Module 6 - Values Education for the Environment

Based on Draft Module by Angelina Galang,
Edith de la Cruz and Jose Cumagun
and Trials in The Philippines, Indonesia, Japan,
Hong Hong (China) and Australia

INTRODUCTION

It is increasingly evident that people's relationships with their environments are influenced by their values and attitudes. This module examines the place and function of values education in environmental education and provides teachers with strategies for examining their own and their students environmental values. Values clarification and role play are the strategies illustrated in this module.

OBJECTIVES

The workshop objectives are:

to develop participants' understanding of values education;
to discuss the relationship between values and behaviour toward the environment;
for participants' to reflect on their environmental awareness, commitment and actions; and
to develop the skills for using values clarification and role play strategies in environmental education.

WORKSHOP OUTLINE

1. Introduction

In this activity participants assess their values and behaviours to explore which of these they should 'invest' in if they wish to work toward their ideal environment.

2. Perspectives on Values Education

A mini-lecture to provides an overview of various approaches to values education in environmental education.

3. Values Clarification Strategies

Two exercises are used to examine different values clarification strategies for teaching and learning about values in environmental education.

4. 'Namosi Copper Mine' Role Play

This activity examines the use of role play as a strategy for teaching and learning about values in environmental education.

5. Conclusion

The final activity in this workshop allows participants to plan how they might use the strategies they have explored in the workshop in their teaching.

NOTES FOR FACILITATORS

Values education activities require participants to reflect on their beliefs and behaviour and then share this reflection with others. Not all participants will feel comfortable with this. Therefore, it is important to allow participants to only take part in activities they feel comfortable with.
The degree of curriculum choice and flexibility for teachers can be very high in certain education systems and countries. However, syllabus and examination requirements can exert a strong influence in other education systems, especially for secondary schools. Workshop facilitators will need to adapt activities and emphasise different aspects of the workshop according to the curriculum contexts and needs of participants.
The depth of treatment and amount of time allocated to each activity will vary according to the background experiences of participants in classroom teaching and in environmental education. The activities may need to be adjusted according to whether participants are experienced environmental educators seeking to update their appreciation of environmental education, experienced teachers who are relatively new to environmental education, or pre-service trainees relatively inexperienced in teaching and environmental education.
Facilitators should analyse all resources and activities for educational and cultural relevance and adapt and/or replace any ideas in this module with local examples.
Facilitators should also review their national and local curriculum guidelines to identify the place of teaching values in them.

MATERIALS

A. Provided

Overhead Transparencies

OHT 1 Overview of the Workshop

OHT 2 How Values Can Be Taught (Horizontally)

OHT 3 How Values Can Be Taught (Vertically)

OHT 4 Values Clarification

OHT 5 Namosi Copper Mine Roles

OHT 6 Motion to the Minister

Resources

Resource 1 List of Values

Resource 2 Guide Questions

Resource 3 Environmental Values Continuum Questionnaire

Resource 4 Reflection Questions for Questionnaire

Resource 5 Background Information on Namosi Copper Mine

Resource 6 What's in it for Landowners?

Resource 7 Role Cards for Namosi Copper Mine

Resource 8 Group Positions

Readings

Reading 1 Transforming Attitudes and Practices

Reading 2 Values Education and Environmental Ethics

B. To Obtain

Activity 1 requires the preparation of the following materials:

1. Savings account passbooks

2. Deposit slips

3. Withdrawal slips

4. Window labels (1-4)

ADDITIONAL READINGS

Beck, C. (1990) Better Schools: A Values Perspective, Falmer Press, Lewes, Ch.2.

IUCN, UNEP and WWF (1990) Caring for the Earth, A Strategy for Sustainability, IUCN, Gland.

Kelly, T. E. (1986) Discussing controversial issues: Four perspectives on the teachers role, Theory and Research in Social Education, XI(2), pp. 113138.

Knapp, C. E. (1983) A curriculum model for environmental values education, Journal of Environmental Education, 14(3), pp. 2226.

Newhouse, N. (1991) Implications of attitude and behaviour for environmental conservation, Journal of Environmental Education, 22(1), pp. 2632.

