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	<title>Forum Mundial de Educação &#187; Debate</title>
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		<title>SUSTAINABILITY  EDUCATION LITERATURE  REVIEW</title>
		<link>http://www.forummundialeducacao.org/?p=1841</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:42:19 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Debate]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION LITERATURE REVIEW Alessio Surian alessio.surian@gmail.com &#160; &#160; &#160; List of contents 1. A plurality of meanings (Polissemia dos conceitos) 2. Ecopedagogy, education for sustainability, education for social and environmental justice (Ecopedagogia e educação para a sustentabilidade/justicia social y ambiental) 3. Sustainability education practice (Practicas de educação para a sustentabilidade) 4. Economical models and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><img alt="" src="http://calvinscl.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/sustainability.jpg" _mce_src="http://calvinscl.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/sustainability.jpg" class="alignleft" height="225" width="226"/><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">SUSTAINABILITY </span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><strong>EDUCATION LITERATURE </strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><strong>REVIEW</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Alessio Surian</span></p>
<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">alessio.surian@gmail.com</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>List of contents</strong></p>
<p>1. A plurality of meanings (Polissemia dos conceitos)</p>
<p>2. Ecopedagogy, education for sustainability, education for social  and environmental justice (Ecopedagogia e educação para a  sustentabilidade/justicia social y ambiental)</p>
<p>3. Sustainability education practice (Practicas de educação para a sustentabilidade)</p>
<p>4. Economical models and sustainability (Sustentabilidade e modelo econômico)</p>
<p>5. The United Narions Decade and other initiatives within the  globalization framework (A Década das naçoes Unidas e outras açoes no  contexto da globalização)</p>
<p>6. Social and environmental justice and International co-operation (Justicia social y ambiental y cooperacion internacional)</p>
<p><strong>1. A plurality of meanings (Polissemia dos conceitos)</strong></p>
<p>The core ideas and principles of sustainability science, as summarised by Martens, Roorda, and&nbsp; Cörvers (2010, p. 295), are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Inter- and transdisciplinary research,</li>
<li>Co-production of knowledge,</li>
<li>Co-evolution of a complex system and its environment,</li>
<li>Learning through doing and doing through learning,</li>
<li>System innovation instead of system optimalization.</li>
</ul>
<p>“Simply stated, this new approach promoted by sustainability science can be represented as <em>coproduction, co-evolution, </em>and <em>co-learning</em>.  The theory of complex systems can be employed as an umbrella mechanism  to bring together the various different parts of the sustainability  puzzle”, a perspective that authors such as Morin, Ciurana, Motta  (2002), O’Sullivan (1999) and Sterling (2003) have explored in its  pedagogical implications.</p>
<p>At the core of such an approach is the concept of sustainable life. Moacir Gadotti (2009) suggests to consider a<strong> sustainable life </strong>as  “a lifestyle that harmonizes human environmental ecology by means of  appropriate technologies, cooperation economies and individual effort.  It is an intentional lifestyle whose characteristics are personal  responsibility, commitment to other people and a spiritual life. A  sustainable lifestyle is related to ethics in managing the environment  and economy, trying to keep balance between the fulfilment of current  needs and the fulfilment of the future generations´ needs”.</p>
<p>A typology of conceptions of the environment&nbsp; and examples of  teaching strategies and key competences in education for sustainability  is outlined by Sauvé (1996) and it is summarised in the following table.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5pVCkbP69cYMjZiNmI0YWEtMjQ2NS00NWE0LWI5OTctMGQ0ZDJjYjZlOTUw&amp;hl=en_US" _mce_href="https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5pVCkbP69cYMjZiNmI0YWEtMjQ2NS00NWE0LWI5OTctMGQ0ZDJjYjZlOTUw&amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank"><img src="http://almanaquefme.org/images/Imageal1.jpg" _mce_src="http://almanaquefme.org/images/Imageal1.jpg" alt="" height="620" width="466"/><br /> </a></strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>In terms of pedagogical approaches, Tucker (2003, pages 48–49)  reminds us of the Confucian perspective espresse by Tu Weiming: “Human  beings are (. . .) an integral part of the ‘chain of being,’  encompassing Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things. However, the  uniqueness of being human is the intrinsic capacity of the mind to  ‘embody’ (. . .) the cosmic in its conscience and consciousness. Through  this embodying, the mind realizes its own sensitivity, manifests true  humanity and assists in the cosmic transformation of Heaven and Earth”.  Tucker (2003, p. 49) observes that “This cosmic transformation implies  that humans have a special role in being aligned with the fecund,  nourishing powers of life. They need to be responsive to other humans  but also to the larger macrocosm of the universe in which humans are a  microcosm”.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>2. Ecopedagogy, education for sustainability, education for  social and environmental justice (Ecopedagogia e educação para a  sustentabilidade/justicia social y ambiental)</strong></p>
