Australian Development Gateway

The Australian Development Gateway (ADG) strives to support members of the development community in their efforts to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region. The site has been created with participation from members of government, private, academia and non-government organisations. User feedback mechanisms have been incorporated to guide future directions of the site. The site is optimised for low bandwidth access to enable the widest participation throughout the Asia Pacific region.

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Education & development

A conceptual framework of ESD in the Asian context

There is a lack of widespread awareness and understanding of the concept of "Education for Sustainable Development" (ESD). This is partly because of the complexity, ambiguity and evolving character of the concept of "Sustainable Development" (SD). According to the Brundtland Report, SD is "development that meets the needs of the present generation without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet the own needs". While this is an appropriate and rational definition, it is difficult to convey to learners the complexity of the factors underlying it. This definition incorporates an understanding of the need to sustainably provide (now and in the future) all the factors necessary for human survival, including: water, food, clean air, and human rights. This definition also recognizes that all kinds of problems, including poverty, environmental degradation, wasteful consumption, population growth, health issues and illiteracy are interrelated and require comprehensive, ongoing solutions.

This paper examines these and other issues and examines how the concept of ESD is approached differently in different countries. The paper then describes some of the priority concerns for ESD in an Asian context.

 

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