4th International Conference on Environmental Education – Partners for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

The Fourth International Conference on Environmental Education (ICEE) was hosted by the Government of India and co-sponsored by the UNESCO and UNEP. The Conference was held at the Centre for Environment Education. 4th ICEE, an important milestone in the field of Environmental Education, saw over 1500 participants from 97 countries coming together to share and exchange experiences and ideas on environment education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). It reviewed the progress of ESD over two years since the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development was launched in 2005 and aimed to enhance understanding of EE in the context of ESD.

The world’s first Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education held at Tbilisi, Georgia (USSR), in 1977, highlighted the important role of EE in the preservation and improvement of the world’s environment, as well as in the sound and balanced development of the world’s communities. Ten years later, in 1987, the second International Congress was organised in Moscow, to determine an international strategy for ‘action in EE and training’. This was followed by a third conference held at Thessaloniki, Greece in 1997 which highlighted the role of education and public awareness for achieving sustainability.

The 4th ICEE emphasized that through education, human lifestyles can be achieved that support ecological integrity, economic and social justice, sustainable l i v e l i h o o d s and respect for all life. Human rights, gender equity, social justice and a healthy e n v i r o n m e n t must become global i m p e r a t i v e s . ESD is essential in making this transformation.

The Fourth International Conference o Environmental Education

For the first time, India hosted the International Conference on Environmental Education, held every 10 years. The 4th ICEE was jointly sponsored by UNESCO and UNEP. India bid for this Conference as an opportunity to showcase the sustainable development work being done by its government and corporate sector. CEE was the nodal and host agency for 4th ICEE.

ICEE brought together approximately 1500 participants around 600 of which participated from outside India. The participants included key policy makers, communication specialists, field practitioners, researchers, educators, youth representatives as well as persons from various UN and other international agencies.

An International Advisory Committee composed of experts in one or more technical areas related to EE and ESD provided guidance to realize the Conference objectives, and helped in consolidating the outcomes of the Conference in the form of Ahmedabad Declaration and Conference recommendations. ICEE examined what has emerged out of the discipline of EE since Tbilisi and the role of EE within ESD. Further, it sought to explore how EE can support ‘ESD’ – the emerging specialized discipline. The Conference aimed to establish linkages between EE and ESD and helped set the roadmap for progress through the DESD. Since by its nature EE needs to foster partnerships with many disciplines, ICEE looked into identifying such partnerships in consultation with practitioners from these areas.

The plenary sessions included special sessions to address the role of education in the context of Climate Change, Education for Water Resource Management, and HIV AIDS.
The thematic discussions at ICEE were structured as thirty workshops, reflecting the EE and ESD concerns and issues that have evolved in the areas over the last 30 years since Tbilisi. Every workshop took stock of their specific area in the context of ESD and identified the role of EE within this. The workshops also reviewed and reformulated EE in the context of the DESD. The workshops ran in parallel, from 21st to 28th of November. Individual working group sessions varied from one day to five days.

Crosscutting themes on Climate Change, Water and Food and Sustainable Lifestyles were addressed throughout the Conference. These were discussed during the plenary sessions and in various working group sessions.

ICEE provided an exciting forum for discussion, debate and professional networking. The exhibition area had arrangements for poster presentations, interactive exhibits, live demonstration areas etc. A dedicated section on DESD showcased activities undertaken by various Governments as initiatives towards achieving the objectives of the Decade. Special events included a Campaign for Sustainability by the Auto-rickshaw Driver’s Association of Ahmedabad, the launch of Hand Print for Sustainability, workshops for children etc.

The CEE campus which served as the Conference venue was planned based on an environment-society-and culture-friendly strategy. An attempt was made to limit waste generation. For example, participants were given a refillable bottle at the beginning of the Conference and filtered water coolers were placed all over the campus, in order to avoid use and throw bottles /glasses.

‘Energy modesty’ meaning energy saving and efficiency is keenly followed at CEE. The buildings are designed to harness natural light and air. The wooded surroundings helped in reducing the campus and indoor temperature by 2-3°C.

The ICEE Daily helped delegates keep track of the multitude of events during the Conference.