<p>In claiming that we should adopt a relational perspective in thinking  about the world we live in, Gregory Bateson (1972, p. 461) reminds us  that we are “governed by epistemologies that we know to be wrong”.</p>
<p>Sterling (2003) summarises in seven sets of questions the  epistemological changes that educators need to address in order to step  out of the deterministic Western paradigm in order to recognise it and  to master it rather than it mastering us:</p>
<ul>
<li><em>holistic:</em> how does this relate to that?, what is the larger context here?</li>
<li><em>critical: </em>why are things this way, in whose interests?</li>
<li><em>appreciative: </em>what’s good, and what already works well here?</li>
<li><em>inclusive: </em>who/what is being heard, listened to and engaged?</li>
<li><em>systemic: </em>what are or might be the consequences of this?</li>
<li><em>creative: </em>what innovation might be required?; and</li>
<li><em>ethical: </em>how should this relate to that?, what is wise action?, how can we work towards the inclusive wellbeing of the whole system?</li>
</ul>
<p>Although when compared to the idea of sustainable life its objectives  are often more narrowly defined, today Education for Sustainable  Development (<strong>ESD</strong>) has a dominant role in bridging  concepts and educational approaches concerning environment,  sustainability, climate change, lifestyles and learning. ESD has its  roots in the 1972 Stockholm United Nations Conference on the Human  Environment, in the Brundtland Commission Report (1987) and in the 1992  and 2002 Earth Summits.</p>
<p>According to UNESCO, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) implies <strong>four main areas of work</strong>.</p>
<p>The first area concerns improving access and retention in quality  basic education: enrolling and retaining both girls and boys in a  quality basic education is important to the well-being of individuals  over their lifetime and to the society in which they live. Basic  education should focus on learners gaining knowledge, skills, values and  perspectives that encourage sustainable livelihoods and support  citizens to live sustainable lives.</p>
<p>Reorienting existing educational programmes to address sustainability  represents a second area of work and it implies rethinking and revising  education from early childhood education to university to include  knowledge, skills, perspectives and values related to sustainability is  essential. The students of today need to be able to solve the problems  of tomorrow. Unfortunately, such solutions are rarely found within  existing textbooks and educational practices. Therefore, students must  also develop creativity and problem-solving skills to create a more  sustainable future.</p>
<p>A third area of work concerns increasing public understanding and  awareness of sustainability, achieving the goals of sustainable  development requires citizens who are knowledgeable about sustainability  and the actions needed to reach sustainability goals. Such citizens  will require widespread community education and responsible media  committed to encouraging lifelong learning in an informed and active  population.</p>
<p>The fourth area of work focuses on providing training to all sectors  of society as all of them can contribute to sustainability. Both public  and private sector employees should receive ongoing vocational and  professional training infused with the principles of sustainability, so  that all sectors of the labour force can access the knowledge and skills  necessary to make decisions and perform their work in a more  sustainable manner.</p>
<p>Within this scenario authors like Haigh (2005) highlights the needs  for education to “green the curriculum”. William Scott’s Keynote Address  to the Fourth World Environmental Education Congress, Durban, July 2007  (Scott 2009) explores what environmental education researchers might  learn from the previous 30 years of work (since the Tbilisi conference),  and presents some of the current challenges &nbsp;in doing, and using,  research. Scott’s suggests that greater openness to new approaches  should be promoted, as well as different ways of thinking and working,  more understanding across cultures, and a stronger research focus on  understanding the relationship between sustainability, society and  learning. According to Scott there are two main reasons for the  environmental education community to reach out to other researchers and  users of research, and especially to policy-makers:</p>
