History of Environmental Communication and Education

Abstract

Communication about nature and the environment was important throughout the history of humankind. Humans learned about their environment by observation, by leaving adverse conditions or trying to overcome unfavourable condition in the nature by practical solutions.

The exchange of information altered from oral to written and to digital, and from local to global. As an important result, the available amount of information simply exploded. However, it is reasonable to assume that especially local knowledge in many regions has disappeared.

The development of environmental education represents a chronological sequence, which in general can be subdivided in five consecutive steps:

• 1. Communication of disaster stories and religious narratives

  (at local scales)

• 2. Education in religious institutions and schools about water and food production, nature, medicine, astronomy, religion, and other disciplines with the idea to enable human life and solve social problems

  (at regional scales)

• 3. Scientific education of modern concepts to solve environmental problems including ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation

  (at regional to supra-national scales)

• 4. Transdisciplinary exchange of scientific information and education of children, students, the public and stakeholders in economy and politics with the purpose to limit environmental disaster and species extinction

  (at regional to supra-national scales)

• 5. Environmental education which enables avoidance of environmental catastrophes, species extinction and social disasters

  (at all spatial scales)

These phases can be seen as logical sequence of the past. However, the development in the past was not that clearly arranged as different aspects occurred at different times and in different regions independently. Today a combination of the first three steps is still globally relevant. Culturally different accentuation is realized at regional scales.

The fourth step is only partially achieved and has to be intensified. The fifth step simply has not been reached, yet. However, diverse educational programmes show a strong effort to avoid environmental disaster based on scientific knowledge across all disciplines, which are related to human wellbeing, health, survival, animal welfare, and survival of species and ecosystems.

The formal establishment of environmental education (EE) started in the middle of the twentieth century due to a worldwide growing concern about environmental problems. The concepts of environmental education and education for sustainable development (ESD) meanwhile are established in educational systems across the world.

However, also these concepts today are intermingled between short-term perspectives (health, wellbeing, profit) and long-term perspectives (survival of ecosystems and biodiversity, resource use, recycling), and between nature conservation and development. Furthermore, dependent on the concept different aspects of economy, social science, and ecology are merged with the effect that the target course sometimes is getting rather weak.

The central purpose of biodiversity conservation education (BCE) is the analysis and intermediation of the relationship between nature and culture, evolution and extinction, species and ecosystem, natural constraints and human possibilities. In general the term biodiversity is more related to natural sciences while conservation is part of the ethical-social discourse. Thus, also BCE requires the contribution of various disciplines.

Modern concepts such as EE, ESD, and BCE have to respect, disentangle and analyze extremely complex problem areas including gaps of knowledge. EE and ESD promote multiple and sometimes competing goals. Furthermore, due to the holistic approach, the targets of ESD are partially ambiguous, while BCE is related to smaller and clearer targets.

Since many environment-related education approaches are interdisciplinary if not holistic, school curricula of traditional core disciplines often do not provide enough space for relating contributions.

Independent of the different positions and phases, the enlargement and intensification of environmental education in public schools and media is seen as an important measure parallel to political decisions and practical management of ecosystems.

“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.”

(Nelson Mandela et al. 2012, p. 101)

“Education in environmental matters, for the younger generation as well as adults, giving due consideration to the underprivileged, is essential in order to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion and responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises and communities in protecting and improving the environment in its full human dimension. It is also essential that mass media of communications avoid contributing to the deterioration of the environment, but, on the contrary, disseminate information of an educational nature on the need to protect and improve the environment in order to enable man to develop in every respect.”

Principle 19 of the Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment 1972 (United Nations 1972, p. 5).

“Education can stimulate the learning process and help children and people in general to make environmentally responsible behaviour part of their everyday lives.”

(Gomis and Hesselink 1995, p. 29)