May 12, 2017
Today, Russia and other CIS countries are noting the Environmental Education Day. The purpose of the celebration is updating the environmental protection knowledge in all sciences and all the fields of human activities. The Environmental education day was established in 1991. On this day, certain environmental measures are carried out that are of both educational and practical orientation: exhibitions, conferences and children’s art contests, dedicated to preservation of nature are held, people participate at environmental protection measures – cleaning of river and water site banks, cleaning of parks, and landscape gardening.
The Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation Sergey Donskoy noted: “Responsible, caring attitude to the environment must replace the consumer attitude. It is very important for us that the Year of Ecology will be a new stage in development of environmental education in our country”. The Minister reminded to the attendants that on the 10th of February 2017, the Prime Minister of RF Dmitry Medvedev issued instructions to include the requirements to obtain basic knowledge in the environmental protection field and sustainable development into the state educational standards. New requirements should take into consideration the contemporary priorities of the world community in part of combating climate change and maintaining favourable environment.
Representatives of the world community first expressed the concern about the environmental issues, which are caused by development of scientific-technical progress at the 1972 at the UN International environmental Protection Conference in Stockholm. The UN organisation – UN Program for Environment (UNEP, established in 1972), proposed by UNO at the Conference, undertook implementation of the plan of actions, which was also accepted in Stockholm. The 5th of June was announced as the World Environmental Protection day to note the Conference. The conference drew considerable attention to the environmental protection issues. For instance, during 1971-1975, OESR countries introduced 31 laws in the environmental protection field. For ten years after the Conference, about 100 Ministries of Environmental Protection were established.
The Stockholm Declaration was developed by Rio Declaration, taken in 1992, at the Second UN Environmental Conference, where, inter alia, the issue of the necessity of expanding environmental education was raised. Heads of most of the world countries, including Russia, accepted and approved the Program of Actions on Implementation of the Concept of Sustainable Development of Humanity, where environmental education has an important role.
In 20 years after taking the Rio Declaration, in 2012, “Rio+20” UN Conference on Sustainable Development was held.
The Ministry of Nature of Russia calls for active rendering of environmental knowledge to population via mass media, also using various projects, carried out by museums, libraries, environmental protections institutions, sport, and tourist companies.
http://www.mnr.gov.ru/news/detail.php?ID=342633