<ul>
<li>because they need to know more about the significance of what environmental education researchers do; and</li>
<li>because environmental education researchers need to work with them  if environmental education researchers are to make a significant  contribution to resolving the issues the planet faces.</li>
</ul>
<p>A critique of a strict environmentalist approach to Education for  Sustainable Development comes from authors such as Bonnett (2002, p.11)  that shows as this approach “assumes that it implies a systematic action  policy developed by those who `know’ and imposed on those who don’t.  Furthermore it is assumed that its success can be measured in terms of  consumption levels, that its underlying values are largely economic and  unproblematic, that relevant knowledge is generated by subject experts  and that its implications for the moral/social/political structure of  society are basically consistent with the status quo. `Sustainable  development’ rapidly converges with `common sense’ and an instrumental  rationality determines the means for achieving a set of  taken-for-granted ends”.</p>
<p>According to Gadotti (2008a, p. 20–21) education for sustainability  should not be limited to the cognitive aspects, as it “ involves  challenges, behaviours, attitudes and intentions,’ as well as the  ability ‘to feel bound to the human community’. Drawing upon this Latin  American popular education tradition that refers to authors such as  Freire, an to the critical pedagogy debate Kahn (2010) summarises the  key ecopedagogy issues and outlines its philosophical implications for  the “global north”. Such ecopedagogy perspectives challenges dominant  ecoliteracy approaches and questions the definition of education for  sustainable development drawing inspiration from worldwide debate and  practice such as the Earth Charter process, centred on the Charter that  was formally launched by the Earth Charter Commission in 2000, with  endorsements by over</p>
<p>5,000 organizations, including many governments and international  organizations. It contains a preamble, 16 main principles, sixty-one  supporting principles, and a conclusion entitled “The Way Forward.” The  Preamble affirms that “we are one human family and one Earth community  with a common destiny,” and the Earth Charter encourages all people to  recognize their shared responsibility, each according to his or her  situation and capacity, for the well-being of the whole human family,  the greater community of life, and future generations. Recognizing the  interrelationship of humanity’s environmental, economic, social, and  cultural problems, the Earth Charter presents an inclusive, integrated  ethical framework. The titles of the four sections into which the  principles are divided indicate the breadth of the vision: I Respect and  Care for the Community of Life; II Ecological Integrity; III Social and  Economic Justice; and IV Democracy, Non-Violence, and Peace. The Earth  Charter identifies a number of widely shared spiritual attitudes and  values that can strengthen commitment to its ethical principles, and the  document culminates with a vision of peace and the joyful celebration  of life.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>3. Sustainability education practice (Practicas de educação para a sustentabilidade)</strong></p>
<p>Authors-practitioners such as Paulo Freire and Carlos Rodrigues  Brandão stress that “nobody teaches anybody” as learning is always a  personal and an “internal” process. Within this perspective, the  sustainability dimension is closely linked with the use and abuse of new  technologies in education, triggering (or not) through learning  environments the ability to reflect upon choices about technology also  in non technological ways and providing room for hacker ethics, copyleft  and creative commons examples of new technology production and use.  What are students’ attitudes towards issues of sustainability? A recent  paper by Eyuboglu, Uslu and Oz (2010) highlights that in the case of  Turkish Higher Education students the majority of them show an awareness  of environmental issues, they “care for the environment and other  people around them, consider the health and quality of life of future  generations as very important and willing to take action to create a  fair, healthy, and safe world for all. However, the respondents are not  familiar with the term, the definition or the importance of  sustainability, which shows serious problems with the dissemination of  knowledge, information and thoughts about the environment, environmental  protection and sustainability among the university students in Turkey.  The knowledge students have is transferred mainly through commercial  media and not through proper education”.</p>
<p>The UNESCO report on progress since the 1992 Rio Summit, prepared for  the 2002 Durban World Summit on Sustainable Development highlighted how  “much of current education falls far short of what is required’, and  calls for a ‘new vision’ and ‘a deeper, more ambitious way of thinking  about education” (UNESCO, 2004).</p>
