Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sri Lanka )

The Situation of Environmental Education in Sri Lanka

Government Policies and Programs
   The need for EE has been explicitly recognized by government policies and in many cases, policy directives exist for the incorporation of EE in to mainstream education. There is a growing recognition by governments of the need to integrate environmental education into the country’s programs,  For instance, a presidential Decree in Sir Lanka makes it obligatory for the National Environmental Protection Council and other governmental agencies to undertake public information activities for the purpose of stimulating awareness and encouraging involvement in environmental protection.

EE in Schools

   Formal education has perhaps been the first to respond to the new awareness on the environment which came about after the Stockholm Conference in 1972 and the Tiblisi Conference in 1977.  In particular, EE started getting integrated at the school level. In Sri Lanka, the prescribed school curriculum lays emphasis on environmental education throughout the 13 year school span, and the approach at all levels is essentially multi disciplinary. 

Teacher Training

   Regional and sub –regional teacher training programs have been organized in Asia by UNEP. The UNESCO –UNEP International Environmental Education Program (IEEP) has evolved a regional strategy for developing EE curriculum prototypes for primary and secondary schools as well as pre and in service training of school teachers taking into account the physical, biological, social, cultural and economic dimensions of the environment in an integrated manner.  The Ministry of Environment Sri Lanka has established a National Environmental Education Training Centre for in service teacher training.

Role of NGOs

   Environmental NGOs are playing an important part in facilitating the process of sustainable development. As they are usually directly in touch with the grass roots of a community they can sometimes operate more effectively than “top down” mechanisms.  They can effectively transmit information to their members about the state of the environment and threats to it.  They can also convey to governments the people’s concern about environmental quality.  In a number of cases, environmental NGOs have greatly enhanced public participation in environmental protection and environmental improvement.

Growing Power for Mass Media

   Sri Lanka’s National Conservation Strategy has a public information program and urges that newspapers should view environmental topics from an educational point of view rather than form their news values.

By  Dr. Dharman Wickremaratne

Sri Lanka environmental Journalists Forum