MEANING, OBJECTIVES, SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Environment literally means surroundings in which we are living. Environment includes all
those things on which we are directly or indirectly dependent for our survival, whether it is living
component like animals or plants, or non-living component like soil, air or water. Environmental can
be defined as, “The sum total of water, air and land, their interrelationship among themselves and
with the human beings, other living beings and property.”
Environment includes all living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) factors on which we are
dependent.
TABLE: COMPONENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Abiotic Biotic
Light, climate (humidity and temperature) Living organisms including plants,
atmospheric gases, water, substrata (soil, animals, microorganisms (bacteria, fungi,
river/sea bed). protozoa), and human beings.

SEGMENTS OF ENVIRONMENT
There are four different segment of environment:
1. Atmosphere
The air envelope surrounding the earth is known as atmosphere. This protective envelope
sustains life on earth and protects us from unfriendly environment of outer space. It extends to the
height of about 1600km from the earth’s surface and consists of life-saving gases like O2 for human
beings and animals and CO2 for plants.
2. Hydrosphere
It covers more than 75% of the earth’s surface either as oceans or as freshwater. Hydrosphere
includes sea, rivers, oceans, lakes, ponds, streams, etc.
3. Lithosphere
It means the mantle of rocks constituting the earth’s crust. The solid component of the earth is
called lithosphere, which includes soil, earth, rocks and mountains, etc. The lithosphere mainly
contains three layers –
(a) Inner and Outer Core
Central fluid or vaporized sphere of diameter of about 2500km from the centre.
(b) Mantle
It is about 2900-3000 km above the core in molten state.
(c) Crust
Outermost solid zone about 8-40 km above mantle.
4. Biosphere
This segment of environment consists of atmosphere (air- O2, N2, CO2). Lithosphere (land-
minerals, salts, food, nutrients) and hydrosphere (water-dissolved oxygen, salts) which influences and
supports the entire biotic and abiotic life systems.
MEANING OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Environmental studies is the scientific study of the environmental system and the status of its
inherent or induced changes on organisms. It includes not only the study of physical and biological
characters of the environment but also the social and cultural factors and the impact of man on
environment.
OBJECTIVES AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
According to UNESCO (1971), the objectives of environmental studies are:
a. Creating the awareness about environmental problems among people.
b. Imparting basic knowledge about the environment and its allied problems.
c. Developing an attitude of concern for the environment.
d. Motivating public to participate in environment protection and environment improvement.
e. Acquiring skills to help the concerned individuals in identifying and solving environmental
problems.
f. Striving to attain harmony with Nature.
According to UNESCO, the guiding principles of environmental education should be as follows:
a. Environmental education should be compulsory, right from the primary up to the post graduate
stage.
b. Environmental education should have an interdisciplinary approach by including physical,
chemical, biological as well as socio-cultural aspects of the environment. It should build a
bridge between biology and technology.
c. Environmental education should take into account the historical perspective, the current and the
potential historical issues.
d. Environmental education should emphasise the importance of sustainable development i.e.,
economic development without degrading the environment.
e. Environmental education should emphasise the necessity of seeking international cooperation in
environmental planning.
f. Environmental education should lay more stress on practical activities and first hand
experiences.
SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE
The disciplines included in environmental education are environmental sciences, environmental
engineering and environmental management.
a) Environmental Science
It deals with the scientific study of environmental system (air, water, soil and land), the inherent
or induced changes on organisms and the environmental damages incurred as a result of human
interaction with the environment.
b) Environmental Engineering
It deals with the study of technical processes involved in the protection of environment from the
potentially deleterious effects of human activity and improving the environmental quality for the
health and well being of the humans.
c) Environmental Management
It promotes due regard for physical, social and economic environment of the enterprise or
projects. It encourages planned investment at the start of the production chain rather than forced
investment in cleaning up at the end. It generally covers the areas as environment and enterprise
objectives, scope and structure of the environment, interaction of nature, society and the enterprise,
environment impact assessment, economics of pollution, prevention, environmental management
standards, etc.
