June 30, 2003
ENVIRONMENT EDUCATION FOR
STUDENTS
By: T.S.
KALANJALI
-----------------------------
Footsteps of Civilisations are the Deserts on the Face
of Earth!
That is why it has been
wisely said -
We feel that illiterate
and stupid are Native Indigenous Tribals,
As they had not gone to
Schools Colleges Universities like us!
And we all consider
them to be very Poor and so Backward,
Only because they don’t
have Radio TV Cars and Chocolates
But we are such fools
to be ignorant and not know the Truths,
That they are wise with
rich languages living in plentiful areas
With diverse biological
zoological water or mineral resources!
They use without
wasting and save for everyone in community,
Children and future
generations to come without exhausting all,
Or spoil the land water
and air to turn their own region Desert.
Yes! The above is very true! That is the Stark Reality of Life, Human Civilisations and Nature of Earth. And wherever Human Society evolved to great
heights - as in the Nile River Front of ancient Egyptian Civilisation, or the
Mesopotamian Civilisation between the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris, or Indus
Valley Civilisation and elsewhere - we now see deserts and desolation. For mankind, wherever they evolved, had
blindly applied their limited knowledge of the then available Science and
Technology, or assumed knowledge of spiritual superiority and powers of
understanding, to recklessly exploit their surroundings for required resources.
People in the past, as
many societies even now are, never realised the limits of apparently limitless
natural resources. So, they neglected
the need to replenish the nature or allow the land to recoup. And their understandings of Nature was very
limited, and so were the concepts of sustainable Development in the interest of
future generations. The Result are
there for all of us to see – the Deserts on the Face of Earth, right in the
places where the Environment was rich, bountiful and conducive, for Development
and to sustain Human Civilisations.
That is why, many enlightened
Tribal Societies all over the World, believe and often say to sing out, to put
back into the land what we take. This Tribal Song says –
What you take you have
to return and what you borrow you have to give back!
So if you take from the
land crops you have to return back to your land fertility!
Bury kitchen wastes
your wastes dead birds cattle animals and also your body!
That have all come from
the land must go back to make the land and soil fertile!
If you dig the land to
take waters you shall have to return those waters after use
Back into land to
nourish the land and recoup its sub-soil ground-water reserve!
If you act too smart
and extra-wisely to drain all that rain water and used water,
To flow out into drains
and to sea considering them messy nuisance of marshes,
Soon your water sources
including the groundwater reserves and sub-soil water
Will definitely dry out
fast making you thirsty even force you to Fight for Water!
The situation is so bad
that it seems all over the World, the local people for their comforts and
riches, are over exploiting the surroundings.
This is affecting the environment so much that, the local people are
leaving practically nothing for their own future generations. In short, many Societies today are living on
- silently borrowing or stealing - the Resources of their Children and
Descendants. They are, in fact living,
borrowing the times and lives of even their Grand Children and beyond. The situation is so bad that, many Centres
of Developed World today, may soon turn out to be unsustainable lands. In fact, already many parts of those areas
have turned out to be, concrete deserts and big eyesores. This World over, contrasts adversely with
the rich Natural Resources and Biological Reserves, in areas where the Tribals
live. The Tribals are still preserving,
almost all of their Forest covered Hills, Jungles, and Rivers which flow
perennially with plentiful waters in and around their areas.
What all we collectively appear to be sadly missing
out, the Tribal Folk Songs, squarely and subtly sum up, bringing them out as
essential lessons, to their younger generations. They are all, part and parcel of their accumulated traditional
empirical wisdom. An example, is this Tribal Folk Song –
You want water draw
from the Well; you want power trap from the Sun!
You want fuel go to
Fields or Forests, you want food cultivate the lands!
Those are so ancient
natural ways of living peacefully and with full Justice!
In harmony with
neighbours and with our own Surroundings and Nature!
Leading an environment
friendly life based on a sustainable development!
