Education & capacity building
Environmental education
Definition
Environmental education is the educational process by which individuals and social groups acquire awareness and sensitivity to the environment and its problems, knowledge and skills to address them, and values and motivation to participate in environmental protection and improvement. Its international framework was set by the Belgrade Charter (1975) and the Tbilisi Declaration (1977), adopted at the first intergovernmental conference on the subject.
References
conference, framework scope
Tbilisi purpose, SDG 4.7 link
definition lineage
Overview
What it means
The Tbilisi framework covers all levels — local to international — and all ages, inside and outside formal schooling, emphasising problem-solving and participation rather than information alone. Environmental education is the historical root of the broader education for sustainable development (ESD) agenda and remains referenced in SDG target 4. 7.
How it is used
Used in national curricula, protected-area interpretation, NGO programmes and teacher training worldwide.
Why it matters
It provides the pedagogical foundation on which later sustainability-education frameworks build.