Environmental management is a comprehensive approach aimed at overseeing and controlling human interaction with the environment to ensure sustainability. Moreover, it involves the development and implementation of policies, practices, and guidelines that protect natural resources, minimize environmental impact, and promote responsible use of resources.
This unit orients you to various responses and strategies of environmental management. Emphasis will be put on various aspects such as public awareness, science and the environment, environmental impact assessment, policies for sustainable technology, sustainable development, environmental treaties and agreements, as well as environmental legislation and regulation, among others.
Public Awareness and Environment Management
Action can be taken in a variety of areas to increase environmental awareness and education. Some of these categories are environmental legal rights and responsibilities and associated consequences, use of the media, awareness-raising campaigns, incorporation of environmental issues in mainstream education, increasing awareness and education in target groups, and encouragement of public participation in environmental matters.
Many sectors of society are involved in developing and delivering educational courses and public awareness campaigns. These include government institutions at national, regional, and local levels; domestic and international NGOs; primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools; journalists and the media; celebrities; and other individuals and institutions. Moreover, educational and awareness efforts can target practically any sector of society.
Funding for awareness and education initiatives may come from a variety of sources. Often, it comes from the budgets of specific agencies or ministries; it is uncommon for such initiatives to receive funding directly from the central budget. Some states have accessed their national Environment Funds to provide partial funding for environmental awareness and education. Environmental education and awareness of environmental management can include any of the following types of activities:
Reorienting current education and awareness programs to include environmental dimensions;
- Basic education and awareness programmes (e.g., in schools)
- Adult and community education and awareness programmes
- Education, training, and awareness programs for professional, technical, and vocational personnel.
- Working with the Media: The print, broadcast, and Internet media can be a powerful ally in educating the public on environmental matters. To perform this role effectively, it is often necessary for the government to work with the media (and sometimes educate the media). This is often done informally, through regular briefings and information centres. Some states have found that educating the media can be quite effective in building the capacity to report on environmental matters.
The case study from Bulgaria is but one example of how the government has worked closely with the mass media to build its environmental reporting capacity through regular press conferences and large public awareness campaigns. Capacity-building efforts can provide journalists with basic environmental information on a specific topic or general environmental information. Information centres that are accessible to the media and to the public constitute one approach.
These centres may be run by a governmental agency or ministry (e.g., in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Macedonia) or by an NGO (e.g., in Romania). An information centre may disseminate recent information (such as press releases), have a public library with a range of environmental resources, and actively disseminate information. In addition, journalists can build the capacity of their peers through networking.
Celebrities in Media Campaigns: As in any advertisement or public awareness campaign, the involvement of people who is well-known and respected public figures and effective use of the media can be a potent way of increasing understanding of the importance of environmental issues and enforcement. Newspapers, television, radio, magazines, and other media can be used to quickly reach a large number of people.
Focusing environmental awareness campaigns for specific sectors:
Awareness-raising campaigns are often most successful when they are targeted at specific groups because information can be tailored to the activities, needs, and challenges of the group. Additionally, involving organisations and communities in environmental protection and enforcement can create a sense of stewardship towards the environment, ease hardship through collaboration, and provide a forum for new ideas and greater participation.
Examples of such collaboration and stewardship are provided in the initiatives of some NGOs and organisations in the private sector in states around the world. They have been active in raising public awareness of environmental development issues and mobilised people to take actions that have contributed to positive changes for the environment. Environmental Awareness in Teaching Programmes: Environmental awareness, although essential to good citizenship, is not always a prominent feature of education programs in institutions of primary or higher learning.
This emphasis has influenced the reform of educational systems and practices in many states already where environmental education is being introduced into the curriculum of educational institutions for preschool through institutions of higher learning.
Mainstreaming environmental education programs in schools as a regular part of the curriculum increases public environmental awareness and demonstrates a commitment to environmental protection and management. Environmental education can be integrated into existing disciplines or it can be taught as a subject in its own right. It can be taught as early as primary school as well as in adult education programs.
