Colonizing processes take many forms. Although they are generally related to the use of force, they may also happen through subtler means such as education, and subconsciously, whenever educational proposals are designed to suit a wide variety of contexts. This essay suggests that environmental pedagogies should be based on a dialogical mindset…

Sustainability as a concept, though well understood in general terms, is often politically captured by interest groups and as such expressed through issues like concern for global climate change or the need to develop more efficient energy sources, to address regional, national or international priorities. Education for sustainability as a concept…

The Convention on Biodiversity has developed the concept of "ecosystem services" and "natural resources" in order to describe ways in which humans benefit from healthy ecosystems. Biodiversity, conceived through the economic approach, was recognized to be of great social and economic value to both present and future…

The Mara-Serengeti is an ecosystem of immense importance to both Kenya and Tanzania, contributing significantly to the economies of both countries and forming a rich biodiversity reservoir. This ecosystem is among the most threatened ecosystems on the African continent. Increasing human population density and changing lifestyles have escalated…

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which came into force in 1993, encourages actions that will guide the way to a sustainable future. It pursues three main goals: (1) conservation of biodiversity; (2) sustainable use of biodiversity; and (3) fair and equitable sharing arising from the use of genetic resources. Article 13…

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20-22 June 2012, marking the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the tenth anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. With more than…

Desertification means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, generally known as "drylands". It is a process by which fertile land becomes degraded, typically as a result of drought, deforestation or inappropriate agriculture. Even though desertification is one of the significant challenges of these times, many people do not…

The objective of this article is to present results of and lessons learnt from implementing education for sustainable development (ESD) in marginal drylands, based on experiences from the TEMPUS IV project, Education for Sustainable Development beyond the Campus (EDUCAMP), in Egypt and the multinational project, Sustainable Development of Marginal…

South Africa is currently the world's third most biodiverse country, with one of the highest concentrations of threatened biodiversity in the world. Emerging research reveals the increasing pressure on this biodiversity with many wild resources continuing to be utilised for livelihood purposes even within urban environments. The Rio conventions,…

To address the important challenge of taking good care of India's environment, substantial, good quality information is crucial. Unfortunately, pertinent information is in very short supply. Much of the nationally collected information lacks quality and is incomplete. Modern science has demonstrated that good information flows from an open,…

Traditional communities remain a dominant feature in the Pacific and are key players in land and sea management. Fostering improved climate literacy is therefore essential to equip communities to respond to the current and future challenges posed by climate change in the region. Increased understanding and development of skills to respond to the…

The sustainable development arguments we practiced in 1992 are now well rehearsed and as poignant as they were 20 years ago. Evidence compiled in the lead up to the forthcoming Rio Summit suggests that as a global community we have not learned to change. The question then becomes: what, if anything, have we learnt from this experience?

Assessment tools influence incentives to higher education institutions by encouraging them to move towards sustainability. A review of 16 sustainability assessment tools was conducted to examine the recent trends in the issues and methodologies addressed in assessment tools quantitatively and qualitatively. The characteristics of the current…

Green chemistry is the design, development and implementation of chemical products and processes to reduce or eliminate the use of sub-stances hazardous to human health and the environment. This article reports on the integration of green chemistry and sustainable development concepts (SDCs) into an existing teaching methods course for chemistry…

Should environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) try to change students' behaviours or should it focus on capacity building and critical thinking? The latter is more likely to lead to a citizenry that can examine new challenges and act wisely. New forms of learning are entering the arena of EE and ESD such as…