Introduction to Environment and Environment Education 

Concept of Environment 

Environment is the totality of surrounding that encompasses various biotic, abiotic, and socio-cultural components. Environment comprises various factors like air, water, land, soil, biodiversity, microorganisms, other natural resources, and some other abstract components created by human beings. Cultural practices, norms, values, feasts and festivals, etc. are some man-made abstract components of the environment.  All living creatures must develop their capacity to adjust in the environment for healthy survival. The basic components needed for survival can be obtained from the environment. People interact with the the environment each and every moment and the interaction determines their health status. 

Concept of Environment Education 

Environment education aims to develop rational changes in people to adjust among the components of their surroundings in environment-friendly way. It teaches students about the status of environment, identification of hazards, and ways to give proper solutions to those hazards. Thus, environment education can be defined as the educational process designed to bring rational changes in knowledge, attitude and behavior among students regarding environmental situations, environmental hazards, methods of conservation of environmental and other various matters related to it.

Environment education can be defined as the process of recognizing values and clarifying concepts to understand and appreciate the interrelationship among man, his culture and biophysical surroundings. Environmental education develops knowledge, skills and attitude in individual , which is helpful to conserve the environment. It produces human resources devoted and committed in the preservation and promotion of healthy environment.

c) Need and Importance of Environmental Education

Environment education provides us knowledge about the environment and aims to bring positive attitudes and behaviors towards it. As we live in the environment, we need proper knowledge about environment. Environment education is important because of the following reasons:

i. Environment education gives knowledge and information about the environmental situations.

The information that the environment education gives is useful to bring changes in attitude and behavior of students towards the environment. It gives information about status of natural resources, natural composition of various factors of components, endangered situations of environment, etc.

ii. Environment education gives techniques to conserve environment.

This branch of education teaches us about different methods of conservation of environment . In-situ and ex-situ conservation methods of rare living creatures, conservation of abiotic components, and human assistance to the nature for continuation of natural processes of environment are some of main example focused and taught through the environmental education.

iii. This branch of education assists people in developing rational attitude and behavior towards the environmental situation.

Environmental education helps in changing the behavioral pattern of people to promote environmental situation and also to be adjusted well in the environment. Environmental sanitation, protection of natural resources, identification of natural hazards and many other factors are also taught by environmental education.

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