<p>There is, yet, no agreement within the international debate on what  are the most important ESD key competencies. In a Delphi study conducted  by Rieckmann (2011), the following question was asked to experts from  Europe (Germany, Great Britain) and Latin America (Chile, Ecuador,  Mexico):</p>
<p>Which individual key competencies are crucial for under standing  central challenges facing the world society and for facilitating its  development towards a more sustainable future?</p>
<p>The discussion involved the reflection upon a number of key  competencies. These were condensed to twelve key competencies, all of  which are considered relevant for sustainable development both in the  North and the South. However, the results also reveal some differences  between the European and Latin-American perceptions although the key  competencies identified by the Rieckmann study show similarities with  other sustainability competence concepts.</p>
<p>Martens, Roorda, and&nbsp; Cörvers (2010) summarise the key sustainability  competences as four functions (apply, integrate, improve, innovate) of  the capacity to co-operate in inter- and trans-disciplinary ways, as  outline in the following table:</p>
<p><img src="http://almanaquefme.org/images/Imageal2.jpg" _mce_src="http://almanaquefme.org/images/Imageal2.jpg" alt="" height="510" width="407"/></p>
<p><strong>3.1 Environmental Audits</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>Sterling (2011) summarises the tasks that should be part of the  education institutions contribution to the UN Decade beyond generic  teaching and research on sustainability. “They are also encouraged to  provide practical leadership through modeling good practice in areas  such as their own energy use, carbon emissions, procurement policies,  recycling and campus management” (Sterling, 2011, p.667). Within this  perspective sustainability audit acquire an important role. Ángeles  Murga-Menoyo M. (2009)<strong> </strong>reports how in Spain, most schools committed to the implementation <em>Agenda 21 </em>“perform  an environmental audit as part of the process to reveal their  institutional situation from the point of view of documented criteria of  sustainability. Each educational community (teachers, students,  relatives and the entire school staff) decides what aspects to evaluate,  which usually have to do with the ecological dimension of school life,  and it generally asks outside experts for support in carrying out the  diagnostic process, which is done in different phases:</p>
<p>1. Creation of an initial working group, an <em>environment committee</em>, in charge of posing the first objectives and activities for starting up the project.</p>
<p>2. Selection of the items to audit, taking into account the  educational and environmental needs&nbsp; “felt” as such by the school. One  obvious problem, for example, the use and sustainable management of  waste, energy or water, could be set up as the backbone of the project  to orient the initial environmental audit and determine subsequent  actions.</p>
<p>3. Preparation of materials and instruments for gathering the data  needed to perform the audit; these materials and instruments could be  created ad hoc, as an activity that virtually trains the educational  community itself, or borrowed from other schools or institutions (There  are some approved institutions that can provide support at the early  stage).</p>
<p>4. Action planning; environmental actions oriented toward improving  the school’s infrastructures, and also specifically educational actions:  changes in rules, environmentalisation of the curriculum, didactic  changes, etc.</p>
<p>5. Development of internal mechanisms for disseminating information  and the structures for participation by the entire educational  community.</p>
<p>6. Evaluation of actions (clear, practical, conclusive evaluation)  and reporting of the results to all members of the educational  community. There is a wide variety of specific models that, in  substance, follow this sequential outline. They all have the common  denominator of assigning a central role to the entire educational  community’s participation in decision making”.</p>
<p>Scott and Gough (2010) support the importance of this type of  initiatives and their potential pedagogical impact by arguing that  “rigorous institutional engagement with marketing sustainability  credentials can have a significant impact on the quality and depth of  sustainability performance by helping spread, enrich and diversify the  institutional sustainability culture”.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>4. Economical models and sustainability (Sustentabilidade e modelo econômico)</strong></p>
<p>Authors as Sterling (2003) stress that we are educated by and large  to “compete and consume” rather than to “care and conserve” and that  most educational theory and practice still supports unsustainable  practices.</p>
