits, environm ental im pact assessm ent, control procedures and lobbying on environm ental policy. W ith people living in the neighbourhood of the plant and w ith NGOs they m ostly handle conflicts, but seldom ly they inform them on environmental performance. They comm unicate with the
press both on a regular basis and during crisis situations. As marketing of environmentally sound products will gain im portance in the future, companies w ill com m unicate on this both with the general public and their suppliers of resources products. Although the num ber of environmental comm unication tasks increases, there are still only a few specific training programmes for environmental professionals.
The role of scientific institutions in research and training relating to
EE is rather limited. A good indicator for this is the limited number of university departments on EE world-wide. As a consequence, important questions on EE haven't been thoroughly explored. Although universities and post high school training institutions offer many courses on environmental science, EE plays a limited to a non-existent role.
Environmental N G O s traditionally cover a wide scale of environmental
education activities and are often in the forefront of discussions on the environmental quality in society. For various reasons (loss of interest in an issue, funding problems, lack of professionals), the EE initiatives of NGOs quite often show a sporadic character which reduces their efficiency.
Other organizations such as worker unions, co n su m er organizations,
women gro up s, youth associations, etc... cover a grow ing variety of EE
activities. The EE relevance of these initiatives is how ever limited, as they are m ainly seen as side elements of the primary activities of these groups and do not constitute part of a well established EE strategy.
The role of the media on EE is still more limited than w hat is
desirable. Inform ation on environm ental issues in the m ass media was scarce, anecdotic and often accident-related in m any countries until the early seventies. Since then there has been a constant rise in the number of contributions, which now are attracting a rather high degree of attention. Few new spapers appear w ithout daily contributions on the environment. In spite of this situation, the num ber of specialised environmental journalists is still limited. Therefore the establishm ent of special training programm es and the creation of additional opportunities is of fundamental importance.
N ext to the mass media, E E in more specialized inform ation sources
(books, data information systems, journals...) is o f grow ing importance. New developments with world-wide com puter networks as the World Wide Web are opening a broad range o f new applications in the near fu tu re.
Lessons from existing projects
Especially since UNCED (1992) different EE projects have been realized and experience in the area is increasing. This also allows a first evaluation and reflection on effectivity and efficiency.
M ost projects address limited targets. This is acceptable from a
managerial point of view, but lacks outlook on the broader goals of EE. Because of the limited scale of the projects and their creativity, EE often appears as a fragm ented field which lacks stream lining. On the other hand this reflects the reality of the manifold initiatives at the grassroots level which provide a most sound and democratic societal basis for EE.
Limited targets also has to be linked with the hierarchy of objectives of EE. M ost projects contribute to spreading inform ation, but few are action targeted. An example of an action targeted project is described in box 2. „Green schools" aim at informing and learning students about their school environment as an organization with multiple environmental im plications. The project offers them a m ethodological approach to analyze and to im prove the actual situation. As an educational instrum ent „Green schools" not only aim to reduce environmental pressure from the school (less energy and water use, prevention of waste and pesticide consumption, ...) but also contribute to an attitude towards the environment in the forthcom ing professional and private situations of the students.
Often target groups are poorly defined. This might seriously harm the
effectivity of the project. W hen it comes to content, EE projects address as
a rule clearly defined environmental issues. They handle a
multicompartimental approach in which aspects of water, air and soil are integrated so that the environmental problems and their ecosystem context are clear. They have most often a solution-managerial targeted finality.
Much more seldomly projects cover the new issues stemming from a sustainability or related analysis. Projects on environm ental security or on the complexity of desertification and „desertion", are still limited.
The methods which are used are simple and often reflect pragmatism.
This adds to the chances of success one would like to trace back in EE. In particular it seems difficult to combine cognitive, affective and learning skills when addressing large groups.
EE projects are extremely strong in the wide range of instrum ents they
use in their inform ation and com m unication strategy. However, creativity and originality should not be the only yardstick to measure the attractivity of a project. Less inform ation is available e.g. on the question „which com bination of tools is the m ost efficient to reach the targ ets".
Finally, evaluation and feed-back should be an integral part of EE. We
lose too much inform ation from our experience of the past because projects are insufficiently evaluated in a prospective and constructive way. Corrections to projects during the process have the capacity to improve substantially the expected outcome.
Tailoring EE projects more according to the fram ew ork which emerges from the analysis of definitions, goals, methods and actors can upgrade both the effectivity and the efficiency of the actions on the field.
