Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The Lucerne Declaration insists that this paradigm of sustainable development
should be introduced into geography education at every level in every region of the
world and, in the fi nal “declaration,” the CGE strongly recommends these principles
be the foundation for geography education. The Lucerne Declaration is composed of
three sections, which discuss: (1) the contribution of geography to ESD; (2) standards
for developing geography education curricula toward the goal of sustainable devel-
opment; and (3) the importance of information and communications technology
(ICT) in ESD within geography curricula. Additionally, it is important to understand
that the IGU-CGE in 1992 promulgated the International Charter on Geography
Education,
2
and within this it was made clear that sustainable development is an
important concept in geography education. This was a pioneering foresight.
10.3.2
Key Points of the Lucerne Declaration
10.3.2.1
Contribution of Geography to ESD
The Lucerne Declaration and UNESCO IIS for UNDESD shares the same vision
for the future, which is “a world where everyone has the opportunity to benefi t from
education and learn the values, behaviour and lifestyles required for a sustainable
future and for positive societal transformation” (UNESCO
2005
, p. 6). It is clear
that most of the “behavioral themes” from the UNESCO IIS are geographical.
These are closely tied to the context of the environment, water resources, agricul-
tural development, sustainable consumption, sustainable tourism, understanding of
other cultures, cultural diversity, climate change, disaster prevention, biological
diversity, and the market economy.
The close tie between ESD and geography is illustrated by geography's examination
of the “Human-Earth” ecosystem (Haubrich et al.
2007
) as a concept for sustainable
development. The meaning is “from the viewpoint of humanity's survival, the earth
is a household, and we should consume no more than we can obtain from it”
(Haubrich et al.
2007
, p. 2). Geography ties together the natural sciences and social
sciences while studying the entirety of the Human-Earth ecosystem; it analyzes the
amount of resources and living space that the Earth provides for humanity and how
much impact society has on the Earth's ecosystem.
As a strategy to support sustainable development, the Lucerne Declaration
proposed a new set of values. Sustainable development is a combination of eco-
logical, economic, and social balance through novel living styles, new industries,
and improvements in patterns of consumption. The report also states that to create
a new value system for individuals, life-long learning that includes geography
education is necessary.
2
Translation of the charter into Japanese was by Nakayama (
1993
).