The importance aims of environmental studies are as follows:
1. To clarify modern environmental concept like how to conserve biodiversity.
2. To know the more sustainable ways of living.
3. To use natural resources more efficiently.
4. To know the behaviour of organisms under natural conditions.
5. To know the interrelationship of organisms in populations and communities.
6. To aware and educate people regarding environmental issues and problems at local, national and
international levels.
NEED OF PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT ENVIRONMENT
In today’s world owing to rapid industrialization and increasing population, the natural
resources have been rapidly utilised and our environment is being increasingly degraded by human
activities, so we need to protect it. It is not only the duty of government but also the people to play an
active role in protecting the environment. So protecting our environment is economically more viable
than cleaning it up once it is damaged. The role of mass media such as newspapers, radio, television,
etc., is also very important to make people aware regarding environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION: OBJECTIVES, AIMS AND PRINCIPLES
Environmental education is concerned with those aspects of human behaviour which are more
directly related to man’s interaction with bio-physical environment and his ability to understand this
interaction. One of the most glaring problems which the world faces today is the environmental
pollution. Man has exploited nature excessively but at the cost of the environment. There is an
immediate need to make people aware about environmental degradation. Education and public
participation may change and improve the quality of environment.
According to UNESCO, “Environmental education is a way of implementing the goals of
environmental protection. It is not a separate branch of science but is a lifelong interdisciplinary field
of study.” It means education towards protection and enhancement of the environment and education
as an instrument of development for improving the quality of life of human communities.
OBJECTIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
The following are the objectives of environmental education:
1. Awareness
To help the social groups and individuals to acquire knowledge of pollution and environmental
degradation.
2. Knowledge
To help social groups and individuals to acquire knowledge of the environment beyond the
immediate environment including distant environment.
3. Attitudes
To help social groups and individuals to acquire a set of values for environmental protection.
4. Skills and Capacity Building
To help social groups and individuals to develop skills required for making discriminations in
form, shape, sound, touch, habits and habitats. Further, to develop ability to draw unbiased inferences
and conclusions.
5. Participation
To provide social groups and individuals with an opportunity to be actively involved at all levels
in environmental decision-making. There are four areas of decision-making:
a. The types of environmental issues on which decisions might be made;
b. The physical setting of the prospective environmental decision, including its spatial scale;
c. The types of social groups and individuals who might interact in a process leading up to an
environmental decision; and
d. The time-frame within which the decision must be made.
AIMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
UNESCO has highlighted the following aims of environmental education:
The foremost aim of environmental education is clearly to show the economic, social, political
and ecological interdependence of the modern world, in which decisions and actions by different
countries can have international repercussions. Environmental education should, in this regard, help to
develop a sense of responsibility and solidarity among countries and regions as the foundation for a
new international order which will guarantee the conservation and improvement of the environment.
The main aim of environmental education at the grassroots level is to succeed in making
individuals and communities understand the complex nature of the natural and the built environments.
Further, to acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes and practical skills to participate in a responsible
and effective way in anticipating and solving social problems, and in the management of the quality of
the environment.
Therefore, necessary steps for environmental education are:
a. Awareness;
b. Knowledge;
c. Attitude-building for motivating to protect environment;
d. Evaluation of environmental measures; and
e. Skill-and capacity-building.
According to D.H. Meadows, “Environmental educators on every continent develop materials
and methods as varied as the different cultures and ecosystems on earth.” He lists some key concepts
which underlie all environmental education. These are food for thought, levels of being, complex
systems, population growth and carrying capacity, ecologically sustainable development, socially
sustainable development, knowledge, uncertainty and sacredness.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
These are as follows:
1. Resource Principles
a. Resource-use demands long-term planning if we are to achieve truly sustainable development.
b. Rationale utilization of a renewable source is a sensible way of preserving the resources while
obtaining maximum benefits from it.
c. A mode of life heavily dependent upon rapidly diminishing non-renewable energy sources (i.e.
fossil fuel) is unstable.
2. Soil Principles
a. The protection of soils and the maintenance of sustainable agriculture are essential factors into
the survival of civilizations and settlements.
b. Soil erosion is the irreversible loss of essential resources and must be prevented.
c. A vegetation cover (grass, forest) is important for the balance of nature and for the conservation
of soil, besides being exploitable natural resources.
