Environmental Education

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The concept of Environmental Education is not a new one, as a major part of human knowledge is derived from nature. Environment pollution in different forms continues to trouble us but environmental education makes it possible for us to understand the clear outcome of human activities on the environment. Those who want to pursue environmental education seriously shall also study related disciplines that include physical science, biological science, social science and applied science. The effective implementation of environ- mental education and conservation programms depend on the level of training expertise of the teachers. The government of India has launched several schemes and projects to spread awareness about environmental issues.

Dr. A. L. Joshi is Professor and Head of the Department of Environmental Science & Engineering at Vidyasagar University, West Bengal. He received his M. Tech. in Environmental Engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia. He has obtained his Ph.D. from Punjab University. A former environmentalist and journal editor and reviewer in reputed journals, he is visiting faculty in various private and government institutions located in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

He has received a grant from the Ministry of Science & Technology on two projects. He has edited several books on environment, pollution-prevention and on the biosphere. He is member of various professional organisations associated with Environment and Pollution Prevention.

The Indian Constitution laid down the responsibility of Government to protect and improve the environment and made it a "fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife". On this background Department of Environment was established by the Government of India in 1980 and a Ministry was formed in 1985. The Constitution and the Government's commitment to the environment along with the environmentally sound practices is an important backdrop under which the Environment Education (EE) strategy has been evolved.

The GLOBE is an International Science and Education Programme, which emphasizes on hands-on participatory approach. India joined this programme in August, 2000. This programme unites students, teachers and scientists all over the world and targets school children. The students of GLOBE schools are required to collect data about various basic environmental parametres under the supervision of a GLOBE trained teacher. Through this they learn about scientific protocols and perform environmental learning activities, which have already been introduced as theory in the textbooks. The GLOBE programme not only helps the students to appreciate the contents of the textbooks through better understanding but also assists them in gaining complete knowledge of environment. It facilitates research through a worldwide research team comprising of students, teachers and scientists.