Keith Suter Comments
Biopolitics International Organization

     Environmental issues have once again been in the news headlines this week. There are various major environmental problems that humankind has to deal with. One response is to encourage greater attention to this subject in educational institutions.
     I have just been reading one of the world’s leading publications that will be of great use to people wishing to develop their own environmental education courses: “Bio-Syllabus for European Environmental Education”.
     The Biopolitics International Organization (BIO) is based in Greece and headed by Dr Agni Vlavianos-Arvanitis, who edited this book. “Bios”, by the way, means “life”. The decline of the environment threatens the continuity of bios — life — on this planet. Dr Vlavianos-Arvanitis decided in 1985 to do something about that threat.
      We now take awareness of environmental issues for granted but two decades ago that was not the case. After all, back in 1985, Australia’s Department of the Environment was then only 13 years old — and it was already one of the world’s oldest. In 1985, there was a lot of work to be done.
      BIO was formed to raise awareness of current environmental problems and to accelerate the implementation of new and more effective approaches to safeguarding the earth for the generations to come. It has a network of contacts in 123 countries. This was the vision of Dr Vlavianos-Arvanitis, who had spent the previous two decades teaching and researching into biology and who is now one of the world’s most famous champions of international environmental education.
      This book is one of the heaviest I have ever picked up! It has almost 900 pages, A4 size. Luckily the generous sponsorship of DHL International has enabled her to get the book distributed around the world.
      Although the book’s title refers to “European” environmental education, in fact the material could be applied just as easily in Australian schools, universities and other educational institutions. The course material has universal applicability.
      The book examines 10 subjects (architecture, diplomacy, economics, energy, ethics, health, history, law, assessment of technology and tourism) from the point of view of giving attention to environmental considerations. In other words, instead of just creating yet another course — “the environment” — and adding it to the educational system, Dr Vlavianos-Arvanitis and her team have taken the existing subjects and given them an additional dimension. This is a very innovative approach. It builds on what is already being taught. It should therefore make it easier to introduce this material into educational institutions.
      For each of the 10 subjects, this huge book gives information on: a theoretical background; key environmental questions; information on current concepts, facts and trends, policy and action; models for study and implementation; directions for further research; a comprehensive bibliography; and a list of cross references from BIO’s extensive reference library (which is also accessible through the Internet).
      Australian teachers in a variety of educational institutions could use this book immediately to design educational courses. The work has all been done for them. Dr Vlavianos-Arvanitis has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize — she certainly deserves it.