problems, aware of how to help solve these problems, and motivated to work toward
their solution” (Stapp 1969, p. 31).
“The Limits to Growth”, published in 1972 by the Club of Rome, got worldwide
awareness. The survey draws a gloomy picture of the future of the planet if the major
problems (world population growth, food production, capital growth and industrialization, resource consumption and environmental pollution) were not immediately
dealt with to achieve a state of equilibrium necessary for the survival of humanity.
This book increased the awareness that earth is a finite and closed system of
interconnected factors, and that human overuse through waste and overexploitation
threatens not only the actual economic wellbeing but also the livelihoods of future
generations and the existence of the whole humanity (Meadows and Donella 1972).
The ensuing global social and environmental movements, assisted by the publication of the Club of Rome and the recognition of an increase of environmental
problems, led to a large number of conferences until today (Table 1).
One of the first international conferences related to the environment was the
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm 1972. This
conference linked environmental issues with social developments in industrialised
and developing countries. One of the principal topics was EE (principle 19, recommendations 96 and 97). Environmental education should be integrated not only into
the entire school education but also into public education via lifelong learning. The
approach should be interdisciplinary. The goal is for people to create an awareness of
environmental issues, and to get the public to actively participate. To reach this,
people are to be educated to take the steps within their own means in order to control
and manage their environment (United Nations 1972).
The Stockholm Conference was the catalyst for the UNESCO/UNEP International Environmental Education Program (IEEP), launched in Belgrade in 1975. The
ratified Belgrade Charta defines the objectives of EE: awareness, knowledge, attitude, skills, evaluation ability and participation. In addition, a comprehensive list of
guiding principles on environmental education, including lifelong learning and the
responsibility to future generations, was integrated. According to Li and Zbicinski
(2014) this charter proposes the most widely accepted definition of EE. “The goal of
environmental education is: To develop a world population that is aware of, and
concerned about, the environment and its associated problems, and which has the
knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and commitment to work individually and
collectively toward solutions of current problems, and the prevention of new ones”
(UNESCO and UNEP 1975, p. 3).
At the following Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education in
Tbilisi in 1977, the definition of environmental education was extended. “Environmental education is an integral part of the education process. It should be centred on
practical problems and be of an interdisciplinary character. It should aim at building
up a sense of values, contribute to public well-being and concern itself with the
survival of the human species. Its force should reside mainly in the initiative of the
learners and their involvement in action and it should be guided by both immediate
and future subjects of concern” (UNEP and UNESCO 1978, p. 19).
58
C. Börtitz and C. Hobohm
their solution” (Stapp 1969, p. 31).
“The Limits to Growth”, published in 1972 by the Club of Rome, got worldwide
awareness. The survey draws a gloomy picture of the future of the planet if the major
problems (world population growth, food production, capital growth and industrialization, resource consumption and environmental pollution) were not immediately
dealt with to achieve a state of equilibrium necessary for the survival of humanity.
This book increased the awareness that earth is a finite and closed system of
interconnected factors, and that human overuse through waste and overexploitation
threatens not only the actual economic wellbeing but also the livelihoods of future
generations and the existence of the whole humanity (Meadows and Donella 1972).
The ensuing global social and environmental movements, assisted by the publication of the Club of Rome and the recognition of an increase of environmental
problems, led to a large number of conferences until today (Table 1).
One of the first international conferences related to the environment was the
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm 1972. This
conference linked environmental issues with social developments in industrialised
and developing countries. One of the principal topics was EE (principle 19, recommendations 96 and 97). Environmental education should be integrated not only into
the entire school education but also into public education via lifelong learning. The
approach should be interdisciplinary. The goal is for people to create an awareness of
environmental issues, and to get the public to actively participate. To reach this,
people are to be educated to take the steps within their own means in order to control
and manage their environment (United Nations 1972).
The Stockholm Conference was the catalyst for the UNESCO/UNEP International Environmental Education Program (IEEP), launched in Belgrade in 1975. The
ratified Belgrade Charta defines the objectives of EE: awareness, knowledge, attitude, skills, evaluation ability and participation. In addition, a comprehensive list of
guiding principles on environmental education, including lifelong learning and the
responsibility to future generations, was integrated. According to Li and Zbicinski
(2014) this charter proposes the most widely accepted definition of EE. “The goal of
environmental education is: To develop a world population that is aware of, and
concerned about, the environment and its associated problems, and which has the
knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and commitment to work individually and
collectively toward solutions of current problems, and the prevention of new ones”
(UNESCO and UNEP 1975, p. 3).
At the following Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education in
Tbilisi in 1977, the definition of environmental education was extended. “Environmental education is an integral part of the education process. It should be centred on
practical problems and be of an interdisciplinary character. It should aim at building
up a sense of values, contribute to public well-being and concern itself with the
survival of the human species. Its force should reside mainly in the initiative of the
learners and their involvement in action and it should be guided by both immediate
and future subjects of concern” (UNEP and UNESCO 1978, p. 19).
58
C. Börtitz and C. Hobohm