Parallel Workshops:

1. Reorienting Formal Education towards ESD (Strategies, Pedagogy and Assessment)
2. Teacher Education: A crucial contribution to the UNDESD
3. Supporting Sustainable Development through Open and Distance Learning, including Technology Mediated Open and Distance Education (TechMODE)
4. Higher Education for Sustainable Development
5. Regional Centres of Expertise (RCEs)
6. Non Formal Spaces of Learning
7. Youth: Trend setters of ESD
8. Health Concerns
9. Art, Design and Ecology - The Role of Artists and Designers in Creative Environmental Education for Sustainable Development
10. Workshop on Education for Disaster risk Reduction
11. Education towards sustainability concerns of Natural Resources in Fragile Ecosystems
12. Efficient use of energy and Alternative systems – addressing climate concerns through focused information support and capacity building
13. Education for Innovation and Technology
14. Mobilising Knowledge for Sustainable Development
15. Integrating Values of Sustainability into education: The promise of the Earth Charter
16. Linking Knowledge, Skills and Practices for Fostering Community Leadership, Education and Benefits – GEF UNDP Small Grants Program
17. Meeting Challenges of Knowledge Management in Water and Sanitation
18. Education for Sustainable Livelihoods
19. Education for Sustainable Cities
20. Sustainable Waste Management
21. Responsible Corporate Citizenship: Key to a Sustainable Future
22. Media and ESD workshop - ‘Building Public Awareness and Understanding of Sustainability’
23. Roadmap for Creating a Research Foundation to Support the DESD
24. Monitoring and Evaluating Progress during the UN DESD
25. Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage Sites: Learning Laboratories for Sustainable Development
26. Making Zoo Education Sustainable – with special focus on Fund Raising, PR and Marketing
27. Education for Sustainable Consumption through the DESD
28. Government Session - Sharing experiences and promoting collaboration
29. UNEP’s Global Environment Report Volume 4(GEO 4) 2007: Promoting Environmental Research and Learning for Sustainable Development
30. Role of Education in addressing Livestock, Environment and Development issues.

Valedictory Session
Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, addressed the valedictory session on 28th Nov 2007. He highlighted ten key aspects emerging from the Conference:

1. The importance of the contribution of EE to ESD and to the DESD.
2. The urgency of right decisions and the right actions.
3. The non-formal and informal approaches to EE and ESD should be recognized as just as important as the formal education system.
4. Teachers are a cornerstone of effective ESD programmes. They must draw upon local inputs, contexts and values as well as foster community ownership of the curriculum.
5. It is necessary to unpack the category ‘learners’ in order to devise and implement suitably targeted approaches. They may include politics, business, media, professions etc.
6. The importance of research into ESD along with the effective dissemination and utilization of research results.
7. DESD has stimulated the launch of serious work on monitoring and evaluation and on the development of indicators of ESD.
8. The Conference engaged with different frames of reference for ESD and EE, each capturing a dynamic link between the global and the local.
9. ESD is a great vehicle for respecting our differences and building a common vision.
10. We must listen to the voice of the youth.

Conference materials on the internet

• Presentations of plenary sessions
• Workshop reports, recommendations and presentations
• Overall recommendations
• Conference Declaration in English, Spanish, French and Japanese
• Conference photo gallery
• ICEE daily networking newsletter

Visit www.tbilisiplus30.org

The Ahmedabad Declaration 2007: A Call to Action
Education for life: life through education

Our vision is a world in which our work and lifestyles contribute to the well-being of all life on Earth. We believe that through education, human lifestyles can be achieved that support ecological integrity, economic and social justice, sustainable livelihoods and respect for all life. Through education we can learn to prevent and resolve conflicts, respect cultural diversity, create a caring society and live in peace. We can learn from indigenous and traditional patterns of living that respect and honour the Earth and its life-support systems and we can adapt this wisdom to our fast-changing world. We can make individual, community, national and even global choices with due consideration for the collective good. Individuals including youth, civil society, governments, businesses, funding partners and other institutions can appreciate that their daily actions can shape a viable future of which all can be proud.

Ever-increasing human production and consumption is rapidly undermining the Earth’s life-support systems and the potential for all life to flourish. Assumptions about what constitutes an acceptable quality of life for some, often means deprivation for others. The gap between rich and poor is widening. The climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, increasing health risks and poverty are indicators of development models and lifestyles that are unsustainable. Alternative models and visions for a sustainable future do exist and urgent action is needed to make them a reality. Human rights, gender equity, social justice and a healthy environment must become global imperatives. Education for Sustainable Development is essential to making this transformation.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “Let my life be my message.” The example we set is all important. Through our actions, we add substance and vigour to the quest for sustainable living. With creativity and imagination we need to re-think and change the values we live by, the choices we make, and the actions we take.

We must reconsider our tools, methods and approaches, our politics and economics, our relationships and partnerships, and the very foundations and purpose of education and how it relates to the lives we lead. In making our choices we draw on, and are inspired by, much work that has gone before us, including the Earth Charter and the Millennium Development Goals.

Environmental Education processes support and champion Education for Sustainable Development. Such education processes must be relevant, responsive and accountable. Research is encouraged to provide additional rigour and credibility and to identify increasingly effective methods of learning and sharing knowledge.

