Environmental Awareness
Introduction
With the emergence of numerous contemporary environmental problems, it was natural for them to be accompanied by sincere calls to focus on Environmental Awareness. This is considered the first line of defense for the environment and its protection, achieved by involving the public in solving and confronting environmental issues, limiting pollutants, and supporting official efforts in this regard. The beginnings of interest in environmental awareness coincided with the early stages of global concern for the environment in the 1960s and 1970s.
In recent years, it has become clear that awareness is not only of major importance in guiding the behavior of community members to respect and preserve the environment, but it also contributes to forming positive attitudes among citizens toward the environment. It turns the process of environmental conservation into a method, behavior, and habit, provided that those in charge of these awareness tools successfully change the public’s environmental perception.
There are numerous methods and approaches used to contribute to preserving the environment, its systems, and its resources. Among these methods are: Environmental Awareness, Environmental Enlightenment, and Environmental Culture. This is what we will clarify in this section, where we will present the concept of each, explain their importance, objectives, how to achieve them, and the means used.
The Concept of Environmental Awareness
Environmental awareness is defined as programs or activities directed at people in general, or a specific social segment, with the aim of clarifying, reinforcing, and defining a specific environmental concept or problem. The goal is to create interest and a sense of responsibility, thereby bringing about a change in individuals’ attitudes, behaviors, and perspectives toward the environment and its resources, and involving them in finding appropriate solutions to environmental problems.
It can also be defined as “the process of building and developing environmental attitudes, concepts, values, and behaviors among individuals in a way that reflects positively on protecting and preserving the environment, and achieving a type of balanced relationship that ensures environmental safety.”
(Trivedi and Singh – 1995) defined it as: “The collective consciousness regarding the conservation of natural resources.”
It can be said that environmental awareness is a media process aiming to create an aware generation that appreciates the nature of the environment in which they live, its requirements, its components, and the internal and external factors affecting it. It is directly or indirectly related to human behavior and the society in which one lives. It requires the preparation of appropriate values and attitudes that link humans and their civilization to their biosphere, as living beings among vast numbers of other living beings. This necessitates that humans preserve their existence and growth within the rules, foundations, and systems established for this environment.
Importance of Environmental Awareness
The importance of environmental awareness stems from its role in informing various segments of society and decision-makers about important environmental issues and problems. It is also considered a continuation of the efforts made by governments and environmental organizations in addressing environmental problems by motivating citizens to participate through efforts in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the field of environmental issues.
Objectives of Environmental Awareness
Generally, environmental awareness aims to achieve the following:
- Providing the individual with sufficient opportunities to acquire the knowledge, skills, and commitment to work on improving and preserving the environment to ensure sustainable development.
- Improving the quality of human life by reducing the impact of environmental pollutants on health.
- Developing environmental ethics so that they become the internal monitor for humans when dealing with the environment.
- Activating the public’s role in participating in decision-making regarding the surrounding environment.
- Helping the individual discover environmental problems and find appropriate solutions for them.
Enhancing Global Interest in Environmental Awareness
The Environmental Attitude can be defined as: “The stance an individual takes toward their environment, regarding whether or not they sense its problems, their readiness (or lack thereof) to participate in solving these problems and improving environmental conditions, as well as their stance on the exploitation of natural resources in this environment—whether that exploitation is rational or unjust.”
Raising the level of environmental awareness ensures the following:
- Effective delivery of information that achieves the goals of environmental awareness programs.
- Ease of access to information related to environmental issues included in awareness programs.
- Developing the skills of those working in the field of environmental awareness.
- Participation of employees in agencies responsible for environmental protection in awareness programs.
How to Achieve Environmental Awareness
Environmental awareness is achieved clearly and directly through coordination and cooperation between all parties concerned with confronting environmental problems in society, which are:
- Government agencies concerned with environmental affairs.
- All societal bodies and institutions.
- Individuals, who are the actual protectors of the environment when provided with knowledge and a correct understanding of their environmental role.
- Supporting specialized bodies and associations for environmental protection in schools and universities through civil and governmental activities, and establishing “Friends of the Environment” groups.
- Preparing special references for environmental culture to clarify concepts of the environment and environmental education, and preparing audio-visual aids that serve this purpose.
- Implementing Principle 19 of the Stockholm Declaration of 1972, regarding “urging governments and non-governmental organizations to work on educating young generations as well as adults in environmental fields.”
This can be implemented through three separate yet simultaneous, overlapping rings: Environmental Education, Environmental Culture (or non-formal environmental education), and Environmental Media.
Mechanisms of Environmental Awareness
Several means are used in environmental awareness, including:
- Celebrating National, Regional, and World Environment Days.
- Issuing posters.
- Publishing environmental newsletters and booklets.
- Organizing competitions in drawing, anthems, and environmental essays.
- Producing environmental films.
- Holding environmental exhibitions and seminars.
Other means include: Manufacturing T-shirts bearing environmental protection symbols and slogans, producing trash bags, issuing postage stamps, organizing scientific camps for youth, organizing voluntary work, allocating awards for purposeful environmental plays, and encouraging initiatives in the field of environmental protection.
