Environmental Education

Environmental Education

The formation of an environmental culture and the development of education in the field of sustainable development is one of the main tasks for achieving the strategic goals of the environmental state policy of Russia, which corresponds to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Goal #4: Quality Education). However, in practice, the level of environmental education for children and adults lags behind current natural science research and the scale of environmental problems.

Environmental knowledge is necessary for every person throughout their life, starting from their early years. This is why the Foundation creates online lessons and teaching materials about environmental conservation for a wide audience, as well as supports practical lessons in nature for children and adolescents. Open scientific data, adapted in the format of eco-lessons, not only increases the overall level of environmental culture of the audience, but also allows children and adolescents to learn more about the professions of ecologist, zoologist, garbologist and others, opening up new opportunities for future professional choice.

Goals by 2025:

  • to replicate the educational component in the Foundation’s projects and promote the popularization of scientific data, including methods and research results;
  • to promote the development of educational programs for visitors and employees of specially protected natural areas.

How do we work on the development of environmental education:

December 2020 - present Population growth, development of industry and agriculture, growing household demand for water, but at the same time — decline in clean drinking water due to pollution and salinization. Even though Russia ranks second in the world in terms of freshwater reserves, the southern regions of our country are experiencing problems with water scarcity. Besides that, there are other challenges in Russia related to water: shallowing and pollution of rivers, adaptation to adverse weather events such as droughts and floods which become more frequent due to climate change. To solve these issues we need highly qualified monotechnics and broad scope managers. In 2020, a new bachelor's degree program «Change Management» was launched on the basis of the Faculty of Public Policy and Management of the Institute of Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation (RANEPA). The goal of the program is to create highly qualified managers who possess interdisciplinary knowledge and practical skills required in the global challenges of the modern world as well as the ability to make decisions in critical situations and take responsibility for them. The Lake Baikal Foundation is a partner of this educational program. We assist in the preparation and development of 3 educational courses in water resources management. In October 2022 these courses were launched at RANEPA. Courses in water resources management There are 3 courses in water resources management which are given to the 3d year students of the bachelor’s program «Change Management»: ❖ Water Science and Water for Sustainable Development – talks about the physical processes that occur with water, technicalities of water management and global and local problems with water issues; ❖ Mechanisms and regulations of water resources management on the national and international levels – focuses on the economic and legal aspects of management; ❖ Water Resources Management and Leadership – invites students to get involved in active work on water resources management at different levels. The lecturers of the courses are specialists in water resources management from leading Russian and international institutions with a long history. Students have the opportunity to study modern practices in the field of water resources management of various sectors of the economy and at different levels. The program prepares students for professional careers in public authority, business, and NGOs. Role of the Lake Baikal Foundation Starting from the end of the year 2020, the staff of the Lake Baikal Foundation, together with the Faculty of Public Policy and Management of the Institute of Social Sciences of RANEPA: ⮚ developed structure and content of 3 courses in water resources management; ⮚ conducted 14 interviews with leading Russian and foreign experts on teaching positions; ⮚ selected teachers for these courses; ⮚ developed teaching plans together with professors. Progress and results: ✔ Launch of the 3 bachelor courses in water resources management in autumn 2022; ✔ 5 students completed these courses in 2022; ✔ Courses in Water Resources Management" run on an annual basis. By developing educational courses and giving to students the knowledge of the best practices in the field of water resources management, our Foundation contributes to solving the problem of the shortage of qualified specialists. In the future, the Lake Baikal Foundation is considering the possibility of launching an independent bachelor's program at the RANEPA or any other Russian university.


Our work