Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Eco-Education Expands

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 26 2005 (IPS) - Ninety-four percent of Brazilian schools include environmental education in their curriculum, as a regular course or in specific projects, according to the 2004 school census, which covered 215,000 schools. Three years earlier, that percentage was 61.2, so the increase is encouraging. “But we can't expect that the quality in terms of conceptual consistency and continuity are part of such a rapid expansion,” Luiz Ferraro, technician with the Ministry of Environment, said in a conversation with Tierramérica, adding that he was speaking personally.

The ministries of Environment and Education train environmental educators, both among teachers and unionists, peasant leaders and communities linked to important ecosystems, like river areas, he said.