people and planet

1
community relationships (does the school connect with
community issues and resources?).
Research on the impact of whole school approaches in
England (United Kingdom) has shown improvements in
schools’ ethos and students’ health and learning, and
reductions in schools’ ecological footprints (Hacking et
al., 2010). Unfortunately, however, while the approach is
growing in popularity, it remains the exception rather
than the rule (Hargreaves, 2008).
At the university level, the International Association
of Universities, through its Higher Education for
Sustainable Development initiative, promotes
sustainability on campuses, including in business
and community outreach, student engagement,
management, institutional development, research
and curriculum. One member, Ryerson University in
Toronto, Canada, has developed a Campus Facilities
and Sustainability programme to refocus the campus’s
efforts on developing sustainable operating practices
and capital investment strategies (IAU, 2015).
TRADITIONAL APPROACH: LEARNING
THROUGH COMMUNITY
While schools are one of the main sources of knowledge
on sustainability, formal education does not reach
everyone. Thus, another approach is important:
learning through community, as done traditionally for
generations. Often the groups left behind have the least
access to typical resources. Local communities and
traditional knowledge hold the key to reaching such
groups. Local communities are much more than towns or
villages; they are living entities that involve interaction of
people with their local environment (Noguchi et al., 2015).
Traditional – and specifically indigenous – knowledge
plays an important role in environmental sustainability.
Indigenous
knowledge is
local knowledge
Passed from generation that is unique
to a culture or
to generation, traditional
society (Magni,
indigenous knowledge has 2016). 1 Passed
been the basis for activities from generation
to generation,
that sustain societies in
usually by word
much of the world
of mouth and
rituals, it has been
the basis for agriculture, food preparation, health care,
education, conservation and many other activities that
sustain societies in much of the world.
Indigenous people are the ‘first’ or ‘original’ people
belonging to land or territories to which they are historically
and culturally tied. About 370 million indigenous people
live in over 90 countries worldwide (United Nations, 2009).
Indigenous communities are stewards of traditional
environmental knowledge, which sees nature as a living
being and describes a reciprocal, interdependent, balanced
and complementary relationship between humanity,
nature and the universe. Traditional knowledge is dynamic,
representing generations of creativity, innovation, and
scientific and logical validity (Battiste, 2002; Maurial, 2002).
Most indigenous peoples share norms and values that are
central to sustainable livelihoods (Box 1.1). Fundamental
BOX 1.1
Governments have adopted local community practices of buen vivir
In Latin America, the idea of buen vivir (living well) has been considered by academics,
indigenous leaders, communities and politicians as a guiding principle for a new
development regimen, incorporating the vision of indigenous peoples as well as traditional
knowledge, that must be carried out collectively. Indigenous leaders in the region say buen
vivir can be considered ‘a contribution from indigenous populations to the world’.
Among buen vivir principles common to indigenous groups across the region is a
relationship between humans, nature and the universe in which nature is considered
a living being and has an indissoluble, interdependent, balanced and complementary
relationship with the universe and with humans. The ideas of community and
communitarianism are also important. The community, rather than the individual, is the
main reference for natural and cultural property. Harmony within indigenous communities
is reached through a system of equality and respect for all members but particularly
women and elders as the primary holders and transmitters of traditional knowledge.
There are unique national and local manifestations of buen vivir. Two of the best-known
national approaches are those of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and Ecuador. The
Kichwa concept sumak kawsay, adopted in the 2008 Ecuadorian Constitution, and the
Aymara concept suma qamaña, adopted in the 2009 Bolivian Constitution, mean living
well, in harmony with nature and the universe. The Aymara concept has more emphasis
on communitarian life: living well together. In Panama, at the local level, the Ngobe people
use the expression ti nûle kûin, which means be happy, live well, with good health, free
from concerns and in harmony with nature. In Chile, the Mapuche indigenous group
uses the expression küme mongen, which refers to a good life resulting from a balanced
relationship between a person, the environment and the supernatural.
Sources: Cunningham (2010), Gudynas (2011a).
2016 • GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 27