3. Wildlife Protection Principles
a. Wildlife population is important aesthetically, biologically and economically.
b. Natural reserves and other protected wilderness areas are of value in protecting endangered
species because they preserve their habitats.
c. The survival of humanity is closely linked to the survival of wildlife both being dependent on
the same life-supporting systems.
4. Environmental Management Principles
a. Sound environmental management is beneficial to both the man and the environment.
b. Management of natural resources should be done in a rational manner.
c. Elimination of wastes through recycling and the development of clean technologies are
important to modern societies to help reduce the consumption of resources.
d. Human activities and technologies influence considerably the natural environment and may
affect its capacity to sustain life, including human life.
5. Other Principles
a. The relations between humans and their environment are mediated by their culture i.e.
b. Cultural, historical and architectural heritage are much in need of protection.
CONCEPTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Any curriculum should be based on well-thought-out and clearly-defined concepts that one
wishes the learner to acquire. Some important concepts of environmental education have
interdisciplinary significance such as environmental pollution, carrying capacity, ecosystems, ecology,
and conservation, etc.
HOW ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS CAN BE ACHIEVED?
Public awareness about environment is meant to help social groups and individuals acquire a
basic understanding of environment and its associated problems. Educationists and environmental
specialists have repeatedly pointed out that any solution to the environmental crisis will require
environmental awareness and understanding to be deeply rooted in the education system at all levels.
a. Environmental awareness at primary school level to impart elementary knowledge about
environmental issues and problems.
b. Relevance of real-life situations of environment at secondary school level for understanding of
environmental problems.
c. Management of natural resources at senior secondary school level to develop skills to tackle the
management problems of natural resources.
d. Environmental issues and sustainable development at college and university levels for
experimentation and solution to environmental problems and methods for conservation of
natural resources.
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS THROUGH ADULT EDUCATION
The aim of adult education should be to create a collective action in solving the environmental
problems. The new types of complex environmental problems require understanding and hence a new
approach to adult education. A new approach should be relevant with regard to being able to fulfil
established environmental objectives. For effective adult education, functionaries have to build rapport
with the support organizations. They require to do the following:
i. Build capacities in technical, social and institutional aspects of environmental management in
village.
ii. Reorient teachers and instructors with regard to natural resources management.
iii. Find ways to sustain people’s interest on environmental issues and identify systems for
conveying knowledge and skill.
iv. Educating people for environment presupposes a policy for environmental training. This policy
should be comprehensively covering a number of elements which may include:
a Identifying training objectives;
b Determining environmental training practices;
c. Matching training programmes to local demand for environmental knowledge and skills;
d. Identifying the best modes and methods of training; and
e. Ensuring the financing of training activities.
v. The participation of rural women in environmental awareness programmes is very essential. The
reason being, a rural woman spends a great part of her life in arranging fuel, fodder, water for
her family, hence. She is actively involved in sustainable use of common resources. Thus,
 women’s involvement in decision-making, especially for natural resources management and
development activities should constitute an essential case for building a solid framework for
environmental awareness programmes.
For general information, following may form the subject contents for educating adults to
become environmentally literate:
1. Every house in the village should have a soak pit and water should not be allowed to spread in
front of the houses.
2. The water of wells, ponds and rivers should not be polluted by bathing animals or dumping
garbage in them.
3. Environmental issues may be linked with health, explaining things like stagnant water breeds
mosquitoes for malaria or dengue, etc.
4. Water-conservation techniques should be taught.
5. Tree plantation in and around villages should be encouraged.
6. Pesticides and fertilizers should be used in appropriate quantities to avoid their bad effects on
the soil.
7. Bio-gas plant should be encouraged to minimise the use of wood fuel.
8. Solar energy should be encouraged for light and cooking purposes.
9. The flourmills, brick kilns or other small-scale industries should be established away from
residential areas to avoid noise and air pollution.