<p>Within the dominant neoliberal economical model, Hendry (2010. p. 11)  identifies seven key (pricing and regulation) issues facing economics  in relation to “climate change externalities”:</p>
<p>(1) the consequences for economic analyses of shifts in distributions;</p>
<p>(2) risk perceptions and attitudes to anthropogenic effects on climate;</p>
<p>(3) how to evaluate the future costs of climate changes and possible benefits from mitigation;</p>
<p>(4) designing mechanisms, permits and auctions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions;</p>
<p>(5) global negotiations about emissions abatement;</p>
<p>(6) intellectual property rights and prizes for new technological investment; and</p>
<p>(7) modelling and forecasting climate change and reactions to any resulting price and income changes.</p>
<p>In his conclusions Hendry (2010, p.17) highlights that “the first  mitigation steps need not be costly, and a rising price of carbon could  lower usage and stimulate innovation. International negotiations are  more likely to succeed if some actions have already been taken at the  country level–potentially creating opportunities as new technologies  develop”.</p>
<p>Other authors such as Gadotti (2009, p.87) show a concern for five  interlinked “deep crises” scenario that are sparked by the present  unsustainable economical model:</p>
<p>“• w<em>orld social crisis</em>: cruel and pitiless poverty and exclusion of members of our own species;</p>
<p><em>• drinking water crisis: </em>many children die from diseases caused by the lack or treatment of water and sewage. Drinking water is becoming scarce<strong>;</strong></p>
<p><em>• food crisis</em>, which will come attached to water crisis;</p>
<p><em>• greenhouse effect crisis </em>(climate change). If this crisis is not overcome, there will be nothing else to share;</p>
<p><em>• energy crisis: </em>how long will we still keep using non-renewable fuels? Petroleum is currently the</p>
<p>planet’s blood”.</p>
<p>The sustainability dimension is explored by <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=explorer&amp;chrome=true&amp;srcid=0B5pVCkbP69cYMmQxYzczNDctYmI2ZS00ZWVmLWI4ZTctMzg2NDRjYjBkMjAy&amp;hl=en_US" _mce_href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=explorer&amp;chrome=true&amp;srcid=0B5pVCkbP69cYMmQxYzczNDctYmI2ZS00ZWVmLWI4ZTctMzg2NDRjYjBkMjAy&amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank">CEAPA</a> in a recent <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=explorer&amp;chrome=true&amp;srcid=0B5pVCkbP69cYMmQxYzczNDctYmI2ZS00ZWVmLWI4ZTctMzg2NDRjYjBkMjAy&amp;hl=en_US" _mce_href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=explorer&amp;chrome=true&amp;srcid=0B5pVCkbP69cYMmQxYzczNDctYmI2ZS00ZWVmLWI4ZTctMzg2NDRjYjBkMjAy&amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank">document</a>.&nbsp; and by political organisations such as Izquierda Unida (Spain, see for example the document by <a href="http://www.uv.es/pla/educsost.htm" _mce_href="http://www.uv.es/pla/educsost.htm" target="_blank">Rafael Pla López:</a> <a href="http://www.uv.es/pla/educsost.htm" _mce_href="http://www.uv.es/pla/educsost.htm" target="_blank">Educación para la sostenibilidad</a>)  while the de-growth perspective is the subject of a series of bi-annual  international conferences that took place in 2008 in Paris (<a href="http://events.it-sudparis.eu/degrowthconference/Declaration%20on%20Degrowth%20EN.pdf" _mce_href="http://events.it-sudparis.eu/degrowthconference/Declaration%20on%20Degrowth%20EN.pdf" target="_blank">Economic De-Growth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity</a>), <strong><a href="http://events.it-sudparis.eu/degrowthconference/Declaration%20on%20Degrowth%20FR.pdf" _mce_href="http://events.it-sudparis.eu/degrowthconference/Declaration%20on%20Degrowth%20FR.pdf" target="_blank">(FR) </a></strong>in  2010 in Barcelona and is scheduled to take plae in Venice in 2012. The  de-growth perspective is being translated into several political  decisions by grassroots movements and political parties. An example is  the document drafted by <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=explorer&amp;chrome=true&amp;srcid=0B5pVCkbP69cYYzI2OTBmNGEtMzg5MS00YTQ5LThjMTEtZmEyMWJiMzRkNDU5&amp;hl=en_US" _mce_href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=explorer&amp;chrome=true&amp;srcid=0B5pVCkbP69cYYzI2OTBmNGEtMzg5MS00YTQ5LThjMTEtZmEyMWJiMzRkNDU5&amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank">Enrique Javier Díez Gutiérrez</a> (Área Federal de Izquierda Unida), <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=explorer&amp;chrome=true&amp;srcid=0B5pVCkbP69cYYzI2OTBmNGEtMzg5MS00YTQ5LThjMTEtZmEyMWJiMzRkNDU5&amp;hl=en_US" _mce_href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=explorer&amp;chrome=true&amp;srcid=0B5pVCkbP69cYYzI2OTBmNGEtMzg5MS00YTQ5LThjMTEtZmEyMWJiMzRkNDU5&amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank"><em>Educación para el decrecimiento: más allá de la sostenibilidad</em></a> (De-growth education: beyond sustainability).</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Various organisations pledge for a significant cultural change: a focused declaration was recently issues by <a href="http://www.ecologistasenaccion.org/article20188.html" _mce_href="http://www.ecologistasenaccion.org/article20188.html" target="_blank">Ecologistas en Acción </a>and<a href="http://www.accioneducativa-mrp.org/index.php?option=com_k2&amp;view=item&amp;id=249:i-encuentro-ecolog%C3%ADa-y-educaci%C3%B3n&amp;Itemid=72" _mce_href="http://www.accioneducativa-mrp.org/index.php?option=com_k2&amp;view=item&amp;id=249:i-encuentro-ecolog%C3%ADa-y-educaci%C3%B3n&amp;Itemid=72" target="_blank"> the Madrid Federation MRPs</a>.</p>
