The Ecological Dimension of Sustainable Development: Bringing Forth Pedagogics to Safeguard the Global Future

Training of citizens with a high level of environmental awareness, eco-consciousness and sustainable culture on the basis of new informed criteria for assessing the relationship between human society and nature should become one of the main instruments in solving extremely acute environmental and related socio-economic problems. Environmental education, as a holistic cultural phenomenon that includes the processes of inculcated education and (most importantly) personality development, should be aimed at the formation of ecological culture as a crucial component of the system of national and public education of all strata of the global population. In particular, within our educational system emphasis should be put on imparting through environmental education with the help of public environmental organizations by updating and making our academic disciplines, training programs, and approaches greener, more sustainable as well as making sure they provide professional environmental training through basic environmental education. Solving these pressing issues should ensure the formation of integral ecological knowledge and thinking platform within our educational institutions, necessary for the adoption of environmentally sound national and global decisions at all levels of the socio-political entities, groups, spheres of influence and activity fostering and facilitating thereby an in-depth mastery and understanding of ecological knowledge and agenda, furthering the formation and development of ecological thinking, consciousness and culture among students as well as the general population. With the presently looming threat of an environmental catastrophe, the authors are convinced that only a balanced, ecologically safe harmonious and sustainable program of action is our way out and should be the basic idea, forming and informing the methodological crux of environmental education in accordance with international policies, standards and practices.