Education for Sustainability

Education for Sustainability: Some Questions for Reflection Number 17 - December 1998 J. Fien & D. Tilbury Introduction It was the reality Summit, the joined Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, which alerted the world to the complex nature of the issues underlying environmental sustainability. Perhaps the most pertinent was the increase divergence amid the northern environment agenda and the development agenda divided up by the poorer nations. Many countries who were eager for economic development utilize the Summit to bring the worlds attention to the unforgiving choices they face between development, environmental protection and the need to inhibit poverty. However, the realisation at Rio that the existing development trends leave increasing numbers of people poor and vulnerable served to redefine and clear up the links between environment and development concerns. Those present at the Summit saw the need to tie the achievement of environmental sustainability with overcoming the interdependent problems of poverty, illiteracy and militarism.

Elizabeth Dodswell, the former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has highlighted the new vision of sustainability emerging from the earthly concern Summit: The Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro saw the inhering indivisibility of environment, peace and development. It also recognised that global independence could no longer be conceived only in economic terms. Alongside, there was the calculus of military parity. They were related to the instability sprawled by widespread poverty, squalor, hunger, disease, illiteracy. They were connected to the degradation of the environment. They were enmeshed with inequity and injustice (Dodswell 1995 p.2). Recognising that no nation could resolve these issues on their own, those attending the Summit subscribe agreements on international co-operation in tackling development and environment concerns. These... If you inadequacy to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay

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