Environmental education should lead from awareness to responsible action.
In response to a question about the importance of collecting quality data to guide policy measures and monitor progress, the head of the Environmental Protection Organization said, at the high-level ministerial meeting on the exchange of experiences held on the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP31) in Antalya: challenges such as climate change, lack of water resources and reducing biological destruction. on scientific evidence. Valid data helps identify priorities and risks, target resource allocation, and assess policy effectiveness.
Sheena Ansari added: In the field of education, accurate and continuous data is important for measuring the degree of integration of environmental and sustainability concepts in the education system and for evaluating the impact of programs on students' knowledge, attitude and behavior. In addition to reporting, this data should be the basis for policy change and continuous improvement of the programs.
Referring to UNESCO's role, the head of the environmental protection organization said: developing common indicators, developing similar monitoring methodologies and facilitating the exchange of experiences between member states are among the actions that UNESCO can carry out. There is also a need to strengthen cooperation between governments, universities and research institutions.
In response to a question about Iran's priorities for strengthening climate and environmental education and turning them into measurable learning achievements, Ansari stated: The Islamic Republic of Iran considers environmental education and climate change to be essential components of sustainable development and investment for the future of future generations, and carries out its operations in three main areas.
He saw the strengthening of environmental education in the official education system as the first axis of these steps and said: environmental issues are included in school textbooks and in the twelfth grade a special course on "Man and the Environment" is offered. There are also optional units related to the environment and sustainable development in universities. The aim is that the training goes beyond the transfer of theoretical knowledge and will lead to a deeper understanding of the students about challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, pollution and loss of biodiversity.