EE is, only to a lim ited exten t, a m atter o f theory. Rather, it in volves field w ork, p ractical action and con tact w ith the everyd ay en v ironm ent. Stu dents, for exam p le, can be m ad e aw are o f en v iron m en tal p ro b lem s b u t often the relatio n sh ip b etw een th eir ow n life and th eir ow n e n v iro n m en t is not alw ays clear to th em . T h e G reen Sch oo l P roject in F lan d ers, attem p ts to ap p roach en v iron m en tal ed u catio n in a p ractical w ay.
T h e p ro je ct aim s to stim u la te p o sitiv e fe e lin g s fo r th e e n v iro n m e n t in seco n d ary sch o o l p u p ils b y a p p ly in g an E n v iro n m en ta l C a re S y ste m in th eir ow n sch o o l. E n v iro n m en ta l care sy ste m s w ere first u sed b y in d u stry in an a tte m p t to re d u ce th e im p a ct o f p o llu tio n . A sch o o l, ju s t lik e any co m p an y or ev en a fam ily , is a p o llu tin g u n it. In an a tte m p t to b e as c o m p re h en siv e as p o ssib le , th e care sy stem w as d esig n e d to in clu d e 7 focus areas: energy, w ater, w aste, su p p lies and eq u ip m en t, tran sp o rt, green sp aces and caterin g .
T h e sy stem is b a se d u p o n 15 lo g ical step s. In su m m a ry th is in v o lv e s: drafting an en v iro n m en tal p o licy , ch oo sin g one or m o re focu s areas after a b rie f a u d it, settin g up p ro je ct g ro u p s an d w o rk g ro u p s, m a k in g an in v en to ry o f the en v iro n m en tal situ atio n at the schoo l, d efin in g the p o licy , in tro d u cin g n ew m e a su re s a n d re co rd in g the re su lts. T h e la st step is e v a lu a tio n o f th e p ro ce ss. T h e se ste p s are d efin ed to p ro v id e su fficie n t g u id elin es w h ilst le a v in g e n o u g h flex ib ility for th e in d iv id u a lity and creativ ity o f each sch oo l.
D o cu m e n ta tio n an d a co m p u te r p ro g ra m m e are a v a ila b le fo r each fo cu s area. T h e d ocu m en ts en tail:
— a m a n u a l, w h ich g u id es sch o o ls th ro u g h th e im p le m e n ta tio n o f the m ain step s o f the care system
— m easu res to im p ro v e th e e n v iro n m en tal situ ation in th e sch oo l
■— a w e ll o rg a n ise d d o cu m en ta tio n , w ith b a ck g ro u n d in fo rm a tio n o u tlin in g the en v iro n m en tal im p a cts o f each focus area.
T h e fo cu s areas w e re te sted in eig h t F lem ish sch o o ls (1 9 9 3 -9 4 an d 1994- 95). D u rin g th e 1 9 9 5 -9 6 sch o o l year, the G re e n S ch o o l P ro je ct w a s m ad e a v a ila b le to all seco n d a ry sch o o ls in te reste d in ta k in g p art. O v e r 4 0 % of the sch oo ls resp o n d ed an d p a rticip a te d in the p ro ject.
Sin ce the sch oo l y ear 1 9 9 8-1999 the p ro je ct has b e e n b ro a d en ed to w ard s tech n ical and v o ca tio n a l sch o o ls. S p ecific en v iro n m en tal care sy stem s have b ee n e sta b lish e d fo r a re a s as sla u g h te ry , b ak ery , ca r m a in te n a n ce and repair, and p e rso n al care.
B o x 2. T h e „ G re e n S c h o o l P r o je c t” : an a c tio n ta rg e te d a p p ro a c h to e n v ir o n m e n ta l e d u c a tio n (H e n s , 1 9 97)
Conclusion
Environmental education appears as a very multidimensional field: — its subject is linked to virtually all areas of the environmental
discussion.
— it uses a wide range of m ethods, both instrumental and intellectual, the final aim being the establishment of an in depth learning process. — its goals are am bitious: inform ation and knowledge are relevant to
the extent that it leads to awareness, which in its turn should change people's behaviour and stim ulate them to action and to prom ote a more environmentally friendly attitude.
— it must reach all target groups involved in environmental policy with a wide array of instrum ents. M aybe, this is the m ost extensive area of the field: for each group involved m ore specific instruments becom e needed.
