IUCN
Commission on Education and Communication
Although the IUCN publication Planning
Education to Care for the Earth refers to some
experiences of local NGOs, it mostly describes
regional and national environmental education
programs. In this sense, it complements the
Reviving Links book produced by Both ENDS, which
has a community focus./GJM
The IUCN Commission on Education and
Communication (CEC) is one of six specialist
commissions which operate within the framework of
IUCN – the World Conservation Union. CEC is
a volunteer network of specialists in
environmental education and communication who are
working for governments, NGOs, academic
institutions and the private sector. They have
expertise in learning processes, changing
behavior and practices, linking grassroots needs
to international policies, and other fields. CEC
has developed regional networks in Latin America,
Asia (SASEANEE), Europe (ECEE), North Ameica and
eastern Africa, and national networks in Ecuador,
France, Kenya, Spain, and Uganda.
By promoting the use of education and
communication, CEC hopes to encourage the
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
as a basis for development. CEC’s capacity
building work has included a three month course
in environmental communication and education in
Asia, training for government planners and
trainers on biodiversity issues in Kenya, and
development of curriculum tools for biodiversity
education in Kenyan Teacher Colleges. CEC’s
other activities include (1) providing assistance
in policy, guidelines, and program development
and implementation; (2) conducting analyses of
project experiences to extract lessons which have
been learned as a basis for advancing policy and
practice; (3) and facilitating the development of
partnerships between institutions and colleagues.
The Commission produces a wide range of
publications. For example, Planning Education to
Care for the Earth (Palmer. J., W. Goldstein and
A. Curnow, editors, 1995) presents case studies
in environmental communication and education from
NGOs and governments. Other recent titles are
Reunión Sobre Gestión de Programas Nacionales
de Educación y Comunicación para el Ambiente y
el Desarollo en América Latina (Puyol, A., 1995)
and Education and Communication for Biodiversity:
Key Concepts, Strategies and Case Studies in
Europe (Elcome, D., 1996).
‘The consumption of firewood is a
major cause of the destruction of the
vegetation in Mauritania, a country almost
entirely covered by the Sahara. The energy
crisis is acute and the price of fuel wood in
relation to the standard of living is
excessively high. Charcoal is sometimes
delivered by truck over 1,000km, and profit
margins may amount to 20 to 35 percent of the
retail price.
The felling of trees for agriculture
and for energy requirements corresponded to
more than 60,000 equivalent hectares of
natural wood units in 1990. Almost 70 percent
of domestic energy needs were supplied by
wood or charcoal according to a 1987 estimate
and Nouakchott, the capital, accounted for
more than 47 percent of total energy
consumption.It was hardly realistic ... to
expect the population suddenly to abandon a
fuel used from time immemorial, so efforts
had to be made to improve the use of wood and
the quantities necessary for various
residential and craft production needs.'
Thiaw, I. 1995. A matter of
motivation. Pages 84-86 in Palmer, J., W.
Goldstein and A. Curnow, editors, 1995, Planning
Education to Care for the Earth. Gland and
Cambridge, IUCN.
CONTACTS
- Wendy Goldstein,
Environmental Education and Communication
Programme, IUCN World Headquarters, Rue
Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland;
Tel. +41.22.9990282 or 9990283, Fax
+41.22.9990025, e-mail wjg@hq.iucn.org
BACK
“POLIS“
International Network in Environmental Education
Experience files, such as the one about
the Marguerite group in Algeria that we present
in the following excerpt from Dialogues for
Environmental Education, are an effective way of
getting the word out on what does and
doesn’t work in environmental education.
/GJM
Since its establishment in 1994, the
International Network in Environmental Education
(INEE) has built up a membership of over 250
individuals and organizations from some 60
countries. It was created thanks to support from
the Swiss organization, Foundation
Charles-Leopold Mayer for the Progress of
Humanity (FPH). The Network’s main function
is to gather information on people’s
experiences in environmental education, including
research, teaching methods, materials and
activities, and to share this information more
widely. Its overall goal is to promote the work
of people and organizations active in this field,
and to encourage international collaboration. The
Network publishes a bulletin, Dialogues for
Environmental Education, for the exchange of
views, methods and news in this field. This is
published in three languages (English, French and
Greek) and is distributed free of charge.