<p>How to communicate the present unsustainable patterns of human  consumption? According to Aubauer (2011) the Ecological Footprint (EF)  is rapidly becoming the single indicator, which converts human  interactions with nature into a proportion of the Earth’s surface it  indirectly consumes. The EF meets only some of the challenges of a  single indicator. Aubauer (2011)&nbsp; stresses that it indicates the demand  for biologically productive land and water area with world-average  productivity (in units of ―global hectares) by individual people, groups  of people (such as a nation), or activities (such as manufacturing a  product), delivering all of the biological materials consumed by these  individuals or groups and absorbing all biological wastes generated by  them, in a given year. In addition to the areas necessary for producing  biological materials, such as cropland (for crops), grazing land (for  animal products of pasture-fed animals), fishing grounds (for fish),  forest land (for forest products), cropland is also taken into account  as a site for building infrastructure (land take) and forest areas for  the sequestration of emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), or for the  production of fuel wood. Nuclear energy was considered as if it were  fossil energy and is not taken into account at all now. Although facing a  number of deficiencies, the EF can be compared with the ―biocapacity of  the Earth, indicating the supply of the existing biologically  productive area on Earth.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>5. The United Narions Decade and other initiatives within the  globalization framework (A Década das naçoes Unidas e outras açoes no  contexto da globalização)</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The United Nations launched the UN Education for Sustainable  Development Decade (2005-2014) and provide a set of teaching and  learning principles and tools at http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/.</p>
<p>According to UNESCO, ESD is</p>
<ul>
<li>education that allows learners to acquire the skills, capacities,  values and knowledge required to ensure sustainable development;</li>
<li>education at all levels and in all social contexts (family, school, workplace, community);</li>
<li>education that fosters responsible citizens and promotes democracy  by allowing individuals and communities to enjoy their rights and  fulfill their responsibilities;</li>
<li>education for life-long learning;</li>
<li>education that fosters the balanced development of the individual.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to Gadotti (2009, p. 10) “there is a strong link between the <strong>Earth Charter</strong> Initiative and the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.  Mikhail Gorbachev, president of Green Cross International, sees the  Earth Charter as sustainable development’s<strong> </strong>“third  pillar”. The first pillar is the UN’s Foundation Charter; the second one  is the Human Rights Declaration. He asserts that the Earth Charter has  to be “universally adopted by the international community” (In:  Corcoran, ed., 2005:10). The Earth Charter has been an ethical  inspiration for the United Nations’ “goals of the millennium (…) The  ecopedagogy movement, emerging from the heart of the Earth Charter  initiative, is supporting its process of discussion and diffusion,  indicating an appropriate methodology that is not a simple methodology  of governmental “proclamation”, a formal declaration, but the  translation of an experienced process of critical participation of the  “demand” , as said by Francisco Gutiérrez and Cruz Prado (1998)”.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>6. Social and environmental justice and International co-operation (Justicia social y ambiental y cooperacion internacional)</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>In <em>The Development Dictionary</em> (Sachs, ed., 1994), authors  such as Ivan Illich and Vandana Shiva show the links between the  development discourse as implemented since 1948 by the USA and the  United Nations and the neo-colonialist attitude of liberal economies and  their worldwide impact upon ideas of “needs” and “resources”.</p>
