ENVIRONMENTAL CULTURE: CONCEPT, IMPORTANCE, EXAMPLES - ENVIRONMENT - 2025

The environmental culture is related to the educational process aimed at awakening in humans an awareness of the environment. This process tries to promote a change in the relationship between man and the natural environment, guaranteeing the sustainability and quality of the environment for both the current and future generations.

As a movement, environmental culture has its justification in the evident accelerated imbalance of nature as a product of human power to transform the environment. As a result of these modifications, living species have often been exposed to dangers that may be irreversible.

For this reason, environmentalists consider that environmental culture should be instilled in people of all ages, at all levels and within the framework of formal and non-formal education.

In the same way, they consider that the media of social communication have a great responsibility to put their enormous resources at the service of propagating this culture.

Over the years, this educational mission has brought together groups of environmental specialists from all countries. One of them is UNEP, the United Nations Environment Program. This institution coordinates the International Environmental Education Program since 1975.

Definition and concept

Definition

Originally, the word "culture" was used in the sense of cultivating. Currently, the term is associated with the sphere of spiritual life, that is, with human consciousness.

Thus, environmental culture can be defined as the ability of people to use environmental knowledge and skills in their practical activities.

In this sense, without an adequate level of culture, people may have the necessary knowledge but not apply it. An individual's environmental culture includes their environmental awareness and their environmental behavior.

Environmental awareness is understood as the totality of environmental ideas, positions and attitude of the world perspective towards nature and the strategies of practical activity aimed at natural sites.

On the other hand, environmental behavior is the totality of concrete actions and acts of people related directly or indirectly to the natural environment or the use of natural resources. It is determined by the level of environmental awareness and mastery of the practical skills of individuals in the area of ​​nature management.

Concept

The concept of environmental culture is closely linked to that of environmental education. Unlike other traditional forms of education, environmental culture is a holistic process (considers environmental culture as a whole) and lifelong learning. It is aimed at creating responsible people who explore and identify environmental problems.

On the other hand, environmental culture does not mean the mere defense of the environment or the publication of environmental information. Rather, remain neutral in teaching individuals critical thinking for problem solving. Its guiding principles are awareness, knowledge, attitudes, skills and participation.

Importance of environmental culture

Helps improve quality of life

Environmental culture can help improve the quality of life of living beings on the planet. An example of this are the different environmental culture programs aimed at increasing tree planting. These help to improve the cleanliness of the air of many pollutants harmful to humans.

In addition to providing oxygen for the breathing of living things, trees act as a purifying filter. According to the results of qualified studies, these can remove 1.3 tons of carbon monoxide per day. Additionally, they can remove other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone.

Likewise, environmental culture programs stimulate the creation of regulations to guarantee air purity and the creation of parks that can help meet the quality standards required to maintain clean air. With this they make a great contribution to also improve the quality of life.

Raises awareness about climate change

There is a growing interest on the part of organizations in limiting, through the establishment of an environmental culture, greenhouse gas emissions.

They also seek to increase the efficiency of energy use, both regionally and globally, to face climate change.

Natural lands such as forests, grasslands, and parks are a key asset in this effort. Large reserves serve as large carbon filters. In the same way, the small local parks help to refresh the environment.

Contributes to the preservation of water

Improving water quality is another of the objectives pursued by environmental culture programs. The preservation of open land and the creation of parks preserves the natural infiltration processes and limits impermeability.

This guarantees that the rainfall moves immediately towards the aquifer centers, limiting its surface path as much as possible. Contact with polluting sources on the surface remains low.

Examples

Hino Motors Environmental Education Program

This is a program developed in Japan by the Hino Motors company. In it, educational and awareness-raising activities related to the environment are promoted in an effort to raise the environmental culture of employees.

In the opinion of its executives, the company is convinced that environmental activities extend beyond the domain of the corporate sector.

They also recognize the important role each employee plays both in the workplace and at home. Therefore, as part of the program, individual responsibilities are emphasized.

To date, Hino Motors management has continued to incorporate environmental education into its training programs for managers and new hires.

Its executives assure that the company will continue its efforts to implement more systematic environmental education in its efforts to constantly raise environmental awareness in Japan.

Symposium Awakening the Dreamer (awakening the dreamer)

This is a symposium created by the Pachamama Alliance organization (Alianza Pachamama). Specifically, the symposium tries to show that environmental destruction is the result of a faulty belief system in the modern world. This faulty system is characterized by lack of consequences in destructive actions.

In this sense, the symposium highlights the fact that the environment is in a critical condition. So while there is still hope to change our course, time is of the essence.

During the symposium, the desire and urgency to become an environmental steward is inspired. Appropriately, they call this desire "being in a state of blessed restlessness."

The Alianza Pachamama organization was founded in 1995 in the depths of the Amazon jungle between the borders of Peru and Ecuador. Its founders have their support in the Achuar indigenous tribe (Ecuadorian-Peruvian ethnic group). These are the ones who give the movement a philosophical basis.

References

1. Environmental education. (s / f). Defining Environmental Education. Taken from gdrc.org.
2. UNESCO. (s / f). Environmental education. The great orientations of the Tbilisi Conference. Taken from unesdoc.unesco.org.
3. CMAP. (2013, September 16). Environmental Benefits. Taken from cmap.illinois.gov.
4. Yasvin, VA (2006). Building an Environmental Culture is not Reduced to Environmental Education. In Bulletin Towards a Sustainable Russia, No. 34, pp. 7-9.
5. Hino Motors. (s / f). Environmental Education. Taken from hino-global.com.
6. Pachamama. (s / f). Environmental Awareness. Taken from pachamama.org.