Environmental Education in Japan

I spent Tuesday morning in an environmental education session with Hari Srinivas, the Chief of the Urban Environmental Management Unit of the United Nations Environmental Programme and visiting professor at 7(!) universities. He put forth a well-balanced argument for environmental education, touching on past successes, future goals, and problems with the current system. Throughout, I sat scribbling notes; there were 61 slides in the first hour, then an hour of questions and answers. Srinivas believes that we need to switch from an idea of "environmental education" to "education for sustainable development." An integrated vision of sustainability deals not just with the environment, but also with the economy and equality. The starting point for environmental education is that "real environmental action is local - at the micro level, reflecting the problems and capacity of individuals and groups," our work and actions need to be contextualized, justifying local activities with global language. Here's a 10 list of what I learned this morning, and I'm even more aware than usual of just how much I'm leaving out.

1. In Tokyo, the ecological footprint is 3 1/2 times the size of Japan. In other words, the citizens of Tokyo consume over 3 times more resources than the country can produce.

2. Environmental Education (EE) is a process in which individuals gain awareness of their environment and acquire knowledge, skills, values, experiences, and also the determination, which will enable them to act - individually and collectively - to solve present and future environmental problems.

Environmental education is a learning process that increases people’s knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action (UNESCO, Tbilisi Declaration, 1978).

Environmental education enhances critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective decision-making skills, and teaches individuals to weigh various sides of an environmental issue to make informed and responsible decisions. Environmental education does not advocate a particular viewpoint or course of action.

The components of environmental education are:

1. Awareness and sensitivity to the environment and environmental challenges
2. Knowledge and understanding of the environment and environmental challenges
3. Attitudes of concern for the environment and motivation to improve or maintain environmental quality
4. Skills to identify and help resolve environmental challenges
5. Participation in activities that lead to the resolution of environmental challenges

3. Real environmental action is local - at the micro level, reflecting the problems and capacity of individuals and groups. 'Environment' means different things to different people. For some, it means separating the garbage into burnable and non-burnable items. To others it means saving on electricity or using less water. The term 'environment' may be associated with restoring the vitality of tropical rain forests, maintaining biodiversity and arresting desertification. Developing healthy, sustainable and safe communities becomes important to others. The environment also means agricultural and industrial production that is sound and 'green'. Some associate man-made chemical and nuclear hazards with concrete environmental policies. All of these views are right in their own way, and are united in its concern for the effects that the environment has on the day-to-day lives of current and future generations.

4., 5., 6., 7. Essentials of Environmental Education for Sustainability

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Environment Economy Society Institutions	living in harmony with nature proper use of natural resources responsibility towards other societies responsibility towards future generations common but differentiated responsibilities of individual countries precautionary principle
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Environment Economy Society Institutions	integration of environmental protection into processes of development change in unsustainable patterns of production and consumption new technologies open economic systems, fair market conditions developing countries’ conditions internationalization of environmental costs
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Environment Economy Society Institutions	human development concern for human health eradication of poverty and ensuring equity demographic policies role of citizens and states, public participation indigenous people and major groups international co-operation
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Environment Economy Society Institutions	environmental legislation environmental impact assessment co-operation among states regarding laws information, science and capacity building
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8. Three issues with environmental action are access to computer, access to the Internet, and access to value-added assistance. (The third might involve teacher comfort with the material or technology programs or it might involve the lack of knowledge about how to build a partnership with local government or NGOs.)

9. Core themes of Environmental Education

• 1. Lifelong learning-The potential for learning about sustainability throughout one's life exists both within formal and nonformal educational settings.
• 2. Interdisciplinary approaches-Education for sustainability provides a unique theme to integrate content and issues across disciplines and curricula.
• 3. Systems thinking-Learning about sustainability offers an opportunity to develop and exercise integrated systems approaches.
• 4. Partnerships-Partnerships forged between educational institutions and the broader community are key to advancing education for sustainability.
• 5. Multicultural perspectives-Achieving sustainability is dependent upon an understanding of diverse cultural perspectives and approaches to problem solving.

• 6. Empowerment-Lifelong learning, interdisciplinary approaches, systems thinking, partnerships, and multicultural perspectives empower individuals and institutions to contribute to sustainability.

These underlying themes lay the foundation for a set of strategic actions and initiatives outlined in the report, "Education for Sustainability: An Agenda for Action" This report was produced at a meeting held in San Francisco, California, in 1994.

10. Environmental education cannot work if schools are going at it alone. We need scalable partnerships with the community, stretching community goals and linking them to national and global ideals. There is so much going on at the different levels; organizations on various levels need to collaborate with each other and target their messages accordingly.


If this is too much for you to process in this format, I'll be bringing back a print copy of his Powerpoint, my notes, and links to several websites he recommended. I can't overemphasize how incredible it is that Saint Stephen's has been using the word "sustainable" all this year and has been making strides towards sustainability. I think we're ahead of the curve because it's something we're hearing more frequently in non-traditional settings, and it's a term that's going to gain popularity across all disciplines.