<p>There have been several attempts to discuss the development discourse  from a human and an environmental perspective, including the papers  collected recently by <a href="http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&amp;pid=S0718-65682009000200001" _mce_href="http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&amp;pid=S0718-65682009000200001" target="_blank">Gardy Augusto Bolívar Espinoza and Antonio Elizalde Hevia in <em>Desarrollo humano y justicia</em></a>, introduced by the article <em>¿Qué desarrollo puede llamarse sostenible en el siglo XXI? <a href="http://www.revistaeducacion.mec.es/re2009/re2009_03.pdf" _mce_href="http://www.revistaeducacion.mec.es/re2009/re2009_03.pdf" target="_blank">La cuestión de los límites y las necesidades humanas</a></em><a href="http://www.revistaeducacion.mec.es/re2009/re2009_03.pdf" _mce_href="http://www.revistaeducacion.mec.es/re2009/re2009_03.pdf" target="_blank"> by Antonio Elizalde Hevia</a>.</p>
<p>Santos and Meneses (2009) contribute to deconstruct what authors such  as Enrique Dussel and Anibal Quijano define as the “coloniality of  power” pointing at the process of embodiment as the key focal issue in  exploring power and cultural conflicts. While the idea of “buen vivir”  is incorporated into Andinean pluri-national constitutions, the “myth”  of economic development (Furtado, 1974) is questioned from a variety of  perspectives as the “local” and the “social” dimensions of economical  relations gain weight again (Coraggio, 2004). This is a challenging  scenario for international development co-operation donors and agencies  while their global investment, impact and role is decreasing and the  sustainability dimension has not been incorporated into co-operation  policies to the extent promised by the Rio 1992 Summit declarations. A  new co-operation approach is bound to address in a different way the  relations between sustainability and peace culture. As Gadotti (2009)  notes: “The Earth paradigm is a civilizing one. And since a culture of  sustainability offers a new perception of the Earth, considering it as a  single community of human beings, it becomes a basis for a culture of  peace. Wars and violence exist because we do not know each other  (Ricoeur, 1991)”.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>References</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>Ángeles Murga-Menoyo M. (2009) <em>Educating for Local Development and Global </em>Sustainability<em>: An Overview in Spain</em>, Sustainability<em> </em>2009, <em>1, </em>479-493</p>
<p>Aubauer H.P. (2011) <em>Development of Ecological Footprint to an Essential Economic and Political Tool</em>. Sustainability 2011, <em>3</em>, 649-665, available at: <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/4/649/pdf" _mce_href="http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/4/649/pdf">http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/4/649/pdf</a><br _mce_bogus="1"/></p>
<p>Bateson, G. (1972) <em>Steps to an ecology of min, </em>San Franscisco, Chandler<em> </em></p>
<p><em>Bonnett M. (2002) </em><em>Education for Sustainability as a Frame of Mind</em>, Environmental Education Research<em>, Vol. 8, No. 1</em></p>
<p>Brandão C. R. (2018) <em>Minha casa, o mundo</em>, Idéias &amp; Letras, Aparecida, SP, Brazil<em> </em></p>
<p><em>Buchan</em> G. D., Spellerberg I. F., Blum W. E. (2007) <em>Education for Sustainability</em><em> – Developing a postgraduate-level subject with an International Perspective</em>, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Vol. 8 No. 1, 2007 pp. 4-15</p>
<p>Brundtland Commission (1987). <em>Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development</em>; Oxford University Press: London, UK.</p>
<p>Coraggio J. L. (2004) <em>La gente o el capital: desarrollo local y economía del trabajo</em>. (People or capital: local development and labour economy), Espacio, Buenos Aires, Argentina</p>
<p>Corcoran, P., Blaze, M. V., Roerink A., (eds.) (2005). <em>The Earth Charter in action: toward a sustainable world</em>. Amsterdam, KIT Publishers.</p>
<p>Eagan, P., Cook, T. and Joeres, E. (2002), <em>Teaching the importance of culture and interdisciplinary education for sustainable development</em>, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 48-66</p>
<p>Eyuboglu K.T., Uslu O., Oz M.D. (2010) <em>Attitudes of University Students Towards Economic and Sustainable Development, in Istanbul</em>, International Review of Business Research Papers Vol. 6. No.3. August 2010, 123 -128</p>
<p>Furtado C. (1974) <em>O mito de desenvolvimento econômico.</em>(The myth of economic development). Paz e Terra, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil</p>
<p>Gadotti, M. (2008a) <em>Education for Sustainability: A critical contribution to the Decade of Education</em></p>
<p><em>for Sustainable Development</em>, Green Theory and Praxis: The Journal of Ecopedagogy,</p>
<p>4 (1): 15–64.</p>
<p>Gadotti M. (2008b) <em>What We Need to Learn to Save the Planet</em>, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 2 (1): 21–30</p>
<p>Gadotti M. (2009) <em>Education For Sustainability. A Contribution to the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development</em>, Ed,L, São Paulo, Brazil</p>
<p>Gutierrez F., Prado C. (1998) <em>Ecopedagogia e cidadania planetária</em>. (Ecopedagogy and planetary citizenship), Cortez, São Paulo, Brazil</p>
<p>Haigh M. (2005) <em>Greening the university curriculum: Appraising an international movement</em>. J. Geogr. Higher Educ<em>. </em>2005, <em>29</em>, 31–42.</p>
