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For our common future:
education for sustainable development
Hans van Ginkel, Faculty of Geosciences, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
E
ducation for sustainable development (ESD) seeks to
transform all education in such a manner that present
and future generations will be better prepared to actively
contribute to the sustainable development of their own societies
as well as the world community at large.
ESD focuses all education on the notion of sustainable development,
which has been defined by the Brundtland Commission as “develop-
ment which meets the needs of the present, without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Education for all
Within the UN system, the concept of sustainable development
has been further developed to refer to sustainable human devel-
opment. The introduction of the ‘human dimension’ places
human development at the forefront of all development activities
of a region, country or continent. In line with this view, the UN
General Assembly in 1986 adopted a ‘Declaration on the Right of
Development’
1
, stating that the human person is the central subject
of development, and called upon Member States: ‘to ensure access
to the basic resources, education, health services, food, housing,
employment and the distribution of income’
2
. Quality education for
all is essential to achieve a better future for all humankind and ESD
gives such education proper meaning and orientation.
Our living planet
The world is becoming ever more globalized and knowledge-based,
while society is becoming more complex and heterogeneous,
consisting of individuals characterized by intriguing sets of multiple
identities. Our impact on our living planet is enormous, and all the
Earth’s life support systems are under severe threat – often, human
activity is the root cause of environmental disasters. The former
UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, in his 1998 Annual Report
3
,
stated that environmental risks and disasters, rather than war and
conflict, were the main cause of human insecurity and that many of
these disasters (which include climate change, soil pollution, forest
fires, falling groundwater tables and infectious diseases) might best
be called ‘unnatural’.
Challenges are often also opportunities and most changes can be
both for better and for worse. While international terrorism can
strike over a great distance, good can also be done from afar. This is
often demonstrated with massive aid-programs after major disasters,
such as the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, or the earthquake in Haiti.
We can no longer ignore the links between globalization, trade,
poverty, development and the environment. This is where educa-
tion comes in, raising awareness of our individual responsibilities to
contribute, to make responsible choices, and to respect
other people, nature and diversity.
The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development
The decision to establish a Decade on Education for
Sustainable Development (DESD) followed many initia-
tives that emphasized the importance of education in
achieving sustainable development. In particular the
Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, recog-
nized the critical role of education in achieving a
sustainable future for all humankind. Chapter 36 of
Agenda 21 specifically addresses re-orienting education
towards sustainable development, and encompasses
formal, non-formal and informal education, from basic,
primary education to vocational and higher education,
as well as key issues related to ESD.
The overall goal of the DESD is to integrate the prin-
ciples, values and practices of sustainable development
into all aspects of education and learning. This educa-
tional effort is expected to create a more sustainable
future in terms of environmental integrity, economic
viability and a just society for present and future gener-
ations. ESD, understood in this way, should be given
integrated attention in all sectors and at all levels of
education in relation to relevant existing subjects. All
teachers in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology,
geography, social science, economics, law, history and
literature should be involved, as well as those in basic/
primary education. In this way, ESD gives orienta-
tion and meaning to quality education for all. It will,
however, be a major challenge to develop the curric-
ula and courses needed and to regularly update these,
informing teacher training and re-training in timely and
effective ways. As environment and development differ
from place to place, posing different questions and chal-
lenges, but also different opportunities, it is important
that ESD clearly reflects relevant, place-specific issues.
Respect as the basis for ESD
UNESCO has identified respect as the founding
value for ESD – respect for others, for present and
future generations, and for planet Earth. ESD seeks
to encourage new behaviours and practices to secure
our common future. The DESD aims at changing the
approach to education to ensure that in the future it