We are all learners as well as teachers. Education for Sustainable Development encourages a shift from viewing education as a delivery mechanism to a lifelong, holistic and inclusive process. We pledge to build partnerships and share our diverse experiences and collective knowledge to refine the vision of sustainability while continually expanding its practice.

In a world with increasing capabilities to network, we embrace our responsibilities and commit ourselves to carry forward the recommendations from this conference. The United Nations system and governments worldwide need to support Environmental Education and develop sound Education for Sustainable Development policy frameworks and commit to their implementation.

We urge all people to join us in pursuing the principles of sustainability with humility, inclusivity, integrity and a strong sense of humanity. We move forward from Ahmedabad in a spirit of hope, enthusiasm and commitment to action.





The Ahmedabad Declaration was drafted in the context of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Developed over 4 days, the process involved more than 1,500 participants from 97 countries.

Partnerships in Waste Management

With a global platform and international team of experts meeting at one place ICEE was an opportunity for highlighting concerns, showcasing best practices and sharing experiences through special events. One such event was a Sustainable Waste Management workshop. It brought together waste picker NGOs from different cities of India.

It showcased a four-way partnership between Amul (Indian food and dairy company involved in production and distribution of milk and milk products), Daman Ganga Board Mills (Paper mill involved in production of paper products), SEWA (NGO involved in women welfare) and Tetra Pak (a company involved in production of Tetra Pak packaging material used to store perishable foods).

Amul uses Tetra Pak for packaging its products. With support from Amul and the Tetra Pak Company, SEWA, is engaged in collection, sorting and primary processing of onsumed/discarded Tetra Pak packages from about 42 dairy parlours in the city. The waste is segregated, washed and bundled before being sent to the Daman Ganga paper mill for recycling.

The processed material yields paper pulp (about 75%) and balance of aluminum + plastic aggregate (25%). Daman Ganga Mills uses the paper pulp and the plastic + aluminum aggregate is used to manufacture indoor/ interior use furniture and material such as roofing sheets
for the construction industry. Marginalized social sectors are engaged in processing of post-consumer Tetra Pak packages. This offers them livelihood and healthcare facilities. Tetra Pak offers knowledge and support to other organizations in India interested in collecting and recycling post-consumer Tetra Pak packages.

Earlier, all waste was handed over to the municipality garbage pick-up service and all materials thought to be non-recyclable including Tetra Pak-post consumer cartons, were sent to the dumping sites. Through the partnership Tetra Pak has now, ensured that the used cartons are collected and sent for recycling instead of landing up in dump sites. With this initiative

• Amul which use the cartons for its products is able to manage its waste responsibly
• SEWA women have a better livelihood option
• Daman Ganga paper mill get the much sought-after raw material
• Consumers (over time) are educated about being environmentally-responsible
• Societies and neighbourhoods are cleaner
• Government and private partners have jointly taken the responsibility for waste education and recycling

Participants from SEWA and Daman Ganga jointly conducted the workshop in an interactive fashion. The workshop used slide presentations, videos, photographs, and “show and tell” demonstrations to engage the audience. Through the workshop it is hoped that other NGOs will understand how the model is set up, the economics etc and consequently aim to replicate the model in their cities (with some assistance on creating market linkages etc. provided by Tetra Pak).

For more information contact:
Jaideep Gokhale Tetra Pak India Private Limited;

Mayfair Towers, Ground Floor, Wakdewadi,

Shivajinagar, Pune 411 005

Ph: 020 2551 0800 ext 216; Fax: 020 2551 0816

Special events

Global Community for Sustainability
On 25th Nov ‘Global Community for Sustainability Showcase Day’ was organised by CEE Australia.

The Global Community for Sustainability (GCS) project undertaken by CEE Australia, aims to instill sustainability values in school children so that they can build a sustainable future for themselves as well for the future. Thirteen schools in Australia and Ahmedabad partnered in this project to study the sustainability issues in their communities and exchanged information and possible solutions to them. The schools used internet to communicate and post their findings and processes on www.ceeaustralia.org/gcs.

For the showcase day, local 'teams' comprising of a teacher, students and representatives from the local council and a community organisation participated in the exchange. The exhibits and presentations highlighted various environmental issues like water conservation, sanitation and hygiene, traffic management, greening, etc.

The GCS Ambassadors from Australia (selected by a poll) two teachers and two students from Monaro High School visited India during the conference.

