Report of
    the First Phase Strategic Research
      Environmental Education
               March 2001
    Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
         Preface 
         The Asia-Pacific region faces environmental threats from global warming and climate change, rapid 
         population growth, pollution and forest degradation. A large number of studies have been made on 
         these issues in the past. To mitigate and address these problems, policymakers have been urged to 
         take measures such as using practical policy tools, building regional cooperation, promoting good 
         governance and cooperating with the private sector. In addition, in-depth studies on these issues have 
         also been conducted. 
         International discussions, such as the Earth Summit that resulted in Agenda 21 in 1992 and the 
         International Conference on Environment and Society that resulted in the Thessaloniki Declaration 
         in 1997, have stressed the importance of environmental education. Research for a sustainable future 
         must be linked with research on environmental education. We  are  convinced that ensuring 
         environmental education could contribute  considerably to restoring the environment locally and 
         globally. 
         The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) was established in 1998 to undertake 
         strategic research on sustainability in the Asia-Pacific region. In its first phase (1998-2001), IGES 
         launched  six projects, including the Environmental Education Project. The major aim of the 
         Environmental Education Project was to develop strategies to improve the quality of environmental 
         education and assist the many countries of the Asia-Pacific region in implementing environmental 
         education. The research  has focused on  the  following four sectors: business and industry, 
         non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the media, and school education. 
         This is a final report that compiles the results of our studies since April 1998. It is hoped that 
         governments and organizations in the Asia-Pacific region will follow up on many of the resulting 
         recommendations. We also wish to encourage further discussion to promote environmental education 
         for a sustainable future at national, sub-regional, and regional levels. We wish to extend our great 
         thanks to all collaborators who have contributed their time and effort for preparing each country’s 
         status reports on environmental education. We also deeply appreciate the friends who kindly 
         participated in the workshops, meetings and conferences organized by the IGES Environmental 
         Education Project. This report was made possible thanks to those efforts. 
          
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            CONTENTS                                                                                                                          
            OUTLINE OF THE PROJECT........................................................................................................................1 
            1.   INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................4 
                 1.1    Introduction: background and needs of the Project........................................................................4 
                 1.2    Objectives and targets....................................................................................................................4 
                 1.3.   Outline of research results..............................................................................................................5 
            2.   MAJOR RESULTS OF THE PROJECT...................................................................................................7 
                 2.1    Overview of 34 country and 2 special area studies........................................................................7 
                 2.2    Sectoral research..........................................................................................................................24 
                      2.2.1  Business and industry sector and environmental education...............................................24 
                      2.2.2  Network-building for NGOs to promote education and public awareness for sustainability, 
                               with special reference to international cooperation.............................................................33 
                      2.2.3  Media and environmental education....................................................................................46 
                      2.2.4  Environmental education at the tertiary level in the Asia-Pacific region..............................53 
                 2.3    Regional strategy on environmental education in the Asia-Pacific..............................................61 
            3.   CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................70 
                 3.1    Conclusion....................................................................................................................................70 
                 3.2    Remaining issues for future research...........................................................................................71 
            4.   EVALUATION AND ACHIEVEMENTS..................................................................................................72 
                 4.1    Assessments of major outputs.....................................................................................................72 
                 4.2    Evaluation of the performance of the Project...............................................................................73 
                 4.3    Evaluation of management of the Project....................................................................................73 
                 4.4    Economic efficiency of Project management...............................................................................73 
                 4.5    Suggestions for improving the Project in the second phase........................................................74 
            5.   REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................76 
            Appendix: List of Achievements 
             
             
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                                     Outline of the Project 
          1.  Project name           Environmental Education Project 
          2.  Project period         April 1998 – March 2001 
          3.  Project members 
             Project leader                      Osamu Abe 
             Research Staff  
                Senior Research Fellow           Bishnu Bhandari (1998.6–2001.3) 
                Research Associates              Masahiro Takahashi (1998.4–2001.3) 
                                                 Masahisa Sato (1998.5–2001.3) 
                                                 Ko Nomura (1998.5–2001.3) 
                Secretary                        Rie Sugiyama (1998.4–1998.7) 
                                                 Kayo Morimoro (1998.8–1999.8) 
                                                 Yuko Tanno (1999.8–2000.5) 
                                                 Sumiyo Morita (2000.5–2001.3) 
                Editing Consultant               Ryoko Fukuhara (1999.1–1999.7) 
                Research Development Manager     Shigeyuki Okajima (1999.4–2001.3) 
             Collaborators 
                Satoshi Ichikawa, Shiga University, Japan 
                Seiji Utsumi, Osaka University, Japan 
                Keiko Nakamoto, Towa University, Japan 
                Masayo Hasegawa, Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan 
                Ken-ichi Mizuno, TVE Japan, Japan 
                Shun-ji Mikami, Toyo University, Japan 
                Jun-ichi Ohmae, Asahi Shimbun, Japan 
                Miki Kawabata, Mejiro University, Japan 
                John Fien, Griffith University, Australia 
                Sanowar Hossain, Bangladesh POUSH, Bangladesh 
                Nedup Tshering, National Environment Commission, Bhutan 
                Kartikeya V. Sarabhai, Nehru Foundations for Development, India 
                Simad Saeed, Ministry of Home Affairs, Housing and Environment, Maldives 
                Hafeza Abdulla, Ministry of Home Affairs, Housing and Environment, Maldives 
                Uddav Karki, IUCN Nepal, Nepal 
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