Promoting environmental education has always been a primary concern for the HSF. Since 1997 to present, several initiatives have been carried out nationally and regionally. To this end, HSF has established a Team for Environmental Education (PEE team).

This group of experts consists of specialists from different backgrounds such as university lecturers and officials of various NGOs and ministries.

Under the leadership of HSF Indonesia, the team has successfully managed to develop EE (Environmental Education) programs, including the provision of EE materials in the form of thematic modules, socialization of EE through seminars and workshops for ministries and authorities in charge, implementation of trainings for teachers, headmasters, and NGOs, and being resource persons in any EE activities conducted by outsiders such as the Ministries of National Education, Environment and Public Work, etc.

In order to provide educational material for schools, the PEE team has developed the five thematic modules on “Water”, “Air”, “Biodiversity”, “Soil and Land” and “Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)”. Each module consists of two books, one manual for the teacher and the corresponding exercise book for the students.

These books cover topics referring to the respective modules. The book on “Water”, for instance, is about water cycles, formation of lakes, swamps and waterfalls, etc. The second module “Air” covers a first basic approach to air in environmental education for first graders as well as more complex issues such as the green house gasses emission and climate change aimed for six graders. The same goes for “Biodiversity”. There are also two reference books covering basics, methods and strategies of environmental learning in schools complementing the modules. Including the two reference books and the ones for the five modules this makes for a total of twelve books.

Recent studies have shown that approximately 80% of Indonesia’s school teachers know nothing or very little about climate change and its consequences. On this account, a new module named “Climate Change; Education for Sustainable Development” is currently being developed. This highly anticipated module is scheduled for implementation in late 2010 and covers the following topics: deforestation and forest degradation, transportation and energy. Furthermore, it deals with global mechanisms to mitigate climate change (e.g. through REDD – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, carbon trade) and the role of the Indonesian government in this context. This module, which is also endorsed by the ministry of the environment, will consist of a teachers’ manual and exercise books for students from grades seven to nine.

Considering the distribution coverage of the books and the duration of the program (since 1998), approximately 330,000 students have been taught with HSF-developed learning material. Over the years, about 50 EE and ESD trainings have been conducted throughout the whole country. It has reached a total of over 2,000 teachers, NGOs, headmasters, community leaders and officials.

An HSF-organized exchange program has given the team the opportunity to strengthen their knowledge and skills. German experts on environmental matters have visited Indonesia and shared their experience and expertise with the team and also with the teachers. Moreover, the PEE team has visited various institutions in Germany to gain first hand insights into the development of environmental education.

Application and implementation of Environmental Education at School

Before officially being introduced, the books were subject to a pilot phase, which involved training exercises for elementary school teachers. The purpose was to identify and generate inputs as regards the impact of the material on elementary school teachers in terms of competence and capacity in facilitating the learning process of environmental education.

The training in the form of an in-class exercise consisted of theoretical sessions, discussions and screening of films and was concluded with peer teaching exercises. It also included a field excursion to provide concrete examples.

Participants of this training were representatives of Teachers’ Working Groups (KKGs). Each school has a KKG that functions as a discussion forum and a mechanism to develop and distribute various issues on environmental education. Approximately 660 elementary school teachers participated in the training programs.

After receiving the training, the teachers have returned to their respective schools. As was the case in Central Java, teachers who had received the training shared and passed on their experience with other teachers while encouraging their colleagues to participate in the learning process.

Although lacking a separate curriculum, various measures can be taken to facilitate the learning process of environmental education, both integrated and monolithic approaches through local content or as extracurricular activities. For instance, in Salatiga, Central Java, a teacher made time free outside class hours to teach environmental education. This fact can be regarded as an improvement of the attention of teachers to students in terms of facilitating the learning process of environmental education. A similar case was observed in Malang, where a number of teachers conducted a desk study on given modules to prepare themselves for the teaching thereof.

Environmental Education in regional level

The HSF managed to transfer important results of the work on improved environmental education to a network in the Asia-Pacific region. In the year 2000, an MoU with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the regional office of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) in Bangkok was signed. In this regard the ASEAN Environmental Education Action Plan (AEEAP) has been developed, which was enacted during the 8th ASEAN summit for Ministers of the Environment in Kuala Lumpur in October 2000. The document has now been replaced by the ASEAN Environmental Education Action Plan for Sustainable Development 2008 – 2014. This plan has also been integrated in ASEAN’s basic strategic document on the development of an integrative living- and economic region (Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2014).

HSF Indonesia is also working on joint projects with the regional office of UNEP in Bangkok such as the implementation of an advanced training program for young decision-makers from Asia in the field of environmental protection. These trainings take place at the well-known Tonji University in Shanghai. This initially regionally limited cooperation led to a worldwide liaison between the two organizations. As one outcome, representatives of HSF, UNEP and ASEAN jointly presented their concept for environmental education in the Asia-Pacific region in Bonn in early 2009.

The third important partner of the HSF is the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). In consequence of being a member of ASEF’s executive committee, HSF is able to significantly shape the Singapore-based foundation’s program; thus contributing to an improved dialogue between European and Asian countries. In this context, HSF will conduct a conference on "A Green Future Asia and Europe Growing Sustainably" with an expected 200 participants in cooperation with ASEF-EnvForum. The conference will focus on the topics “Green Economy”, “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services” and “Environmental Governance”. The goal of this conference, which will take place in Munich in September (1st – 3rd) 2010, is to create impulses for new strategies and policies that can be implemented by Asian and European governments in order to effectively contribute to the reduction of emissions and to a sustainable and eco-friendly economy.