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We participate in the Environment and Education Commission of the Provincial Legislature

On June 9 of this year, we were summoned, together with other representatives of civil society, to participate in the meeting of the Environment and Education Commission of the Provincial Legislature.

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The purpose of the meeting was to present the Circular Economy Summit and discuss the bill for provincial adherence to the National Law on Comprehensive Environmental Education. The project aims to incorporate the tools and guidelines to implement Comprehensive Environmental Education into the framework of local environmental policies.

The opening of the meeting to people and organizations that work on environmental issues at the local level is part of a good practice that the Commission has been implementing for certain initiatives, such as adherence to the Yolanda Law. A valuable space in which those who were part of it were able to offer their opinions on the relevance of Comprehensive Environmental Education and make suggestions for the project. This strengthening of instances of participatory democracy is undoubtedly in accordance with the commitments assumed in the Escazú Agreement.

In relation to the project, although it is an adhesion, it constitutes an important starting point to design strategies that allow modifying the cultural and ethical bases of the current production, commercialization and consumption systems in society. The comprehensive education proposed by the law has the virtue of addressing both formal and informal educational contexts, media and public policies in a transversal way.

Although the project plans to incorporate into the provincial regulations the same text as that provided for in the national law, through adherence, we believe that some institutions should expressly provide for it in the local version. From Fundeps we explained the reasons why we believe that the law should provide for the following items:

Basic guidelines for the construction of the Comprehensive Environmental Education Jurisdictional Strategy (EJEAI)

The EJEAI is the instrument of permanent and concerted strategic planning, with scope in formal and non-formal areas of education, information technology and communication media, with a participatory, territorialized basis.

It is outlined as a fundamental and main instrument to develop Comprehensive Environmental Education at the provincial level. At this point we believe that the law should expressly mention the basic guidelines for its configuration, such as: anchoring in the socio-environmental problems and conflicts of the Province, empowerment in the exercise of access and environmental rights, public participation devices, among others.

Executive Coordination of the Jurisdictional Strategy

We maintain that the law should expressly incorporate the creation of the Executive Coordination of the strategy, determining -just like the national law- the method of conformation of the body, to carry out the management and administration of the strategy.

Local Advisory Council

We recommend that the local law expressly incorporate the creation of a local Consultative Council made up of diverse actors, in charge of providing support and feedback to the Coordination for the implementation and monitoring of the Jurisdictional Strategy.

Beyond the fact that we consider that the recommendations provided would generate a superior project, we recognize the importance of adhesion and we celebrate the parliamentary work on this path, especially when it is implemented based on the participation of civil society.

 

More Information

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

 

* Photo taken from the Diario Comercio y Justicia