Power, C. and Hogan, R. (1986) Achieving the Goals of Environmental Education: Ethics and Affective Outcomes, in M. J. Frazer and A. Kornhauser (eds.) Ethics and Social Responsibility in Science Education, ICSU Press/Pergamon, Oxford, pp. 217228.

Simon, S. B. et.al. (1972) Values Clarification: A Handbook of Practical Strategies for Teachers and Students, Hart Publishing Inc., New York.

Stradling, R., Noctor, M. and Baines, B. (1984) Teaching Controversial Issues, Arnold, London.

Tomlinson, P. and Quinton, M. (1986) Values Across the Curriculum, Falmer Press, Lewes.

Wellington, J. J. (1986) Controversial Issues in the Curriculum, Blackwell, Oxford.

ACTIVITIES

1. Introduction - 'My Personal Bank Account'

Introduce the workshop by showing OHT 1 - Overview of Workshop. Following this, introduce participants to the activity 'My Personal Bank Account' in which participants review the ways in which their values and attitudes affect their actions.
Ask participants to write down on a piece of paper their idea of an ideal envir-onment. Set this aside until later in the activity.
Next, participants should pretend they are in a bank, engaging in bank transactions of depositing and withdrawing. Instead of using money, participants will use their own values expressed in behavioural terms. Ask four volunteers to act as bank tellers. Tellers #1 and #2 will be assigned to Window 1 and Window 2 for DEPOSITS while Tellers #3 and #4 will be assigned to Window 3 and Window 4 for WITHDRAWALS.
Allow participants five minutes to reflect on the actions they would like to deposit and withdraw. The following questions can be used to prompt participants' reflections:
- What actions would you like to deposit because you want to keep and enhance it?
- What actions would you like to withdraw because you want to discard it?
Distribute Resource 1 as a guide for reflection. Give each participant a bundle of withdrawal and deposit slips, along with a personal savings account booklet.
After participants have reflected on their own personal values as expressed through their actions they should write on the slips the ones they wish to deposit or withdraw. Each participant should then proceed to the relevant window. Tellers receiving the deposit and withdrawal slips will write in the participants' Personal Savings Account Passbooks the actions deposited and withdrawn.
When all participants have completed their bank transactions, ask participants to form groups of four. Each group should choose a reporter. Ask participants to share their experiences using the guide questions in Resource 2.
Tellers should also join a group. They can discuss their observations, for example, which actions were most often deposited or withdrawn. Following this discussion, invite groups to report back to the whole group. After each group has reported, the facilitator may summarize the experiences as a whole.
In debriefing the activity, the facilitator should draw attention to the following points:
- Our dream of a 'good' or 'ideal' environment demands much from our personal values.
- The investment that we put in or deposit in terms of our personal values and behaviours can contribute greatly to the realization of an ideal environment.
- The more we deposit, the greater chance we have of reaching our ideal environment; the less we deposit, the less chance we have of reaching our ideal environment.
- Likewise, if we are willing to change the personal values and actions which damage the environment, the greater is the chance we have of achieving or bringing about our ideal.
- The question is 'How much are we ready to invest?'

2. Perspectives on Values Education

This activity examines different approaches to teaching values.

The facilitator should use Reading 1, Reading 2, OHT 2 and OHT 3 to present a mini-lecture on different approaches to values education.
Use OHT 2 to illustrate a 'horizontal' approach to teaching values. Explain that teachers can always shift from one end of the spectrum to the other, and/or blend the two for varying teaching situations.
Show OHT 3 as another approach to the teaching of values education. Explain that, as a general rule, for education to be holistic, the three areas should be equal.
Ask participants if these two examples apply to their teaching experiences. If not, which is given most emphasis (for example, the cognitive dimension)?