Autorickshaw Drivers’ Association: Campaign for Sustainability
Ahmedabad has one of the oldest and the only cooperative group of auto-rickshaw drivers. The Auto-rickshaw Drivers’ Association (ADA) has been pro-active in addressing issues of concern to the auto-rickshaw owners including their financial needs. In an inspiring endeavor for ICEE, the ADA, the Adani Energy Company and CEE joined hands to set up an awareness campaign for a clean and green Ahmedabad city.

Special stickers carrying sustainability slogans were developed by CEE in Gujarati. These stickers were provided to the auto-rickshaw drivers from the Adani CNG pumps across the city. The ADA on its part urged the Auto-rickshaw drivers for participating in the campaign. The Auto-rickshaw Drivers’ actively participated in the campaign by displaying the slogans on their auto-rickshaws. The campaign started on the November 19th, 2007 and lasted through the Conference.

Participants of the Conference took notice of the campaign and appreciated the use of CNG and the decentralized transportation in the city.

HIV AIDS: Building Environments for Responsible Living
The one and half hour special session on HIV AIDS organised on 27th November, looked at the links between EE and ESD. Whilst almost all development is based on dealing with the social interactions and environment that lead to social inequalities (as well as inequalities in health and inequalities in opportunity) there are few systematic formal or informal approaches to education about either of these two aspects. The discussion recommended:

• Thinking of others and thus living responsibly is the only ‘cure’ for the virus, as it is for protecting our environment for future generations.
• The learnings from HIV-AIDS awareness and control efforts over two decades should be integrated urgently into future ESD. It is about challenging the endemic through care and respect, and through supportive social environments.
• Providing such supportive, enabling environments for people affected by HIV-AIDS requires alternative spaces for education that can reach society as a whole, moving away from the ‘target group’ approach.
• Time-bound project approaches do not create and sustain the supportive social environments that can foster groups and encourage self-esteem and confidence. This requires a change in HIV-AIDS awareness and control practices.
• HIV-AIDS, like challenge to the environment, is here to stay. Awareness and control efforts must therefore move out of the box, and be integrated with other health, social and political concerns.
• Reaching youth becomes the priority for promoting such changes in attitude and action.

Young Voices for Sustainable Development
With an objective to include children’s perspective and vision for sustainable development in the recommendations coming out of the conference, National Bal Bhavan and CEE organised a special Children's Activity from 24th to 28th November, 2007.

• Activities included a nature trail on the CEE campus, filmshows, a discussion on the role of zoos, etc.
• The children also participated in the conference plenary session on "Teaching Sustainability and Living Sustainably". Children expressed their concern over high consumption cultures leading to resource depletion, waste generation, pollution and long term global impacts like Climate Change.
• Development Alternatives, facilitated an ‘Earth Charter’ session.
• There was also a session on effects of Climate Change, Global Warming and Green House Gas emissions and the technologies and habits that can be adopted to minimize them.
  The children took the opportunity to voice their concerns through presentations and display like the hand made greeting cards and a children’s declaration. The recommendations from this workshop were forwarded to the drafting committee so that children get their concerns addressed as part of the larger recommendations.

Climate Change E-learning for Children
A discussion entitled ‘Climate Change E-learning for Children’ was arranged on November 25, 2007. The event was supported by the UNEP and Samsung Engineering Pvt. Ltd, South Korea and attended by school teachers and ICEE invitees. The session was aimed to understand basics of climate change, ESD and e-learning and brainstorm about possible offline and online activities and content that could strengthen children’s interest in environmental issues.

Two students from Australia, on a visit under the ‘Global School for Sustainability’ project, shared their online activities, network, problems faced during networking and their strategies to overcome these. Misuse of internet, student’s interaction with urban local bodies to address local issues, monitoring, efforts to sustain students’ interest in these activities were discussed.

CEE’s Children Media Unit presented a case study of ‘KidsRGreen’, a website for children. This followed a presentation on climate change in India and the global scenario related to climate change. The teachers group presented feedback on www.eco-generation.org website, launched by the UNEP and Samsung to sensitize children on issues related to Climate Change. Mr. Mahesh Pradhan, Regional Environmental Affairs Officer, UNEP facilitated a group discussion to know the support schools need to conduct climate related educational activities.

Handprint launch
The Handprint concept was launched on 28 November. Handprint is a measure of ESD action - action that is directed to decrease the human footprint and make our world more sustainable. The Handprint tool is being developed by CEE to help measure action at: individual, community, national and global. It analyzes positive impact on the three aspects of sustainability: Environment, society and economy.

While the Footprint is the negative effect you leave on global the Handprint is your positive efforts towards sustainability.