W hen the actual state of EE is compared with the above goals, there is clearly a considerable lack of study on the interrelated nature of hum an activities and the environment. But EE has more needs. Specific
research e.g. on evaluation of EE projects is necessary. M any core areas
remain insufficiently defined and described. The com plex interface between formal and informal education is one of them. But also the EE- environmental and general policy interface remains almost untouched by scientific analysis. EE is equally in need of active fin an cial support. W ithout this support existing valuable initiatives are at risk of disappearing, an insufficient number of new projects will take off and the most necessary civil support for environmental policy might reverse. Promoting EE, with a specific accent on sustainable development, will be an important task for the years to come.
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Koncepcje i trendy w edukacji środowiskowej dla zrównoważonego rozwoju
STRESZCZENIE
C e lem n in ie jsz e go a rty k u łu je s t a n a liz a zło ż o n o ści e d u k a cji śro d o w isk o wej (E S) i je j ró żn y ch p o d sta w o w y ch asp ek tó w . A rty k u ł a n a liz u je n a jn o w szą historię oraz cele i m eto d y sto so w an e w e w sp ó łczesn ej E Ś. E Ś je s t k o m p le k so w ym i d łu g o te rm in o w y m p ro ce se m , k tó ry n a le ż y k o n ty n u o w a ć, ab y b y ł on efektyw n y. W tym celu p o trz e b n a je s t te ch n ik a i m e ch a n iz m y o sz ero k im z a kresie n a u cz a n ia . N a jb a rd z ie j a m b itn y m celem EŚ je s t n ie ty lk o in fo rm o w an ie i sz k o len ie lu d z i, ale p o d n o sz e n ie ich św ia d o m o ści, z m ian a ich z a ch o w a n ia i ew en tu aln e p ro m o w a n ie o d p o w ie d n ie g o d z ia ła n ia w sp ra w ie śro d o w isk a.
Z ło ż o n a sp ecy fik a tej te m a ty k i sta je się b ard zie j z ro z u m ia ła , je ś li a n a liz u jem y drogi, któ rym i ró żn e cele w E Ś p o w in n y b y ć o siąg an e. D la każd ej g ru p y nacisku (w ład za, h a n d e l i p rz e m y sł, śro d o w isk o n a u k o w e , śro d o w isk o w e o r g an izacje p o z a rz ą d o w e , o b y w a te l i k lie n t, śro d k i p rz e k a z u ) istn ie je szy b k o w zrastająca liczb a m o ż liw o ści i b a rd z ie j sp e cy ficz n e n a rz ę d z ia p rzy b liż a n ia się do celów EŚ.
N in ie jszy arty k u ł ocen ia p o d staw o w e e lem en ty E Ś (h isto ria, cele i m etod y) i zw raca sz cz eg ó ln ą u w ag ę na tra k to w a n ie te g o z a g a d n ie n ia p rz e z g ru p y o ró żn ych d ąż en ia ch (ce la ch ) w z a rz ą d z a n iu i p o lity ce śro d o w isk o w e j.
A n a liz o w a n y je st w z a je m n y u k ład m ię d z y e d u k a cją śro d o w isk o w ą i w y ch o w an iem dla zró w n o w a ż o n e g o ro z w o ju . O p isan a je st n ie u sta ją ca d y sk u sja, która łączy te tem aty z u b ó stw em . M im o, że istn ieje b ezp o śred n i zw iązek m ię dzy ty m i p ro b lem a m i, ro z w a ż a n ia te n ie p o w in n y o sła b ia ć u w ag i p o św ię ca nej p ro b lem om środ ow isko w ym ja k o takim .
A rty k u ł w cz ę ści k o ń co w e j za w ie ra o p is p ro je k tu E Ś, sk ie ro w a n e g o do u czn ió w sz k ó ł śre d n ich i d o ty cz ą ce g o p ro b lem u ra d z e n ia so b ie ze śro d o w i skiem w ich regionie.
K o m p lek so w a o cen a E Ś u k a z u je ro sn ą c y d y stan s m ię d z y d z ia ła ln o ścią na tym p o lu a ce lam i te o re ty cz n y m i. Ta k o n k lu z ja w zy w a d o isto tn y ch fin a n so w ych in w e sty cji w d z ie d z in ie E Ś, z a ró w n o p rzez k raje u p rz e m y sło w io n e ja k i ro zw ijające się.
