An increasing awareness of environmental issues and the implementation of environmental programs internationally has spurred a greater need for environmental education and training in many countries. This document is the first in a series of papers that will examine and provide insights into available national training programs for environmental protection. The analyses here highlight the weaknesses and insufficiencies, as well as the effectiveness and innovations, found within both the formal and the informal training programs in the Lombardy and Umbria regions of Italy. Following a historical background introduction, the contents are: (1) the knowledge and skills for environmental protection formally developed within local schools; (2) university courses currently offered in environmental protection; (3) environmental protection profiles and the employment market; (4) the gap between knowledge and skills needed for environmental protection and the limitations of school dropouts and university graduates; (5) specific problems related to training for environmental protection; (6) vocational training courses in environmental protection for the researcher, the professional, and the technician; (7) training for environmental protection addressed to the general public; (8) conclusions and propositions for future analysis; and (9) appendices which contain detailed descriptions of courses in environmental protection from a typical vocational school and a typical workshop on environmental impact assessment, the listing of consultants who provided input for this document, and a list of 25 bibliographic entries. (JJK)