Developing public environmental education: Improving community-based environmental management

Abstract

This paper presents the experience of institutional capacity building in environmental education, and the achievement of the participatory approach in environmental management for the Canadian International Development Agency funded project ‘Community-Based Conservation Management: China and Vietnam’ in Xiamen. The project has enhanced teaching capacity and applied research skills of the local training institutions with integrated social and physical science lessons in multiple levels of a post-secondary environmental education programme. The focus of the project was to integrate the local secondary and post-secondary schools environmental education plans. Approaches to promote public awareness on environmental conservation are also illustrated. The study highlights the conservation activities of the Community Based Conservation Management project in Xiamen to encourage the involvement of a variety of community groups, including university students, youth and women. In addition, it explores the social responsibility of the faculty as an essential link between the public and decision-makers for effective public involvement in environmental management. We argue that the success of public environmental education relies on institutional capacity building, interdisciplinary studies and community participation.