3.

SKILLS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL

EDUCATION
• What is environment? Di Chil, as quoted by Fien
(1993) defines the environment as interactions
between physical surroundings and social, political,
and economic forces that organize us in the context of
these surroundings.
• Karembu (1999) defines environment as an
aggregate of surrounding things (biotic and abiotic),
and conditions that in influence the life of an
organism in a population including humans.
• O’Donoghue defines environment as a social
construct made of four dimensions:
• Bio-physical: This refers to living (biotic) and non
living (abiotic). Simply, the life and life support
systems.
• Social systems: This includes humans, and their
cultural interactions.
• Economic: This refers to human economic endeavors.
• Political: This refers to political power, policy,
political decisions, and all factors that determine the
access, and distribution of resources.
• What is environmental education? O’donoghue
defines environmental education as a communication
process that causes behaviour change towards the
environment.
• Kvasnickova defines environmental education as a
dimension of education that aims not only at
providing knowledge and information on the problems
of the human environment, but also affects people’s
way of thinking, their attitudes, ethics, emotions,
civic, and professional responsibility and
preparedness for action.
Hence Environmental Education is a process through which:
• Learners acquire KNOWLEDGE, skills and attitudes on
environmental issues.
• The knowledge acquired improves environmental
AWARENESS on the status of different environments.
• The awareness stimulates CONCERNS and STRONG
FEELING about the quality of the environment in focus.
• This strong feeling and concern makes a person to be
COMMITTED to do something for the environment.
• Commitments call for ACTION, either individually or
collectively in order to solve some of the environmental
problems.
 NEED AND RATIONALE FOR ENVIRNMENTAL
EDUCATION
The rationale for environmental education arises as a
result of the following:
• Environment is the basis of all life and therefore
deserves proper care and management.
• If the environment is threatened on a continuous
basis, numerous problems which would constitute a
danger to human existence could arise.
• The environment is part of our cultural heritage which
should be handed down to prosperity.
• Some resources of the environment are not easily
replaceable and should be managed on a sustainable
basis, to prevent the extinction of certain
components of the environment such as plants and
animals.
• There is need to enhance the sanity and aesthetic
quality of our environment in order to promote healthy
living.
• The environment is part of nature and needs to be
preserved for its own sake.
 Objectives of environmental education by
UNESCO
• Awareness: Environmental education should foster
appreciation of environment. It should help different
groups and individuals to acquire awareness of and
sensitivity to the overall environment and its allied
problems.
• Knowledge: People should he informed of their roles in
causing environmental problems around them:
deforestation, overgrazing, bush burning, desertification,
erosion, loss of soil fertility etc
• Attitude: Individuals and groups need to adopt ethical
values that awaken strong feelings for the environment
and all its living and non-living components
• Skill: People should be taught how to mobilize their
human and natural resources to prevent ecological
problems.
• Evaluation: Environmental education should enable
people to assess government programmes and land
management practices that are being introduced
• Participation: Environmental education should
provide opportunity for social groups and individuals
to be actively involved at all levels involved in working
towards resolution of environmental problems.
 Target population for environmental
education
• A) General public: There is need for environmental
education programme which introduces awareness among
the general public for its own environment and danger to
which it may be exposed.
• B) Specific Occupational or Social Groups: those whose
activities and influence have an important bearing on the
environment. They include engineers, architects,
administrators and planners, industrialists, trade unionists,
policy makers and agriculturists.
• C) Certain Professional and Scientists: They includes those
working on specific problems of the environment e.g.
biologists, ecologists, hydrologists, sanitary engineers etc.
 Approaches used to teach environmental
education
• Two approaches are commonly used to teach
environmental education:
• a) Multidisciplinary approach: environmental
contents are infused into the disciplines/subjects
taught in schools, i.e. environmental education is
taught through subjects such as science, geography,
history, literature, and social ethics.
• This approach is commonly used primary schools,
secondary schools, teacher training colleges, etc.
Example of how multidisciplinary approach can be used to teach
pollution as a environmental issue
• b) Inter disciplinary Approach: Environmental
education is taught as a subject or discipline that is
included in the timetable.
• N.B. Active method as a new method of teaching
environment. The following are ways active methods
can help teach environmental issues:
• 1) Dialogue: Both learners and class teacher actively
participate in discussing ideas and offering
suggestions on how to solve environmental issues.
