SI recently supported a joint NGO statement written by the Committee on the Environment, Geneva, drawing attention to the importance of Environmental Education, especially for women and girls who are among the most vulnerable groups affected by climate change. Here is a summary of the statement. To read the full statement, visit the SI Resources page.
This statement, jointly submitted
by Organisations in ECOSOC
consultative status and reflects discussions
facilitated by the NGO Committee on the Environment and of the Conference of
NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN (CoNGO).
We appreciate the constructive work by Member States and the
efforts in the various intergovernmental negotiations relating to the urgent
problems posed by environmental degradation and the issues of climate change. However,
much work still lies ahead.
These last 6 months have seen an intensifying of efforts
through the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties on the Convention on
Biodiversity that was held last October in Nagoya, Japan, during the 2010
International Year on Biodiversity while now preparatory meetings are being convened
for the forthcoming UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in
Durban, South Africa during this International Year of Forests.
With such emphasis on the environment, we consider that
environmental education and human rights education related to environmental
issues are an important part of the overall environmental agenda. Indeed, at
the 1992 Rio Earth Summit environmental education became part of Agenda 21, Chapter 36:
promoting education, public awareness and training..
More
recently, the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) was launched, with UNESCO as the lead agency. The idea is to
"integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable
development into all aspects of education and learning, in order to address the
social, economic, cultural and environmental problems we face in the 21st
century". Education for Sustainable Development broadens the concept of
Environmental Education.
Already
in 2000 did UNESCO endorse the Earth Charter, whose 14th principle is to
"Integrate into formal education and lifelong learning the knowledge,
values and skills needed for a sustainable way of life", and whose
11th principle "affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to
sustainable development and ensure universal access to education, health care and
economic opportunity". The first 3 recommendations (out of
10) of an Earth Charter +10 Conference in India
in November 2010 relate to formal and non-formal education.
Goal
7 of the Millennium Development Goals relates to Environmental Sustainability and
it is of note that at the regional level, the UNECE
strategy for Education for Sustainable Development was adopted in Vilnius in 2005 "to
encourage UNECE member States to develop and incorporate education for sustainable development into their
formal education systems, in all relevant subjects, and in non- formal and
informal education. This will equip people with knowledge of and skills in
sustainable development, making them more competent and confident and
increasing their opportunities for acting for a healthy and productive life in
harmony with nature and with concern for social values, gender equity and
cultural diversity".
However, having noticed that the Declarations [on the topic] focus mainly on education
on sustainable development and that environmental education is not mentioned,
we call on all Member States to make environmental education a
reality and focus within the United Nations Decade
of Education for Sustainable Development and their national sustainable
development strategies. We also call on all Member States from the
UNECE region to recognise and implement environmental education in their Education for Sustainable Development programme at their
seventh UNECE Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe" which will take place
this year in Kazakhstan. We believe that a healthy and
sustainable environment is a prerequisite for sustainable development.
Environmental education concerns women, men, children and indigenous
people, and includes the principles of human dignity, inclusion,
non-discrimination and equality as well as economic, social, cultural human
rights and most notably the Right to Life, Right to
Food, the Right to clean drinking water and sanitation, the Right to
Health, the Right to Peace.
Women are the most vulnerable group and have the most
to loose as the Environment suffers, and yet women are also the main potential
positive actors: caring is one of their core values, e.g. for each
others, for future generations and for the larger environment. Girls and
women should be the main target group for education in general and environmental
education in particular.
To read the full statement, click here.