sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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From a <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> perspective, it is interesting to look at the quality of education in
the region. For the purposes of assessing the performance of students in the Second Regional
Comparative and Explanatory Study (SERCE), the tests used had common elements and were structured
along the lines of the “skills for life” approach promoted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which emphasizes not only the acquisition of knowledge but also
its application to a range of daily situations and settings in order to interpret and understand the world.
The data confirms that the performance of most students in the region in the sciences is severely
hampered in this respect.
Early parenthood affects the capacity of young people, particularly girls, to make the transition to
adulthood with the resources and human capital they need for their future life. Sexual and reproductive
health education for adolescents, within the framework established by the International Conference on
Population and Development (ICPD) (Cairo, 1994), is a key policy tool for preventing intergenerational
reproduction of poverty and promoting <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> (Delamónica and Mehrotra, <strong>20</strong>06).
Twenty <strong>years</strong> after the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the
recommendation to reorient education towards <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> (Agenda 21, chapter 36), and
seven <strong>years</strong> after the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development began, the
majority of Latin American and countries and some Caribbean countries have approved national policies
or strategies for education on the environment or <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> (see box III.4). This
demonstrates that the education community, and, above all, policymakers, have identified the need to
include <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> issues in national plans, with a view to creating education competencies
in this area. However, more action is needed in regard to education on issues such as climate change,
biodiversity and disaster risk reduction.
Other policy proposals may be prompted by the impact of environmental degradation on
childhood and adolescence (Tamburlini, von Ehrenstein and Bertollini, <strong>20</strong>02; UNICEF, <strong>20</strong>07). The
impact begins even before gestation, as toxic agents in water, air or food can affect the reproductive
organs of men and women and cause congenital diseases. During gestation, cells reproduce more quickly
and the foetus may be affected by the environment via the placenta, which can lead to growth anomalies
and a greater propensity to develop cancer in later life. Babies that are not fed exclusively on breast milk
during the neonatal period are more likely to ingest toxins, since the gastro-intestinal tract has minimal
resistance at this time. Babies and children have higher calorie consumption and respiration rates per kilo
of body weight than adults and are therefore more vulnerable to environmental pollution while eating and
breathing. This is particularly true in poorer households whose only alternative is to use polluting
materials for cooking and heating, and in urban centres affected by industrial pollution. Children and
adolescents may also be exposed to toxic substances at school, since few families or schools have access
to materials and toys that have been certified as non-toxic. The school’s location and facilities may
exacerbate the situation (it may be close to factories or rubbish dumps, sanitary conditions may be poor or
there may be no connection to drinking water). Other potential sources of contamination are asbestos,
mould owing to moisture and a lack of maintenance, and lead in paint or in other surfaces in the home. In
urban areas, children and adolescents, especially the poorest, often play in rubbish dumps, having no
other alternatives (UNICEF, <strong>20</strong>12).