• 2) Reflection: The learners get time to think critically
on how to deal with environmental issues. As they
reflect, the learners conceptualize and explore
alternative ways of problem solving or taking actions.
• 3) Encounter: The learner gets a first hand experience
on specific environmental issues from field trips.
Active learning or participatory learning is quite
effective in changing attitudes and behaviour.
 Human interactions with environment
• Humans, both men and women are part of the
environment. For their survival, they use resources
from the environment for food and raw materials for
technological production.
• As they interact with environment for their survival,
they carry out activities which impact on the
environment. These include: agriculture,
industrialization, and settlements.
• How each activity affect environment?
1. Agriculture and its impact on environment
The following are some of the effects of agricultural
activities on environment:
• a) Soil erosion and loss of soil fertility caused by poor
farming practice deforestation and overgrazing in arid
and semi-arid areas.
• b) Water pollution of surface water caused by farm
chemicals such as inorganic fertilizers, pesticides
and organic manure transported by run-off from
agricultural farmlands.
• C) Pollution caused by dust blown from croplands and
overgrazed lands.
• d) Air pollution caused by dust blown from croplands
and overgrazed lands.
• e) Loss of wildlife and other biodiversity through habitat
destruction when vegetation such as grasslands and
forests are cleared for farming purpose.
• f) Siltation of surface water reservoirs for example dens
and lakes caused by soil load in the run-off from farms
and overgrazed areas.
• g) Pollution of ground water caused by leaching of
water-soluble inorganic fertilizers like nitrates and
pesticides.
• h) Reduction of microorganisms in soil caused by heavy
use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers.
 What are the solutions?
• a) Develop, promote and apply land farming methods
that reduce soil erosion.
• b) Provide advice on optimal land use practices in
various agro-ecological zones.
• c) Intensify crop yields by using intercropping;
agroforestry and organic fertilizers in agriculture.
• d) Provide high yield crop seeds.
• e) Use of integrated pest management.
• f) Promote research in agriculture and adoption of
appropriate land use systems and technology.
• g) Reduce population growth rate by planning family
sizes.
• h) Promote indigenous food crops.
• i) Promote educational programmes on environment
land use and development.
• j) Promote alternative forms of livelihood in arid and
semi-arid lands.
• k) Introduce economic incentive and penalties to
promote soil conservation practice.
 2. Industries and their impacts on
environment
• The following are some of the impacts of industrial
activities on environment:
• a) They cause pollution of air, water and land mainly
through indiscriminate emission of gases and fumes
into the atmosphere, which then pollute the air. Also
through the release of hazardous liquid waste water
(i.e. effluents) into the water medium.
• b) Exploitation of non-renewable and renewable
resources such as the forest resource in gazette
forests.
• c) Industries use most of energy generated in the
country.
• d) Inefficiency in production, leading to much
wastage
• e) Industrial accidents.
• f) Damage to aesthetic quality of environment. This is
mainly caused by smoke; chemical fumes dust, noise,
abandoned ruins etc.
 Mitigating environmental problems caused
by industries
• a) Installing energy saving and recycling technologies.
Industries are to adhere to standards of environmental
protection with regard to energy and water
conservation.
• b) Adherence to waste recycling and disposal
practices.
• c) Application of the polluter pays principle where
polluting industries are made to pay the cost of
cleaning the environment.
• d) Tax concessions for industries using environmentally
friendly technologies.
• e) Involving industries in finding solutions to
challenging environmental problems.
• f) Formulating a comprehensive industrial policy
incorporating environmental concerns.
• g) Enforcing policy on environmental impact
assessment.
 Human settlements and their impacts on
environment
• Human settlement activities that cause harmful
impacts on environment include: provision of housing,
places of work, recreation facilities, provision of water,
energy, sanitation and transport facilities.
• What are the environmental issues in
urban centres?
• Inadequate housing.
• Poor sanitation especially in slums.
• Problems of solid waste management that make the
centres to accumulate large heaps of garbage.
• Social problems like crime and prostitution.
• Rural-urban migration.
• Pollution of air, waters, and lands.
• Shortage of clean water for domestic and industrial
uses.
• Shortage of energy for domestic, commercial and
industrial purpose.
• Unemployment and under employment rates are high
resulting in high levels of poverty
• Social stress caused by luck of leisure and open
space.
