Environmental Educatin Project

The Second Phase of IGES Strategic Research

3.4. Environmental Education Project

Osamu Abe
Project Leader
Environmental Education Project

Project Theme: Development of a mechanism of international cooperation in implementing

environmental education and public awareness activities.

1. Background
In order to raise awareness about and deal with global environmental issues—which are trans-
boundary and growing with economic globalization, and lead to social and economic impacts—it is
necessary to construct cooperative international systems. Similarly, in the case of environmental
education, efforts made by individual countries alone are insufficient. It is, therefore, necessary to
construct a cooperative international system that promotes environmental education.

In recent years, problems such as inappropriate development, poverty, population growth, food
production, natural resources and energy consumption issues, human rights, and gender issues, etc.,
have been recognized as being intricate issues that are linked directly to environmental issues. After
the Rio Summit in 1992 organizations such as UNESCO reoriented their concept of environmental
education towards ‘education for sustainability.’ Through the new concept of environmental
education, it is clarified that all fields related to the establishment of ‘sustainable society’, are the
target of environmental education activities. Environmental education is necessary for the purpose of
tackling urgent environmental issues as well as taking a broad view.

Efforts of the Environmental Education Project during the first phase were preliminary and ambitious
attempts on a global level that analyzed the current states of environmental education in the Asia-
Pacific region and compiled comprehensive strategies for the region. It is obvious that the necessity of
these studies continues to increase. However, practical approaches on environmental education are
also urgently needed in the Asia-Pacific region, and such approaches are now a priority for the Project.

77
In the First Phase, regional organizations such as the United Nations’ bodies, environmental experts
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have urged IGES to play a key role in promoting
environmental education in the region. Until now, there has been no organization comprehensively
dealing with environmental education in the region and unless remedied, this absence will be an
obstacle in promoting the effective development of environmental education here. Based on the
research outcomes in the First Phase, it is important for IGES to show initiatives as a leading
organization for environmental education.

For the reasons mentioned above, the Project, in the Second phase, undertakes action-oriented
research with a view to combining “practice” and “research.” Action-oriented research aims at finding
solutions to problems through a participatory approach.

2. Objectives and Target Groups

With this background, it is becoming apparent that the Environmental Education Project is
substantially different from the other projects in IGES. The Environmental Education Project would
not only undertake a “study,” but also “put its findings into practice.” Objectives in the Second Phase
will be to design policy proposals based on the utilization or evaluation of environmental education in
the region, and to build up a framework of IGES as a hub of environmental education, through strategy
proposed in the First Phase.

The plan of activities proposed for the Second Phase is briefly presented below:

・ Develop environmental education materials

・ Implement human resource development
・ Develop innovative eco-tourism education models

When the Project undertakes the above three activities, the following should be kept in mind: focus on
concrete targets; promote reorientation among Projects in IGES from the viewpoint of environmental
education; cooperate with various organizations outside IGES; and conduct public relations.

3. Concrete Research Activities in the Second Phase

The Environmental Education Project will execute the following activities in the Second Phase.

3.1 Development of environmental education materials

• Collection of environmental education resources/expansion of network: Environmental education
materials, which are mainly used in the Asia-Pacific region, will be collected. An effective system
in order to introduce these materials widely will be designed. To promote cooperation with the
research collaborators and the networks that were obtained during the First Phase, a list of
environmental education specialists and organizations will be compiled. Information about
successful examples, including educational materials, will be collected. Collaborators in each

78
 country will be consulted to obtain assistance with this task. The information will be published as
“Successful Examples of Environmental Education in the Asia-Pacific Region” (tentative title).
• Development of educational materials for wetland conservation: At a recent Ramsar Convention
conference, one recommendation agreed upon pointed out the importance of education for
wetland conservation and for the conservation strategy of biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific region.
In order to enhance people’s awareness of wetlands, some “package style” materials will be
developed and used through trials and in practice. The Project will cooperate with international
organizations related with the conservation of wetlands.
• Development of environmental education material: To fulfill the contents of the ‘Earth Charter,’
new environmental education material will be developed, which can be pre-tested in the Asia-
Pacific region as well as in Japan. To publish this material, some trials will developed. Based on
feedback, the material will be revised. Packaged material on environmental education will also be
designed as a concrete proposal from IGES. This educational material will be targeted at
junior/high school students, teachers and NGOs.

