S hare the values and principles that underpin sustainable development.

Be embedded in the curriculum in an interdisciplinary and holistic manner, allowing for a whole-institution approach to policy making.

There are a number of key themes in ESD and while the dominant focus is on environmental concerns, it also addresses themes such as poverty alleviation, citizenship, peace, ethics, responsibility in local and global contexts, democracy and governance, justice, human rights, gender equality, corporate responsibility, natural resource management and biological diversity.В It is generally accepted that certain characteristics are important for the successful implementation of ESD, reflecting the equal importance of both the learning process and the outcomes of the education process (adapted from вЂUN Decade of Sustainable DevelopmentвЂ™ UNESCO Nairobi Cluster, 2006).В ESD should:

Good quality education is an essential tool for achieving a more sustainable world.В This was emphasised at the UN World Summit in Johannesburg in 2002 where the reorientation of current education systems was outlined as key to sustainable development.В Education for sustainable development (ESD) promotes the development of the knowledge, skills, understanding, values and actions required to create a sustainable world, which ensures environmental protection and conservation, promotes social equity and encourages economic sustainability.В The concept of ESD developed largely from environmental education, which has sought to develop the knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviours in people to care for their environment.В The aim of ESD is to enable people to make decisions and carry out actions to improve our quality of life without compromising the planet.В It also aims to integrate the values inherent in sustainable development into all aspects and levels of learning. What role does education play in sustainable development? The underlying concepts of sustainable development are defined by Agenda 21, which is the Action Programme for the 21 st century adopted by governments at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (also known as the Earth Summit) in 1992.В The Summit confirmed its resolve to promote the three pillars of sustainable development as interdependent and mutually reinforcing concepts. There are two commonly used visualisations of how the various aspects of sustainable development interact: one is of three overlapping circles representing the three pillars of sustainable development - economy, society and environment (fig 1.a).В The other shows the economy embedded in society, which in turn is embedded in the environment (fig 1.b).В The latter focuses on the central role that the environment plays in human society and in turn in the economy. This definition acknowledges that while development may be necessary to meet human needs and improve the quality of life, it must happen without depleting the capacity of the natural environment to meet present and future needs.В The sustainable development movement has grown and campaigned on the basis that sustainability protects both the interests of future generations and the earthвЂ™s capacity to regenerate.В At first it emphasised the environment in development policies but, since 2002, has evolved to encompass social justice and the fight against poverty as key principles of sustainable development.

The concept of sustainable development emerged as a response to a growing concern about human societyвЂ™s impact on the natural environment.В The concept of sustainable development was defined in 1987 by the Brundtland Commission (formally the World Commission on Environment and Development) as вЂdevelopment that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needsвЂ™ (Brundtland, 1987). Elaine Nevin addresses the role of education in achieving sustainable development and explores the relationship between development education (DE), education for sustainable development (ESD) and environmental education (EE) in an Irish context.В The article examines how these three вЂeducationsвЂ™ can develop and grow, and considers examples of вЂgood practiceвЂ™ in ESD in the context of Irish national policy frameworks, particularly focusing on how ESD can fit into these frameworks.

Principles of non formal education