• Problem of street children and street families.
 What are the solutions to environmental
issues in urban centres?
• Revision of building by-laws and planning regulations to suit
contemporary times .
• Providing incentives and opportunities to small and medium
scale entrepreneurs that generate employment in order to
reduce poverty levels
• Development and implement guidelines for informal
settlement improvement programmes.
• Provide sewerage facilities for all urban centres.
• Improve sanitation and environmental management in all
urban centers.
• Empower the urban communities for them to participate in
decision making on issues affecting them.
 Environmental issues in rural settlements
The following are some of the environmental issues in
rural settlements:
• Rapid population growth because of improved
medical facilities and improved life expectancy.
• Over exploitation of natural resources such as fish,
soil, wildlife, forest, etc
• Poverty level is high.
• Inadequate or lack of basic needs such as; clean
drinking water, quality shelter, social amenities, and
infrastructure.
• Migration of qualified labour to urban centre.
• Malnutrition. cases are many
• Land degradation that causes reduced crop
production.
• Deforestation, and
• Inadequate educational and health facilities.

N.B: You should feel free to add to this list from your
wealth of knowledge out of your own experiences in life
 Solutions to environment issues in rural
settlements
• Develop human settlement policy that facilitates
sustainable development in rural areas.
• Development projects in rural areas should be
preceded by environmental impact assessment.
• Develop and promote alternative energy source.
• Promote community participation in all stage of
project cycle.
• Design and implement environmental education
programmes on management of resources in both
high, potential arid, and semi arid areas.
• Expand rural electrification programmes in rural
areas in order to promote development of light
industries.
• Promote research on environmental issues in rural
areas.
• Intensify family life education and women literacy.
 Emerging environmental issues
• 1. Loss of Biological diversity
• Rwanda’s biological diversity (biodiversity) consists
of all plants, animals, microorganisms, the genes
they contain, and the ecosystems and habitats of
which they are part.
• It therefore appears in three levels:
• a) Genetic diversity (variation within same species)
• b) Species diversity (variation of plant and animal
species).
• c) Ecosystem diversity (variation of ecosystems in the
biosphere).
• What is the importance of the biological diversity?
The value of biological diversity includes:
• a) Provision of food and fuels.
• b) Ecological roles such as food chains, soil conservation,
modification or climate and soil fertility.
• c) Educational value (e.g. biology, zoology, and botany).
• d) Scientific value for example, in research and
biotechnology.
• e) Economic benefit from tourism.
• f) Aesthetic value (i.e. beautiful plants and animals ).
• g) Ethical value where organisms have a right to survive
on the planet earth.
Human activities that contribute to the loss of
biological diversity include:
• Habitat destruction caused by deforestation for
agriculture and settlements.
• Poaching of animals such as elephant and rhino.
• Commercialized agriculture that emphasizes
monoculture.
• Drainage of wetlands for agricultural and settlement
land uses.
• Inefficient management of some protected areas
such as National Parks, and gazetted forests.
• Pollution of habitats, and
What Rwanda is doing to conserve biological
diversity?
• Implementing international policy on restriction of
collection, possession, and trade of threatened
species.
• Development of biological inventory to determine the
existing biological diversity.
• Creation of environmental awareness of importance of
biological diversity through environmental education
 2. Climate change
• The farmers and pastoralists are in good position to
testify that the climate of their areas is changing. E.g.
• a) The rains are received in unexpected time and in
abnormal amounts.
• b) Drought in some areas are attributed to climate change.
• These are mostly the results of industrial gases emitted
into the atmosphere and these gases trap the heat
reflected by the sun; as the consequence there is what we
call ‘Global warming’.
• Global warming as a consequence of trapped heat is called
“Green House Effect”.
• What are the causes of global warming
and ultimately climate change?
• a) Carbon dioxide from industrial exhaust gases after
using fossil fuels.
• b) Methane gas produced by decaying organic matter
• c) Chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigerators and spray
cans
• d) Water vapour
• Etc.
• What are the consequences of global
warming?
• a) Increase in evaporation rate.
• b) More areas will experience more forest and bush fires.
• c) Some areas will become drier while other will be wetter.
• d) Food production will vary, increasing in some areas and
declining in others.
• e) Loss of biodiversity as a result of changing habitats.