10. Training in handling of waste materials and methods of recycling should be taught.
11. Lessons on environmental hazards and disaster should be taught.
There is an urgent need to safeguard the environment to save the future generation. It requires
understanding the immediate and real needs of UDCs by initiating a local process through adult
education programmes. It means environmental awareness by promoting low-cost resources
conservation, regeneration of eco-system of villages and stimulation of environmentally-sound
surroundings.
ENVIRONMENT AWARENESS THROUGH MASS MEDIA
Mass media can play a vital role in creating awareness about environment and conservation of
natural resources. It can serve this purpose by means of its multi-channel regional and network service
comprising programmes such as talk shows, interviews, plays, documentaries, etc. The electronic
media can identify and bring to a halt forces affecting the natural and even the man-made
environment. It matters much how the public mind can be mobilized to reduce pollution and promote
environmental quality.
For instance, the prevention of wastage of oil, gas, coal and other sources of energy is not the
solitary goal. The goal should be to focus certain relative aspects leading to environmental protection
through conservation emphasizing the protection of good earth. What we need is canvassing different
methodologies of oil conservation since the electronic media are a potential mobilizer of public
opinion. It is genuinely expected that the twin media play quite a significant role in influencing mass-
awareness against the excessive use of energy. Media research and media planning in the field of
environmental protection and conservation of natural resources can be accelerated keeping in view the
attitude of the people. These could steer campaign objectives, measure the effectiveness of advertising
campaign, provide the information most relevant to the efficient use of media and telecast
programmes on conservation of resources and maintenance of environmental quality.
IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL DAYS OBSERVED WORLDWIDE
It is important to sensitise the public towards environmental concerns, and dedicating a few days
for certain environmental causes serves the purpose immensely. The various days observed are:
1. February 2 (World Wetland Day)
On this day, in 1971, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was
signed. Wetlands are a very important part of our biodiversity and it is essential to see that they are
well protected.
2. February 28 (National Science Day)
It is necessary to highlight the role of science in the protection of the environment. This day
should be taken as a platform to propagate the message.
3. March 21 (World Forestry Day)
Activities such as the planting of trees and highlighting the urgency to increase the green cover
should be done.
4. March 22 (World Water Day)
The decision to celebrate this day has been taken recently as drinking water sources are
depleting fast. The world must wake up to the problem and begin conserving it.
5. March 23 (World Meteorological Day)
Everyone has to be reminded that weather is an integral part of the environment.
6. April 7 (World Health Day)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) was constituted on this day in 1948. In the changing
environment around us health is becoming an important issue.
7. April 18 (World Heritage Day)
Environment includes not just the natural surroundings but also the man-made ones.
8. April 22 (Earth Day)
In 1970 a group of people in the United States of America got together to draw the attention of
the world to the problems being caused to the earth due to modernisation. Since then this day has been
celebrated all over the world as Earth Day.
9. May 31 (Anti-Tobacco Day)
The world is now aware of the problems faced by not only the smokers but also the people who
inhale the smoke. You can take up an anti-smoking campaign in your family or the neighbourhood.
10. June 5 (World Environment Day)
On this day, in 1972, the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment was held in Sweden.
There was a large gathering from all over the world and people expressed their concerns for the
increasing environmental problems.
11. July 11 (World Population Day)
Population has to be given special attention, as it is an ever-increasing problem worldwide
especially in Pakistan.
12. September 16 (World Ozone Day)
The United Nations declared this day as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone
Layer. It is the day the Montreal Protocol was signed.
13. September 28 (Green Consumer Day)
The problems of consumerism and its impact on the environment is an area of major concern in
today’s world. Awareness building on the importance of recycling-reusing-reducing should be taken
up seriously.
14. October 3 (World Habitat Day)
The earth is the habitat of not only human beings but also all living creatures. Increasing human
activities is threatening the habitat of other living things.
15. October 1-7 (World Wildlife Week)
Celebrate this week by building awareness on the importance of preservation of our wildlife.
16. October 4 (World Animal Welfare Day)
The welfare of animals has to be looked into and given due importance.
17. October 13 (International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction)
Due to a change in the environment, there has been an increase in the number of natural
disasters. Efforts have to be taken to reduce these disasters.