The Handprint concept reflects the spirit of the 4th ICEE and the commitment to action towards sustainable development. The concept embraces the conference recommendations and will carry forward the spirit of hope, enthusiasm commitment to action.
Website: http://www.handsforchange.org; E-mail: handprint@ceeindia.org

Lauches and Releases during ICEE

EE Resource Books for Teacher Educators
This set of three resource books have been developed for the Indian teacher education context by CEE and the National Council of Teacher Education.

The books are aimed at helping Teacher Educators (at Diploma, Bachelors and Masters levels) to effectively transact EE in the preparation of school teachers. Self-contained units provide content and background information, followed by a well-explained teaching method and the required teaching resources. All resource books have units on themes like Environment and Development, Environmental Education, Evaluating and also education for Sustainable Development. The Resource Books are available at CEE Ahmedabad.

For more information contact: saseanee@ceeindia.org

Tbilisi to Ahmedabad – The Journey of Environmental Education A Sourcebook
ISBN 978-81-89587-25-3; Price: Rs. 250

“Tbilisi to Ahmedabad - The Journey of Environmental Education” highlights and captures the thought, practice, and major events that shaped the journey of EE since it began its formal journey from Tbilisi thirty years ago. More importantly, this publication helps understand how the journey of EE through these years has raised the consciousness for Education for Sustainable Development. During its evolution, EE has acquired a larger mandate to champion ESD so that all disciplines play a vital role and it includes all stakeholders in its journey forward.

As background material, the publication was intended to be a comprehensive reference document useful for discussions and deliberations to be carried out in the Conference by the participants.

CEE has brought out this publication as Version 1 with an intention to invite inputs, comments and contributions from EE and ESD fraternity on aspects and events that need to be included and have not been captured in the current version. CEE is in the process of bringing out the next Version which would include ICEE proceedings as well. The authors would like to hear from all who engage in EE and ESD with inputs and comments. Please write in to cmu@ceeindia.org

DIShA for Sustainable Development
A Facilitators’ Handbook

ISBN 978-81-89587-17-8

Ms Amita Shaw, Director, National Bal Bhavan launched ‘DiSha’ a handbook for Sustainable development action. The book jointly developed by CEE and National Bal Bhavan as part of the DESD India Programme, is supported by the Indian National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt of India. The publication seeks to guide and demonstrate the importance of Water, Energy, Biodiversity and Waste management – the key environmental concerns to children and teachers. The manual aims to:
• promote awareness of SD through a closer look at the child’s real world issues
• build knowledge and skills that are needed to observe, analyze, investigate, and offer solutions
• encourage sharing and communicating learnings with peers, parents and communities
• inspire action

For more information contact: madhavi.joshi@ceeindia.org

Environmental Education in the Indian School System Status Report 2007
With support from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), CEE has worked with 15 States on greening of formal education at middle school level.
Put together and produced as part of the project supported by MoEF, with the help of State Education Boards and Councils, this National Status Report provides information on

• India’s initiatives for EE in the school system
• A case study of the Environmental Education in School System (EESS) project done in 15 states of the country.
• State wise information on the compliance of the Supreme Court directive to make EE teaching compulsory

The Environmental Education in the Indian School System Status Report 2007 was launched by Ms. Meena Gupta, Secretary, MoEF on 25 November 2007.

For more information contact: preeti.rawat@ceeindia.org

State of the World 2007: Our Urban Future The Indian reprint
ISBN: 0-393-06557-X; 0-393-32923-2(pbk); Price: Rs 340

The Indian reprint of State of the World 2007: Our Urban Future was launched on 26th November.
The Indian reprint, to be disseminated by CEE has a foreword by Dr H S Anand, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Govt of India. During the launch, Dr Anand spoke about learnings from India – of improving the work conditions of rag-pickers while promoting door step collection and recycling, of slum rehabilitation, of micro enterprise etc – that must form part of the work of environmental educators.

Over the coming months, CEE will organize launch events and meetings in different parts of the country to take the stories in the book to citizens, activists, professionals and managers.

For more information contact: edutech@ceeindia.org

Also available for purchase at CEE offices in Bangalore, Guwahati, Lucknow, Delhi and Pune (www.ceeindia.org)

Green Teacher Online Programme
Green Teacher Online is a web-based multidisciplinary course, specially designed for in-service
professionals.

The course offers practicing teachers and educators an opportunity to empower themselves with knowledge and skills in Environmental Education. The programme aims to establish a learner-centred and learner-controlled on-the- job training opportunity.

The programme has been developed in partnership with and support from the Commonwealth of Learning, Canada. Metalearn Private Services Ltd is the technical partner. Green Teacher Online will commence in 2008.

For more information contact: greenteacher2008@ceeindia.org

Visit: http://www.greenteacheronline.org/