• f) Heating the sea water will cause it to expand raising the
sea level
• g) Warmer climate will favour pest reproduction, which
will spread diseases to millions of people
• What can be the solutions?
• Promoting afforestation since trees act as carbon
sinks.
• Slowing population growth through family planning.
• Promoting efficient use of energy in domestic and
industrial centres.
• Banning production and use of Chlorofluorocarbons.
• Creating awareness of activities that cause global
warming and suggest practicable solutions.
 3. Ozone layer depletion
• In the stratosphere, ozone acts as a natural filter and
absorber of harmful ultra violets rays from the sun.
• Ozone layer is depleting due to a number of factors:
• a) Chloroflourocarbons (CFCs).
• b) Halons used in fire extinguishers.
• c) Methyl bromide, a widely used pesticide.
• d) Methyl chloroform used as cleaning solvent for
clothes and metals.
• e) Gases emitted from industries
• What are the consequences of Ozone
layer depletion?
• a) Greenhouse effect or global warming.
• b) Killing of microorganisms both plants and animals.
• c) Killing of microscopic floating plants
(phytoplankton) and animals that are the basis of food
chains in aquatic (water) ecosystems.
• d) Increase of eye cataract and skin cancer cases.
• e) Sun burn especially people who are light skinned.
• What can be done to avoid ozone layer
depletion?
• Not to buy products that generate Ozone depletion
substances.
• Not to buy halon-contained in fire extinguishers.
• Pressurize legislators to ban all uses of Ozone
depletion substances
• Substitute Ozone depletion substances with suitable
chemicals in the market.
• Create environmental awareness of impact of ozone
depleting substances on the environment.
 4. Wood Fuel Crisis
• Wood fuel is the predominant source of household
energy and accounts for more 90%.
• It is most likely that the meals you have taken today
were cooked using wood fuel energy.
• The demand for wood fuel has increased drastically
because of rapid population growth in rural and urban
centres. Trees are cut to produce charcoal that is in
great demand in urban centres.
• What are the effects of wood fuel crisis?
• Deforestation
• Air pollution in overcrowded and poorly ventilated house
due to the use of the three stone fires. This affects mainly
the health of women and children.
• Women and children spend most of their valuable time
collecting scarce fuel wood, sometimes from far
distances.
• Wood fuel is becoming too expensive
• Families are cooking less nutritious foods that use less
energy, because of shortage and high cost of wood fuel
and charcoal. Less nutritious foods when regularly
consumed lead to malnutrition and deficient diseases like
Kwashiorkor.
• What can be the solutions?
• Recognition that wood fuel crises exists and its
resolution is an urgent priority.
• Strengthening afforestation and agroforestry to raise
the production of fuel wood ,and meet the demand
• Use of fuel-efficient cookers and stoves.
• Ensure that women are included in decision making
on energy resources at all levels.
• Promote use of alternative source of energy such as
biogas, solar, wind and electricity.
• Create awareness on wood fuel crisis through
environmental education.
 5. Environmental health
• Why environmental health?
• Health is a resource and should be a personal and social
concern.
• Health is about social, emotional, intellectual and ethical
well being.
• Health is about the well being of an individual,
communities and the natural environment at local and
national levels.
• Poor health of individuals affects economic growth of a
country.
• Individuals, communities, and the government have a duty
to promote sound health.
What are the environmental health
problems?
• a) In adequate or lack of housing,
• b) Inadequate ventilation facilities in houses.
• c) Lack of clean water, and poor sanitation.
• d) Poor surface water drainage.
• e) Poor solid, liquid, and gaseous waste
management.
• f) Spread of diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS,
cholera, malaria, etc.
• What can be the solutions?
• a) Making good lifestyle choices such as not to smoke,
to practice safe sex, to follow a healthy diet, and to
protect our eyes and skin from the sun.
• b) Preventing air, water, soil and noise pollution.
• c) Better nutrition for pregnant women, and children.
• d) Provision of clean drinking water.
• e) Providing cheap antibiotics to cure infections.
• f) Involving local communities in managing human
surrounding to minimize disease causing vectors
• g) Conservation of biodiversity which control spread
of disease vectors.
• h) Regular exercise for urban dwellers to release
stress.
• i) Improve working environment to minimize health
hazards.
• j) Promote activities that lead to healthy environment.
• k) Promote environmental sanitation through
awareness programmes