Environmental education: possibilities and constraints*

Over the last 30 years, those involved in environmental education have gradually become aware of the richness and breadth of the educational project they have contributed to build. They have realised that the environment is not merely a subject to be studied or a theme to be analysed among others; nor is it only the necessary constraint of a development we want to be sustainable. The weft of the environment is life itself, at the interface between nature and culture; the environment is the crucible in which our identities, our relations with others and our “being-in-the-world” are formed. Environmental education is therefore not a “form” of education (an “education for ...”) among many others; it is not simply a tool for environmental problem-solving or management. It is a essential dimension of basic education focused on a sphere of interaction that lies at the root of personal and social development1: the sphere of relationships with our environment, with our common “home of life”. Environmental education aims to induce social dynamics, first in the local community and subsequently in wider networks of solidarity, fostering a collaborative and critical approach to socio-environmental realities and an autonomous and creative grasp of current problems and possible solutions. Over and above an education “about, on, in, by or for” the environment, the concern of environmental education (EE) is basically our relationship to the environment. It is thus important for educators to take account of the many possible dimensions of this relationship, which correspond to different but complementary ways of apprehending the environment. • Let us first consider the environment as nature (to be appreciated, respected and preserved). Underlying the socioenvironmental problems is the fundamental rupture between human beings and nature, which needs to be bridged. We must rebuild the sense of belonging to nature, to the flow of life of which we are a part. Environmental education also leads us to explore the close links between identity, culture and nature, to realise that through nature we find part of our own human identity, our identity as living beings among other living beings. It is also important to recognise the links between biological diversity and cultural diversity and to value this “biocultural” diversity. • Then there is the environment as a resource (to be managed, to be shared). There is no life without the cycles of matter and energy. EE implies conservation education, education for responsible consumption and solidarity, with equitable sharing within and among societies and between present-day and future societies. The concern is to manage systems of production and use of shared resources as well as systems of processing waste and byproducts. EE integrates economic education focused not on the “management of the environment” but on the “management” of our own individual and collective relations with