You can’t hope to sit
home saying you are close to gods and goddesses!
Have prayed with big
huge offerings to soothe pacify and please them all!
Invoke their blessings
backings and co-operation for support gifts boons!
Feel great having born
in big family owning large tracts of lands to exploit!
Go on exploiting
everyone and everything around as if they are perennial!
Keep exploiting
everyone everything around thinking all are inexhaustible!
That the sure path to
future difficulties shortages doom and your sad end!
Learn from
surroundings, responses of the land, and the moods of water!
Respect them to deal
with due humility understanding if you are to survive
Not to burn your hands
and future in changing environment you influence!
We have to learn a lot
from our traditional farmers, the actual small farmers, and all those landless
agricultural workers, whom we condescendingly refer to, as the most backward
classes and SC&ST Dalits. But, they
are the actual repositors of all the indigenous Ideas, local Knowledge and the
native Wisdom! They know the real art
of living on land, in peace and harmony with the local surroundings!
In view of the above,
it now becomes our responsibility, to imbibe in the younger generations, right
from their childhood, the virtues of preserving Ecology. They have to understand the need to respect
Nature, and the methods by which they could conserve the Environment. Hence, we have to teach them, all the
different aspects of our surroundings, so that they can well understand and
manage Sustainable Development. Any
good Education System, should therefore include in the Curriculum, Lessons in
theoretical precepts and practical trainings.
All Education of Principles and Training in actual Practices, must
include learning excursions and field visits.
Those help a lot, to personally see for a first hand understanding, as
to what all actually are happening in the field. That actually broaden the mental horizon and power of
understanding, and develop their grasping capacity as well. Hence, to turn the Children out, as Responsible
Socially Conscious Citizens, with Commitments to the Nation, is a necessary
duty of we adults and parents. This is
a responsibilty that rests squarely on all the Teachers and Educational
Administrators, to make Education holistic and wholesome. Hence, Education in all streams, should
expose our Children to not only Nature Studies, but also rekindle in the minds
of all parents and other people, essential interests to get them involved in
Ecology and Environment.
Most Problems in the
Society today are, due to unequal distorted skewed and unjust Development. Hence, a good Education, should lay great emphasis on –
1. Development of all
2. Equitable Development
3. Shared Development
4. Development with
Justice, and
5. Sustainable Development
Further, the Children
should be given some specific ideas about the direct Environmental Problems
that are of –
1. Local Dimensions
2. Regional Dimensions
3. National Calamities,
and
4. Global Disturbances
THE SYLLABUS OF ENVIRONMENT EDUCATION, SHOULD ALSO
MAKE STUDENTS AWARE OF THE VALUES AND IMPORTANCE OF –
1.
Living Things - Birds, insects, fishes, animals wild animals
2.
Land - Wet, Marsh, Dry, Irrigated, Fallow and
Waste Lands
3.
Hills - Forest covered, barren, and ice covered
4.
Forests - Mangrove Forests, Rain Forests, Tropical
Forests, Denuded Forests and Degraded Forests
5.
Water - optimum and wise use to conserve available
water by people and in agriculture, however limited scanty and scarce it
may be
6.
Mining - Impact on surrounding people, land water
and air
7.
Industry - Pressure on land water air minerals and
other resources, and the resultant stress on Environment
8.
Pollution - of Land Water and Air, with special
emphasis on Indoor Air – Smoke, Dust, Bacterial and Fungal Pollutions
9.
Life - of the local naive indigenous people
10.
Development - of the area on a sustainable basis,
particularly Women and Children with Environment
11.
