Present status on Education for Sustainable Development in Belarus
Present status on Education for Sustainable Development in Belarus
Republic of Belarus has signed UNECE the strategy of education for SD in April 2005.
That is why at present authorities and ecologists are systemising previous experience in this area. SD principles were included into legislation and now they are being put into practice. And the special courses about the ecology included SD approach only particularly.
For example, there was a crucial transition from environmental protection to pollution prevention priority.
Sustainable Development Education Research
Education
There are the advanced courses, which include only the lessons; special courses, which include SD into each theme; SD as a separate course; optional courses; a practice ship, where students take a practical knowledges; participation in the environmental actions, performances, etc.
In the educational process involved all kinds of specialists – linguistic, economists, ecologists, etc.
11 universities train specialists in environmental protection area.
Research
This kind of activity includes teachers and students. They take a part in the research (it means not only the theoretical studies and analyses the environmental problems, but the practical implementation the SD approaches in the technological processes) and advanced seminars.
Experiences of the Belarusian's Universities
Conclusions
The main problem in the process of the education for SD in Belarus is an obvious misunderstanding of the importance of the SD among the representatives the Belarusian top-management as well as our population.
It’s a result of the worsening of the situation with the civil society and human rights.
Besides it, the institutional controversies block the internal effective financial support of the SD of the national economy.
We could realize such project, as:
to create a special web-site about the SD as well as the distributing of information about this site among the decision-makers.
to issue the press-bulletin about the SD in Belarus (during 1999-2001the NGO “Environmental management” published the bulletin for industrial ecologists about the SD problems. But this project was stopped through the financial difficulties).
We hope, these projects assist to overcome the present misunderstanding
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