The Tbilisi Plus Ten Conference of 1987 proposes a new definition of EE:
“Environmental education (EE) is regarded as a permanent process in which individuals and the community gain awareness of their environment and acquire the
knowledge, values, skills, experience, and also the determination which will enable
them to act—individually and collectively—to solve present and future environmental problems” (UNESCO and UNEP 1987, p. 11).
In 1992, the Earth Summit took place in Rio de Janeiro. Five Rio agreements
were discussed and adopted: the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,
Agenda 21, the Statement of Forest Principles, the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on Biological
Diversity. It was one of the most important conferences with a strong impact on the
future. “[I]t did a great deal towards raising public awareness of the need to take
action” (Palmer 1998, p. 75).
Agenda 21 (United Nations 1992a) is the centrepiece of the Rio agreements. It is
an action programme for nations to achieve sustainable development. Almost all
parts of the Agenda highlight the importance of environmental education. Of
particular importance is chapter 36. It “defines the term Education for Sustainable
Development with four mandates: to improve access to basic education, to reorient
education toward sustainability themes, to improve public awareness, and to engage
in training” (Monroe and Krasny 2013, p. 17; cf. Palmer 1998; Stoltenberg and
Burandt 2014). This leads to a paradigm shift from environmental education to
education for sustainable development (ESD) in the following years. While EE tends
to pick out environmental problems as central theme, ESD focuses on the demands
of society and the participation of as many people as possible. The intention is to
enable people of all ages to take an active part in social change processes with a view
to the future and to help shape them. Since the ratification of Agenda 21, an immense
number of local, regional, national and international initiatives, activities and
programmes have been launched to anchor ESD in national education systems
(Bormann 2013). To be part of the education movement each programme had to
respect three areas of sustainability: (1) environment, (2) social life, and (3) economy. That is because “[e]ducation for sustainable development is based on ideals
and principles that underlie sustainability, such as intergenerational equity, gender
equity, social tolerance, poverty alleviation, environmental preservation and restoration, natural resource conservation, and just and peaceable societies” (UNESCO
2005, p. 28). The combination of ecological, economic and social aspects on the
other hand, enabled educators to pronounce different aspects of the three, four
(including cultural aspects) or five (including health) pillars that are meanwhile
being discussed. As a consequence Ott and Döring (2008) pronounced the meaning
of strong sustainability (starke Nachhaltigkeit) with a stronger focus on ecological
targets.
Another Rio agreement in the context of EE is the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD). Article 13, on Public Education and Awareness, highlights the
importance of knowledge about conservation of biological diversity (United Nations
1992b). “[T]he CBD acknowledges the importance of public education and awareness as a crucial tool” (Navarro-Perez and Tidball 2012, p. 16).
60
C. Börtitz and C. Hobohm
“Environmental education (EE) is regarded as a permanent process in which individuals and the community gain awareness of their environment and acquire the
knowledge, values, skills, experience, and also the determination which will enable
them to act—individually and collectively—to solve present and future environmental problems” (UNESCO and UNEP 1987, p. 11).
In 1992, the Earth Summit took place in Rio de Janeiro. Five Rio agreements
were discussed and adopted: the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,
Agenda 21, the Statement of Forest Principles, the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on Biological
Diversity. It was one of the most important conferences with a strong impact on the
future. “[I]t did a great deal towards raising public awareness of the need to take
action” (Palmer 1998, p. 75).
Agenda 21 (United Nations 1992a) is the centrepiece of the Rio agreements. It is
an action programme for nations to achieve sustainable development. Almost all
parts of the Agenda highlight the importance of environmental education. Of
particular importance is chapter 36. It “defines the term Education for Sustainable
Development with four mandates: to improve access to basic education, to reorient
education toward sustainability themes, to improve public awareness, and to engage
in training” (Monroe and Krasny 2013, p. 17; cf. Palmer 1998; Stoltenberg and
Burandt 2014). This leads to a paradigm shift from environmental education to
education for sustainable development (ESD) in the following years. While EE tends
to pick out environmental problems as central theme, ESD focuses on the demands
of society and the participation of as many people as possible. The intention is to
enable people of all ages to take an active part in social change processes with a view
to the future and to help shape them. Since the ratification of Agenda 21, an immense
number of local, regional, national and international initiatives, activities and
programmes have been launched to anchor ESD in national education systems
(Bormann 2013). To be part of the education movement each programme had to
respect three areas of sustainability: (1) environment, (2) social life, and (3) economy. That is because “[e]ducation for sustainable development is based on ideals
and principles that underlie sustainability, such as intergenerational equity, gender
equity, social tolerance, poverty alleviation, environmental preservation and restoration, natural resource conservation, and just and peaceable societies” (UNESCO
2005, p. 28). The combination of ecological, economic and social aspects on the
other hand, enabled educators to pronounce different aspects of the three, four
(including cultural aspects) or five (including health) pillars that are meanwhile
being discussed. As a consequence Ott and Döring (2008) pronounced the meaning
of strong sustainability (starke Nachhaltigkeit) with a stronger focus on ecological
targets.
Another Rio agreement in the context of EE is the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD). Article 13, on Public Education and Awareness, highlights the
importance of knowledge about conservation of biological diversity (United Nations
1992b). “[T]he CBD acknowledges the importance of public education and awareness as a crucial tool” (Navarro-Perez and Tidball 2012, p. 16).
60
C. Börtitz and C. Hobohm