The genesis of global environmental education can be traced back to the Belgrade Charter 1975 – Fresh out of two World Wars and two phases of Industrial Revolution, the world witnessed two unacceptable phenomena: First, and unequitable economic growth across different people groups and second, this development being done at the expense of the environment.
According to the Belgrade Charter, the world needed “nothing short of a new global ethic”. It was under this circumstance that environmental education was born; environmental education was meant to complement the paradigm shift in the world’s economic and political order by starting youths out with a good understanding of the environment and human-environment relationships.
Infographic by Danielle Poh with quotations from the Belgrade Charter
Click here for the full excerpt of the Belgrade Charter.