<p>Hendry D.F. (2010) <em>Climate Change: Lessons For Our Future From The Distant Past</em>, Oxford University, Department of Economics, Discussion Paper Series, No. 485</p>
<p>Jones, P., Selby, D., Sterling, S. (2010) <em>Sustainability Education: Perspectives and Practice Across Higher Education</em>. Renouf Publishing.</p>
<p>Kahn R. (2010) <em>Critical Pedagogy, Ecoliteracy, and Planetary Crisis (Counterpoints: Studies in the Postmodern Theory of Education).</em> Peter Lang: New York</p>
<p>Li, Z., and Williams, M. (2006) <em>Environmental and geographical education for sustainability: cultural contexts.</em> Nova Publishers.</p>
<p>Lang, J. (2007) <em>How to succeed with education for sustainability.</em> Curriculum Corporation.</p>
<p>Martens, Roorda, Cörvers (2010) <em>Sustainability, Science, and Higher Education. The Need for New Paradigms</em>, in Sustainability, Vol. 3, No. 5, October 2010, 294-303</p>
<p>Morin E., Ciurana E.R., Motta R.D. (2002) <em>Educar en la era planetaria. El pensamiento complejo como método de aprendizaje en el error y la incertidumbre humana</em>, UNESCO/Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain</p>
<p>O’Sullivan E. (1999) <em>Transformative Learning: an educational vision for the 21st century</em>, Zed Books, London, UK</p>
<p>Ricoeur P. (1991) <em>O si-mesmo como um outro</em>. (The self as another), Papirus, Campinas, Brazil</p>
<p>Rieckmann (2011), <em>Key Competencies for a Sustainable Development of the World Society.</em></p>
<p><em>Results of a Delphi Study in Europe and Latin America</em>, GAIA Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, Volume 20,&nbsp;Number 1, March 2011 , pp. 48-56(9)</p>
<p>Sachs W. (ed.) (1994), <em>The Development Dictionary</em>, Zed Press, London, UK</p>
<p>Santos de Souza B. (ed.) (2002) <em>Produzir para viver: os caminhos da produção não capitalista. </em>(Producing for living: the paths of the non-capitalist production), Civilização Brasileira, &nbsp;Rio de Janeiro, Brazil</p>
<p>Santos de Souza B., Meneses (eds.) (2009) <em>Epistemologias do Sul</em>,</p>
<p>Sauvé L. (1996) <em>Environmental Education and Sustainable Development: A Further Appraisal</em>, Canadian Journal of Environmental Education. Vol. 1, 1996, p. 7-35</p>
<p>Scott W. (2009) Environmental Education Research: 30 Years on from  Tbilisi, Environmental Education Research, v15 n2 p155-164 Apr 2009</p>
<p>Scott, W. A. H., Gough, S. R. (2010) <em>Sustainability, learning and capability: exploring questions of balance</em>. Sustainability, 2010, 2 (12), pp. 3735-3746</p>
<p>Selby D., Jones P., Kagawa F. (2009) <em>Sustainability Promotion and Branding: Messaging Challenges and Possibilities for Higher Education Institutions</em>,<strong> </strong>Sustainability 2009, <em>1</em>, 537-555</p>
<p>Sims, G.D. (2007) <em>Sustainability education: where does it belong?</em> Minnesota State University.</p>
<p>Sterling, S. (2001) <em>Sustainable education – re-visioning learning and change </em>(Schumacher</p>
<p>Briefing no 6). Dartington, Green Books</p>
<p>Sterling, S. (2003) <em>Whole systems thinking as a basis for paradigm change in education:</em></p>
<p><em>explorations in the context of sustainability </em>(PhD thesis). Centre for Research in Education</p>
<p>and the Environment, University of Bath. www.bath.ac.uk/cree/sterling.htm</p>
<p>Tucker M.E. (2003) <em>Worldly Wonder: Religions enter their ecological phase</em>, Open</p>
<p>Court, Chicago, USA</p>
<p>UNESCO (2004) <em>Education for Sustainable Development: United Nations Decade 2005–2014</em>; UNESCO: Paris, France.</p>
<p>UNESCO (2009) Bonn Declaration<em>. </em>In <em>Proceedings of World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development</em>,  Paris, France, 31 March–2 April 2009; Available online:  http://www.esd-world-conference-2009.org/fileadmin/download/ESD2009_BonnDeclaration080409.pdf</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Sites</strong></p>
<p>Green Theory and Praxis</p>
<p><a href="http://greentheoryandpraxis.org/journal/index.php/journal" _mce_href="http://greentheoryandpraxis.org/journal/index.php/journal">http://greentheoryandpraxis.org/journal/index.php/journal</a><br _mce_bogus="1"/></p>
<p>Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, <a href="http://jsd.sagepub.com/content/2/1/21.short?rss=1&amp;ssource=mfc" _mce_href="http://jsd.sagepub.com/content/2/1/21.short?rss=1&amp;ssource=mfc">http://jsd.sagepub.com/content/2/1/21.short?rss=1&amp;ssource=mfc</a><br _mce_bogus="1"/></p>
<p>Journal of Sustainability Education,</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jsedimensions.org/wordpress/" _mce_href="http://www.jsedimensions.org/wordpress/">http://www.jsedimensions.org/wordpress/</a><br _mce_bogus="1"/></p>
<p>Learning for Sustainability,</p>
<p><a href="http://learningforsustainability.net/" _mce_href="http://learningforsustainability.net/">http://learningforsustainability.net/</a><br _mce_bogus="1"/></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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