The Project will pay attention to the other IGES project outcomes (Climate Policy, Urban
Environmental Management, and Forest Conservation). These are all linked to promoting
environmental awareness and the role of environmental education for problem solving, as well as
developing educational materials.

3.2 Implement human resource development

• Strengthening of training program: The training program “Environmental Education Training for
NGO Staff in Indonesia” that was organized in the First Phase in collaboration with the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be strengthened, while increasing the numbers of
target countries and trainees. In particular, target trainees will include administrative officers as
well as NGO staff members (the present scheme should be in effect until 2002). Moreover, using
the resources of the above-mentioned training program, the “Environmental Education Training
Workshop in the Asia-Pacific” will be organized. It would also be important to be continuously
engaged in the “Japan-US Common Agenda Roundtable Environmental Education Project” and to
conduct the action research through this project for promoting environmental education in the
region.

3.3 Development of innovative eco-tourism education model

• Development of innovative eco-tourism education model: Research will be conducted to present
an innovative form of environmental education: an eco-tourism model that is based on economic
measures (tourism industry) in order to achieve sustainable development of natural and social
resources in some selected communities. The research will examine the potential for this type of
industry.

The outputs of the Project will be utilized as supporting information for assistance made by Official
Development Assistance and NGOs from developed countries, including Japan, and a networking

79
system will be built up. As a result of research, it is expected that the Project will be able to undertake
consultant work to implement environmental education programs in developing countries.

Based on the report “Environmental Education in the Asia-Pacific: Status, Issues and Practice”
published in the First Phase, the Project will undertake additional information collection in order to
understand and analyze trends in environmental education in the region. The “Regional Strategy on
Environmental Education in the Asia-Pacific” will be revised to reflect new trends or situations in
environmental education in the region as indicated by the above investigations. These results will be
disseminated extensively, not only by the printed media but also by the electronic media, including the
Internet. In cooperation with the Public Relations unit of IGES, the Project will initiate some public
relations activities such as open seminars or children’s research projects, making use of the media, etc.

4. Project Research Method

It is important that the Environmental Education Project conduct both research and application of its
results and that the Project positively use the research outputs of the other Projects.

Concerning application activities, the Project will collect and examine successful and innovative cases,
especially materials, of environmental education from the Asia-Pacific region. In order to promote
good examples, information systems will be developed. Tools such as literature review, field studies,
brainstorming meetings, questionnaire surveys, workshops and seminars, commissioned studies, and
exchange of researchers will be employed on demand in collecting necessary data and information
from the region. Along with the human resource development activities, the Project will continue to
expand the environmental education training program in collaboration with JICA, and try to give
further opportunities to people from developing countries to take part in this program.

With regard to research activities, inter-disciplinary frames and research tools will be employed. For
example, the outputs of the study of educational method or curricular study will be used to design and
develop environmental education materials. To analyze effective environmental education, the science
of development economics or environmental policy studies will be utilized. Particularly in the eco-
tourism research, an economic approach will be adopted based on regional studies. Environmental
education studies will be undertaken by using such interdisciplinary research frames or approaches of
problem-solving, and the Project will seek ways to make joint proposals for developing countries to
implement environmental education.

5. Schedule
The research schedule of the Second Phase is presented as below:

First year
• Collect environmental education materials which have been used in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Conduct preliminary field research in order to select several communities for eco-tourism

80
 research activities.
• The tentative version of the educational material based on the Earth Charter will be completed.
• The tentative version of the educational material based on wetland conservation will be
completed.

Second year
• The tentative version of the environmental education materials made in first year will be executed
and revised in cooperation with environmental education specialists in the region.
• Program development and trial of eco-tourism. Field studies will be done in the selected
community, and problems will be identified.

Third year
• The environmental education materials will be completed and tested to be implemented widely in
the Asia-Pacific region. Some workshop will be organized to promote them.
• “IGES Eco-tourism model” (tentative name) will be made based on the trial of the eco-tourism
activities in second year, and proposed to the environmental administration in each country, as
well as NGOs, and the tourism industry, etc.

In addition, during the three years of Phase 2, the Project will follow up on the network developed in
the First Phase in order to sustain it and share information, and will continue the environmental
education training courses using the JICA training scheme. Moreover, a revision will be done of the
“Regional Strategy on Environmental Education in the Asia-Pacific” made in First Phase. This will be
proposed to the environment- and education-related governmental administration, NGOs, business
and industry sectors, and media, etc., in each country.

