Major Requirements for Environmental Education* by MARGARET R. BISWAS, M.A. (McGill) Balliol College, Oxford, England, UK & ASIT K. BISWAS, Ph.D. (Strathclyde) President, International Society for Ecological Modelling, Vice-President, International Water Resources Association, Director, Biswas & Associates, 76 Woodstock Qose, Oxford 0X2 8DD, England, UK. creases in water and air pollution, lack of land-use plan- ning, or increasing noise levels—were mostly accepted as the 'price of progress'. As people became wealthier and the level of educa- tion increased, they also became more aware of environ- mental issues. Publication of such books as Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962, and The Limits to Growth by Meadows et al. in 1972, not only contributed significant- ly to the ongoing environmental debate but also in some ways intensified it. Irrespective of whether one agreed or disagreed with the theses put forward by these and other similar authors, there is no doubt that such events had a profound influence on the prevailing environmen- tal thinking of the western industrialized countries. This can be demonstrated by comparing the number of arti- cles on environmental issues published in The New York Times every year, which increased by slightly over 1,000% during the 10-years' period of 1960 to 1970. Since 1970, however, the number of such articles pub- lishes has declined, but even then the 1979 figure is more than 300% higher than those published in 1960 (cf. Holdgate et al, 1982). Such trends have been ob- served in many other countries as well. So far as the developing countries are concerned, the overall trend was somewhat similar, even though these countries tend to be less homogeneous than the industri- alized nations. In 1971, the United States Agency for International Development (A.I.D.) asked its overseas missions in 35 Third World countries to canvass opinions in order to identify the most serious environmental problems facing those countries. A major conclusion of the resulting report (Office of Science and Technology, 1971) was that there was: 'little evidence of awareness of environmental problems among the peoples of developing countries, or among their government administrators ... Many countries are preoc- cupied with the development of their natural resources, and, to the extent that concern does exist for the environment, there appears to be apprehension that social and economic costs of environmental protection may very well outweigh the benefits'. *Based on keynote address to the International Conference on _,. . , ,-. , , , Environmental Education, New Delhi, India, 16-20 December, The AID - assessment was probably an accurate one, 1981—see the account by Professor RamdeoMisra on pp. 167-8 as similar sentiments were expressed by several Third of this issue.—Ed. World countries during the preparatory process of the 125 INTRODUCTION Improved understanding of our environment is indis- pensible for its rational management. For on one hand it enables us to comprehend the environment's resilience to Man's actions and, on the other, it helps us to judge the maximum potential which the environment may offer for sustained development of mankind. Such an understanding will also enable us to predict, better than otherwise, the interrelated efforts of some of the major challenges facing the world today. Among these are demographic changes; economic development; availabil- ity of food, energy, and raw materials; development and utilization of new technology, rates of inflation, and availability of investment capital. All these issues have significant impacts on the environment, and the environ- ment, in turn, affects developments in those and other areas. Improved understanding of the environment can only come through environmental education, and this is why environmental education is so vitally important in this present era of increasing human population threatening The Biosphere. DEVELOPMENT DURING THE LAST DECADE During the past decade there have been major changes, in the world as a whole, in people's attitudes to and perceptions of environmental problems. These changes can be discerned in both developed and Third World countries, but the magnitude of these changes— as is to be expected—varies from one country to another. In developed countries, prior to 1970 public aware- ness of serious environmental deterioration was primar- ily limited to 'shock' events. Thus the shocking death of some 4,000 people due to the famous London smog of 1952, and another 800 deaths in New York in 1963 for similar reasons, attracted widespread attention. Slowly- deteriorating environmental conditions—such as in- Environmental Conservation, Vol. 9, No. 2, Summer 1982—© 1982 The Foundation for Environmental Conservation—Printed in Switzerland.