Interface of Women and Environment, with particular reference to
development and changing life styles
Environment
Education should make the Children Learn About –
1. Land Use - Management, including moisture retention, soil preservation and
watersheds protection
2. Water Harvesting - Storage,
clear clean Water Supply and optimum use
3. Air Quality -
Clean Air indoors and outdoor
4. Gardening - Kitchen Gardens; Flowers, Fruits, Medicinal Herbs, Aromatic
Plants, Orchids, Cactus and Succulents, Exotic and Ornamental Plants, rare
Plants, endangered Plants, Bamboo
5. Manure - Biological and Chemical Manure and their judicial application
6. Pesticides - Natural and Chemical Pesticides and their usage
7. Forests - Conservation, management and development of Natural Forests,
private Forests, Industrial Forests, Community
Forests
8. Forest Dwellers - their
Traditional Rights over Forests and Forest Produce
9. Bio-Diversity - their
preservation for study research and future use as Bio-Reserve
10. Conservation - For
our own future, lives of our children, their descendants and future generations
11. Waste Management and
Safe Disposal - Solid Liquid and Gaseous Waste Handling and Disposal, with
particular reference to chemical, toxic,
plastic, heavy-metal,
radio-active and other hazardous substances and trash
12. Wild Animals
13. Marine Eco-Systems
14. Coastal Environment
15. Island Eco-Systems
16. Wetland Eco-Systems
17. Desert Eco-Systems
18. Disaster Management - of
earthquakes, cyclone, floods, fire etc
19. Conservation - of
Ecological Heritage Sites
20. Environmental Economics
ORIENTATION OF TEACHERS AND EDUCATION ADMINISTRATORS
More than the Children,
all Teachers and Education Administrators must be exposed to the Importance and
various aspects of Environmental Issues, Environment Education, and the work
being done by different Environment Institutions in the Country. Teachers and Education Administrators should
therefore be deputed to visit and see for themselves, Institutions and work being
done by them. Some such Institutions in
different spheres are –
A. FORESTRY
1. National Afforestation
and Eco-Development Board, New Delhi
2. Himalayan Forest
Research Institute, Shimla (HFRI)
3. GB Pant Institute of
Himalayan Environment and Development, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora (GBPIHED)
4. Indian Council of
Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun (ICFRE)
5. Forest Research
Institute, Dehradun (FRI)
6. Indira Gandhi National
Forest Academy, Dehradun (IGNFA)
7. Forest Survey of India,
Dehradun (FSI)
8. Directorate of Forest
Education, Dehradun (DFE)
9. Rain Forest Research
Institute, Jorhat (RFRI)
10. Tropical Forest
Research Institute, Jabalpur (TFRI)
11. Arid Forest Research
Institute, Jodhpur (AFRI)
12. Institute of Forest
Productivity, Ranchi (IFP)
13. Centre for Forestry
Research and Human Resource Development, Chhindwara (CFRHRD)
14. Centre for Social
Forestry and Eco-Rehabilitation, Allahabad (CSFER)
15. Institute of Forest
Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore (IFGTB)
16. Institute of Wood
Science and Technolgy, Bangalore (IWST)
17. Indian Plywood
Industries Research and Training Institute, Bangalore (IPIRTI)
18. Indian Institute of
Forest Management, Bhopal (IIFM)
B. HILLS AND MOUNTAINS
19. ENVIS Centre on Eastern
Ghats Ecology, Environmental Protection Training and Research Institute,
Hyderabad (EPTRI)
C. WILD LIFE
20. Wildlife Institute of
India, Dehradun (WII)
D. NATURAL HISTORY
21. National Museum of
Natural History, New Delhi (NMNH)
22. Regional Museum of
Natural History, Mysore (RMNH Mysore)
23. National Museum of
Natural History, Bhopal (RMNH Bhopal)
24. National Museum of
Natural History, Bhubaneswar (RMNH Bhubaneswar)
E.
DESERTS
25. Central Arid Zone
Research Institute, Jodhpur (CAZRI)
F.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
26. National Institute for
Environment Research, Nagpur (NIERi)
G. ENERGY AND POWER
27. Tata Energy Research
Institute, New Delhi ( TERI)
H. OCCUPATION AND HEALTH
28. National Institute of
Occupational Health, Ahmedabad (NIOH)
I.
CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE -
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT
29. Centre for
Environmental Education, Ahmedabad (CEE)
30. CPR Environmental
Education Centre, Chennai (CPREEC)
31. Centre for Ecological
Science, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (CES - IISc)
32. Centre for Mining
Environment, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (CME - ISM)
33. Salim Ali Centre of
Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore (SACON)
34. The Tropical Botanic
Garden and Research Institute, Thiruvanathapuram (TBGRI)
35. Centre for
Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Delhi University, South
Campus, New Delhi (CEMDE)
36. Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi
37. Indira Gandhi National
Open University, New Delhi
FIELD VISITS FOR STUDENTS
To understand the impact
of human activities on the Environment and People, one need not really bother
about studying the volumnious Reports on the Oslo Conference Proceedings. Nor have we got to go far, to see the
Environmental Degradation of the Himalayas and Himalayan Eco-System. We have on the western coasts, in the State
our own Western Ghats. Apart from that,
we have all around us, many Environmental Problems and Environmental
Degradation that affect the People, particularly the poor like the Weaker
Sections, who have no options to escape their tragic dilemas. We only have to open our eyes ears and
minds, to recognise and document, at least many of them. Therefore, our Students can be taken, on
excursions to near by areas around their own Schools, where the Environment has
been badly affected by our activities, including the developmental programmes,
industries and mining.
Visits to our own World
Famous Kolar Gold Fields, where the richest and most popular highly valued
metal – Gold was mined, will be eye opening.
That can make the Children, to see for themselves and understand, as to
what had all happened to all those forgotten hundreds of poor workers. Those, who mined and processed for us, the
much sought after Gold from the deep bowels of the Earth. What had happened to their families and
children? Similar Visits to Hatti, and
the Chitradurga Mine Areas, can also be undertaken, as part of such Field
Visits. In fact, when the Syllabus on
Environmental Studies for the Children at different stages of School Education
are finalised, different spots for the essential Field Visits as Educational
Excursions, can be identified and listed comprehensively.
Environmental Education
provides, all the necessary exposure understanding awareness and training to
the Children. This in many ways also
exposes the parents and family, to the values of Conserving and Protecting
Environment. This will play a
significant role in encouraging and enhancing Peoples’ Participation, in
Conservation Protection Preservation and Developmental Activities. These will go a long way, in achieving
Sustainable Development.
Environmental Education
in Schools are not only necessary, but have become essential to any developing
society in the modern world, torn between scarcity and shortages on the one
hand, and development and pollution on the other. Further, as in other parts of the fourth world, in India also,
the forest dwellers, rural village communities and the urban poor are being
forced to pay a heavy price for the National Development. That, sadly for the Good of the elite
Society and the Welfare of the Educated and the Rich. And those, in the name of National Development, Economic Growth,
and Social Progress in the Country. But
in reality, all of them converge, only to sustain the Welfare Measures and Well
Being of the uncontrollably fast growing big Metropolises in the Country, and
the much better off urban dwellers there in.
SUPPORT AND FUNDS
Support and Funds could
be harnessed from the Centre, mainly the Ministry of Environment and Forests,
and Science and Technology, Govt of India, and the various Central Schemes and
Programmes, such as –
1. National Environment
Awareness Campaign (NEAC) started in 1986
2. National Green Corps or
setting up Eco-Clubs in the Schools, for all Students of Class VI to X, to
encourage and mobilise them in Environmental
Conservation
3. Science and Education
Programmes of Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment
(GLOBE)
STRUCTURING SYLLABUS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
The Syllabus for
Environmental Education of Students at different levels, should be finalised by
special Committees, that have to be constituted specifically for this
purpose. They should consist of
Education Administrators, Teachers, NGOs and Environmental Activists, working
for protection preservation and development of Environment in different
Eco-Systems.
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************************************* T.S. KALANJALI, Banglore, India ************************************* |