INEE is in turn a member of a larger network,
Dialogues for the Progress of Humanity, a
federation of nine international networks created
in 1987 with support from FPH. These networks
share information through a common database and
series of publications. The database consists of
experience files, short articles describing
concrete experiences, projects, research and
reports. A compendium of 30 of these files was
published by FPH in 1995. They are accessible by
Internet on the Web server of the Alliance for a
Responsible and United World
(http://www.echo.org). A directory of NGOs active
in environmental education is being added to this
site.
‘At first, the idea of the group
was to work on our concerns about the absence
in our society of public spirit and
responsibility, both on the individual and
the collective bases, with regard to
environmental problems. The Marguerite group
decided to launch information campaigns and
specific actions on the subject ...After a
few weeks of work and consultation with
professionals in different fields, we
organized an Environmental Education Open
Doors Day to which we invited professionals
in ecology, education and environmental
conservation, and students’ parents ...
We decided that an interesting approach would
be to analyze environment as a consequence of
neglect, unconsciousness and a never-ending
race for productivity and growth. The further
we took our research, the more we observed
environmental problems as deriving from three
factors: ignorance, indifference and economic
interest.So we are determined to reduce the
ignorance and indifference of individuals,
and hope to be able to [do so]. You learn to
respect and preserve your environment by
knowing it better.’
Gharbi,
A. 1996. Marguerite Group: an environmental
education project. Dialogues for
Environmental Education 4:2.
CONTACTS
- Yolanda Ziaka,
Coordinator, “POLIS” -
International Network in Environmental
Education (INEE), 3rd Septembriou 11,
10432 Athens, Greece; Tel. +30.1.5224469,
Fax +30.1.5233419, e-mail yziaka@aurora.eexi.gr
 The average person
must hear something three times before it
crosses the threshold of perception and
enters into memory. |
BACK
Share-Net
In a world where information is
increasingly bought and sold, the development of
Share-Net is a refreshing alternative approach of
free flow of information through electronic
media, and producing in-house publications at low
cost. The network is staffed by a multi-cultural
group of young people in KwaZulu/Natal who are
producing products that are appropriate not only
in South Africa, but in other parts of the world
as well. /ABC
Share-Net is an informal network of
individuals and organizations in southern Africa,
collaborating to produce environmental education
resource materials. Among its resource materials
are environmental fact sheets, which cover a wide
range of topics from sustainable development to
rhinoceroses, and field guides for finding out
about the plants, animals and ecosystems of South
Africa. The Action Series of booklets offer a
more practical perspective, for example, how to
grow incema grass (widely used in basketry and
weaving) and muthi (medicinal) plants. For
teachers, there are booklets on environmental
education, offering advice and suggestions for
projects and activities. Other resources include
Enviro Picture Building, a series of games which
present environmental issues and stimulate
participants to come up with possible solutions.
Share-Net’s resources can be freely copied
for educational purposes, and redevelopment for
local use is encouraged. Many are available both
in hard copy and on computer diskette.
‘Medicinal plants in eastern
South Africa come from regions with different
climates. The best area to grow a particular
medicinal plant is in a climate similar to
where it would naturally occur. If you live
close to the sea where it is warm, with no
winter frosts and plentiful rain, you will be
able to grow all the plants shown in the
coastal region. If you live in the mountains
with very cold winters and where frost is
common, then you can grow the plants listed
in the uplands region. If you live somewhere
in-between, where it is generally warm with
little frost, then you will be able to grow
the plants indicated in the midlands region.
Ask your local experts to identify medicinal
plants that may be suited to your home.’
Mander,
M., J. Mander, N. Crouch, S. McKean and
G.Nichols. 1995. Catchment Action: Growing
and Knowing Muthi Plants. Howick, Share-Net.
CONTACT
BACK
|