6. In-house Staffing and External Collaborators and Organizations

In order to achieve the goals and objectives of the Second Phase, the Project expects the following
manpower requirement:

1. Project Leader: responsible for the overall management of the Project.

2. Senior Research Fellow (one person): to support the Project Leader in running the Project and be
responsible for overall progress of the Project.
3. Research Fellow (one person): to support the Project Leader and Senior Research Fellow and
have responsibility partly in running the project. Will also manage the research of developing
environmental education materials or collecting environmental education information.
4. Research Associates (two persons): to support the Project Leader, Senior Research Fellow and
Research Fellow and be assigned activities such as collecting and arranging data and information,
constructing environmental education network, corresponding on cross cutting issues, and
organizing training courses. Will also be in charge of or assist in running conferences, meetings,
etc.

81
5. Research Secretary (one person): to provide the overall logistical support necessary for operation
of the Project.
6. Others: Visiting and short-term researchers will be invited and interns will be appointed, if
necessary. The Project will ask research collaborators who have assisted the Project in the First
Phase to become ‘advisory collaborators’ in the Second Phase.

7. Project Management
Basically, the Project Leader assumes of the responsibility for the overall management of the Project.
However, taking account of the fact that the Project Leader is a part-time position, a ‘Project Manager’
will be appointed amongst the full-time researchers to assist the Project Leader and handle the daily
management and administration of research activities. The Project Manager will coordinate the
exchanges of research frameworks and outcomes within the Project and attempt to maintain a
harmonious environment to integrate outcomes of the research activities of the Project.

Although it is not possible to merge the Environmental Education Project and the Capacity Building
Program due to their different fundamental targets, the former will naturally cooperate with the latter
to some extent.

8. Linkages with International Programs

z Develop methods and approaches in cooperation with the Earth Council to publicize the “Earth
Charter” in the Asia-Pacific region.
z Cooperation work with Wetlands International will be made in developing and distributing
educational materials related with wetland conservation.
z The Project will maintain close contact with the regional offices of UNESCO and UNEP. Also,
the Project will work with UNESCO and Griffith University (Australia) for the development of
environmental education materials and teaching guides.
z The Project will cooperate with ASEAN, SACEP, SPREP and other regional organizations in
the implementation of their sub-regional environmental education action plans. IGES will
provide those international organizations with its environmental education strategy and other
research outcomes. IGES will also take the initiative in building collaboration with other
regional initiatives.
z The Project will establish a Tripartite Environmental Education Network, under the scheme of
the Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting (TEMM) of Japan, China and the Republic of
Korea, as well as a North-Asia environmental education network, under the scheme of the
North-East Asian Sub-regional Programme of Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC). IGES
will support these environmental education networks.
z The Project will work in close cooperation with international NGOs such as IUCN and WWF.
Their experiences will be reflected in research activities of the Project and their international
environmental education programs will be supported by the Project as well.
z The Project will maintain links to environmental journalists in Asia-Pacific region.

82
 z The Project will continue cooperating with the Japan-US Common Agenda Roundtable.

9. Expected External Funds

The Project will endeavor to procure funds from the following and other sources:

z Japan’s Ministry of Environment:

Commissioned work for an ‘Asia-Pacific Environmental Education Network’
z Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
‘US-Japan Common Agenda’ related projects
z JICA:
International cooperation activities such as conducting research, workshops, and capacity
building programs
z Asian Development Bank:
Organized international workshops
z Other funding organizations:
Global Environment Fund, AEON Environment Foundation, Heiwa Nakajima Foundation,
Matsushita International Fund, etc.

10. Budget
The estimated budget for the Second Phase (three years) is given below (excluding: staff salaries,
JICA training costs, etc.):

z Development of environmental education materials/guides

￥15,000,000

z Promotion of training courses

￥10,000,000
z Proposal for innovative model (eco-tourism)
￥15,000,000
z Other (Collection of information / Revision of the strategies / Collection of environmental
education resources / Strengthening networking)
￥5,000,000

Total: ￥45,000,000 First year ￥15,000,000

Second year ￥20,000,000
Third year ￥10,000,000

83