Environmental Education and Sustainable Development
Environmental education is a continuous learning process and educational action. Through it, individuals and communities acquire knowledge about the environment. This includes knowledge, skills, and experiences that enable them to solve environmental problems. The objective is to disseminate knowledge about the environment to help its preservation and the sustainable use of its resources.
Sustainable development seeks to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations. This means allowing people now and in the future to reach a satisfactory level of social and economic development, while making reasonable use of land and preserving species and natural habitats. It is difficult to achieve because it requires a commitment from each generation.
Major Environmental Problems Caused by Human Action
- Pollution: Chemical waste (soil and water, loss of biodiversity)
- Extinction of Species: Deforestation, hunting, and overfishing cause a loss of more than 1,000 species per year (major extinction of corals and amphibians)
- Global Warming: Burning of fossil fuels, burning forests, and the release of methane from cattle
- Loss of Soil: Burning, deforestation, agriculture, and consequently soil erosion (water and wind), in addition to waste.
- Diminished Drinking Water: Contamination by chemical waste in rivers, lakes, groundwater, and aquifers.
- Siltation: Due to deforestation, agriculture, mineral water extraction, and glacier reduction.
- Alteration of the Nitrogen Cycle: Intensive use of fertilizers containing N2, which causes a major environmental imbalance in bodies of fresh water and oceans, increasing algae and bacteria, respectively, which release toxins and consume large quantities of O2.
- Hole in the Ozone Layer: The release of gases that act on the molecules of ozone in the stratosphere, mainly by industries.
- Aerosol Load: Aerosols are solid or liquid particles dispersed in the atmosphere, such as soot and water droplets. Furthermore, there are many other substances naturally produced and involved in the formation of rain, for example.
(UNESCO) Sustainable development addresses current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
For UNESCO, Environmental Education is an ongoing process in which individuals and communities become aware of their environment and acquire knowledge, skills, experiences, values, and determination that make them able to act, individually or collectively, in seeking solutions to environmental problems, present and future.
Environmental Education: A Continuous Journey
Education is a journey or a process by which social and personal development occurs gradually. This can be measured by assimilated knowledge, skills, and values.
Formal Education
Formal education occurs in schools at all levels (elementary, secondary, and higher education). It is official, determined by an educational policy, and therefore subject to various influences (governments, universities, companies).
Non-Formal Education
Non-formal education occurs outside the formal setting, i.e., outside the official learning environment. It may involve the participation of children, youth, and adults, but is not controlled by public policy.
Social and Environmental Responsibility Program
A set of actions aimed at identifying and minimizing negative environmental and social impacts resulting from an organization’s performance, aiming to improve and preserve a positive image in society.
Environmental education should incorporate all provided social activities; this includes Environmental Education work with communities around the company.