World needs to promote education for sustainable development<\/p>\n
Warief Djajanto Basorie, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Zabariah Haji Matali of Sarawak, Malaysia and Ian Ellis of
\nVictoria, Australia, live in different situations but have a
\ncommon concern. They want a sustainable future for their
\ncommunity and are doing something about it. They want a future in
\nwhich tomorrow's children can still benefit from the proper use
\nof the earth's resources.<\/p>\n
In Sarawak, a state in Eastern Malaysia on Borneo island, the
\nmajority of the population is rural based: Farmers, fishers,
\nlivestock breeders, rural women and youth. Together they make up
\n26 different ethnic groups, many living in dense forest that is
\naccessible only by a river or a long trek, Zabariah says.<\/p>\n
Australia, on the other hand is a wealthy and developed
\ncountry. However, its natural assets face serious decline. A 2.6-
\nmillion hectare region in Southwestern Victoria, for instance, is
\nnow showing signs of degradation.<\/p>\n
In Australia \"people have become rampant consumers\" and
\n\"companies are principally judged by profitability and returns
\nfor shareholders,\" says Ellis, CEO of Future Environment Fund, a
\nVictoria-based, non-profit association that works to enhance
\ncorporate awareness and action in sustainable development.<\/p>\n
Zabariah, general manager of Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM), a
\ncommunity-based NGO, believes \"changing culturally and socially
\nentrenched mindsets is one of the greatest constraints\" to bring
\nthe people of Sarawak to a sustainable future.<\/p>\n
In achieving this, AZAM has facilitated community-based
\nprojects that protect the environment and generate people's
\nincome involving several parties. One project is replacing
\nmangrove forest logging with crab culture. Ideally, the community
\nabandons logging to sustain the mangrove system. As an
\nalternative source of income, the community turns to raising
\ncrabs introduced by a private enterprise. Local rural women are
\nalso engaged in the food processing with government agency help.<\/p>\n
Ellis, meanwhile, sees consciousness-raising on environmental
\nissues as the key, so that behavior is changed as a major
\nchallenge. Another is to instill and improve environmental
\nresponsibility among Australian companies.<\/p>\n
Multi-stakeholder cooperation already exists in Australia.
\nVarious indexes are maintained to record the environmental and
\nsocial performance other than the financial track of
\ncorporations. The press reports these annual outcomes,
\nparticularly the firms that are under performing.<\/p>\n
This triple bottom-line evaluation of companies encourages
\nfirms to be more environmentally responsible. Moreover, the
\nAustralian public is being educated increasingly to support
\nresponsible companies in terms of product purchase and investment
\nin shares of a company, Ellis explains. The Future Environment
\nFund is working with local companies to develop their triple
\nbottom-line rating in the financial, social and environmental
\nareas.<\/p>\n
Zabariah and Ellis shared their work experience and ideas at a
\nFebruary 2005 regional strategy workshop for the Decade of
\nEducation for Sustainable Development (DESD) in Asia and the
\nPacific.<\/p>\n
The workshop, convened in Bangkok by the UNESCO regional
\noffice for education, brought together people from Afghanistan to
\nthe South Pacific, from both developed and developing societies.<\/p>\n
The 60-plus participants are active in government, UNESCO
\nnational commissions, international organizations, NGOs, the
\nprivate sector, the community, the school system and the media.<\/p>\n
The DESD, launched internationally in New York on March 1,
\nseeks to empower people of all ages to assume responsibility for
\ncreating a sustainable future. It stresses the central role of
\neducation in implementing Agenda 21, the global blueprint for
\nsustainable development, a major product of the 1992 Earth Summit
\nin Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n
The Bangkok workshop reviewed the situational analysis of Asia
\nand the Pacific undertaken by researchers from five parts of the
\nregion. It also discussed the 10 core ESD issues the researchers
\nidentified, covering areas from information, awareness, knowledge
\nsystems, environmental protection to cross-cutting issues like
\nhuman rights, gender equality and governance.<\/p>\n
One outcome of the workshop was separate lists of practical
\npriority ESD projects by seven stakeholder groups. The NGO list,
\nfor instance, includes the training of trainers, scenario
\nexercises and creating an expertise resource pool. The education
\nstakeholder group, meanwhile, called for curriculum education and
\nteacher development with a need at the start to be clear as to
\nwhat ESD is about.<\/p>\n
The five situational analyses, the 10 core issues, the lists
\nof project ideas and other input like the need for partnerships,
\ncritical leadership and ownership of ESD by all, are to go into
\nthe DESD regional strategy, described as \"an open living
\ndocument\" by Derek Elias, ESD coordinator at UNESCO Bangkok and
\nthe workshop chairperson. The UN General Assembly has designated
\nUNESCO as the lead agency for the Decade.<\/p>\n
Following the international launch in New York, an Asia-
\nPacific ministerial launch in Shanghai this September is under
\ndiscussion. Meanwhile, individual countries have their national
\nlaunches. For sure, UNESCO national commissions take the lead
\nrole in promoting ESD at the national level.<\/p>\n
Can we achieve ESD? Akpezi Ogbuigwe put the rhetorical
\nquestion to the workshop's plenary session. Ogbuigwe, head of
\nenvironmental education at the UN Environment Program (UNEP) in
\nNairobi, answered the question herself.<\/p>\n
\"Yes we can, if we want ESD as badly as a woman who wants to
\nhave a baby badly and (is willing to) endure the pain.\"<\/p>\n
The writer is journalism instructor at the Dr. Soetomo Press
\nInstitute, LPDS, in Jakarta. He attended the Bangkok workshop. He
\ncan be reached at wariefdj@yahoo.com<\/p>",
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