3. Values Clarification Strategies

A. Forced Choice

Introduce values clarification as a strategy which aims to process the cognitive, affective, and psycho-motor dimensions of learning. Display OHT 4 to help explain that this strategy encourages reflection and hopefully inspires changes in actions.
Next, ask participants to create a space so that there is a wide path from one side of the room to the other. Ask an either-or question such as: "Which are you more of - a day person or a night person?" Ask participants to move to the left or right side of the room depending upon their answer (the facilitator must decide which side represents 'day and which side 'night). Participants should then look for a partner on the side they have chosen and briefly discuss the reasons for their choice.
Call everyone to the middle of the room again for the next either-or question. The following are suggested either-or questions:
- Which are you more like?
- A summer or winter?
- A placid lake or a bubbling brook?
- A turtle or racehorse?
- A Panda bear or tiger?
- A tree or flower?
- A Minister of the Environment or Minister for Education
Ask the following questions for debriefing:
- Was it difficult to make a choice? Why? Why not?
- What did you learn from your partner's reasons for making his/her choice?
- What do your choices reveal about you?
To debrief, explain that values are reflected in decisions that we make in our lives. To all decisions and actions we make, whether major or minor, we attach a personal meaning. Therefore, we can assess our value systems, through an examination of our choices and actions in life.

B. Values Continuum

Distribute copies of Resource 3. Briefly introduce the activity by explaining that our responses to various issues are not always the same. The values continuum acts to open up a range of answers to an issue or question.
Ask participants to work individually to answer all the questions under each issue or topic by indicating the degree of strength of their responses anywhere along the continuum. Participants should identify their position by placing an X mark on the line. Remind participants to answer thoughtfully about what they actually do or would do in the given situation.
Next, ask participants to form small groups. Distribute Resource 4 and allow participants time to discuss the questions. After the small group sharing, ask some members from each group to share their insights and feelings about the results of their discussion.
In debriefing, ask participants to share with the whole group how they feel about the issues they have discussed. Direct participants attention to their answers to Question 3C. The differences in answers show how difficult it is to reach consensus on environmental issues.

4. 'Namosi Copper Mine' Role Play

Another approach for teaching about values is use a role play or simulation games. An environmental issue from Fiji is the example in this activity. Facilitators could develop a similar activity on an issue in their country is this is appropriate.

Introduction

Ask participants to briefly report on their previous experiences of using role plays in teaching or as a student.
Explain that in this activity, participants role play residents and interested parties in Namosi, Fiji, where a copper mine has been proposed. The Minister for Lands, Mineral Resources and Energy has called a public meeting to decide if the proposed copper mine should proceed.

Running the Activity

Distribute Resource 5 and Resource 6 which contain background information about the Namosi Copper Mine. Give participants a few minutes to read through them.
Display OHT 5 to give participants an overview of the various roles.
Distribute a role card from Resource 7 to each group or individual. They should use this role card and Resource 8 to formulate their position and arguments.
Each player or group of players, takes on the role of a particular interest group that will be involved in deciding the future of the Namosi Copper Mine.
Participants prepare their views to present at a public meeting which is to be convened by a Minister.
This meeting should be conducted by formal meeting procedures to discuss the motion (OHT 6).
The public of Namosi demands that the Minister advise the Government to protect the Namosi community by strictly enforcing all existing environmental protection measures and by placing a ban on all copper mining within five kilometers of the village to reduce human impacts.
The Minister should call for speakers as follows:
- Someone to move and second the motion
- Short speeches by these two persons
- Speakers against the motion, and then alternate with speakers for the motion
- The 'mover' of the motion has a right of reply at the end.
The Minister then calls for a public vote on the motion.

Debriefing

Ask persons who did not speak in the debate to explain their voting choices.
Discuss the economic, social and environmental effects of the group's decision.
Ask participants to suggest a way of managing the Namosi copper mine controversy which would have met the needs of more people in a spirit of compromise with everybody 'winning' and at a minimal cost to the environment.
What are the strengths of this approach to teaching and learning about values?
What are the weaknesses of this approach to teaching and learning about values?
What skills were required of participants and the facilitator?
Could this approach be used with your students?
Does it need to be modified?
Name an issue in your country that could be studied through a role play such as this one?

5. Conclusion

Review the suggested strategies for handling values issues in the classroom.
Ask participant to select the strategy that they like best and would like to focus on in their teaching.
If time is available, participants could be asked to develop an activity using the 'forced choice', 'values continuum' or 'role play' strategies covered in this workshop.

OHT 1

Overview of the Workshop

1. Perspectives on Values Education

Activity 'Personal Banking'
Mini-lecture

2. Strategies for Dealing with Values in Teaching

Forced Choice
Values Continuum
Role Play

OHT 2

How Values Can Be Taught (Horizontal Approach)

OHT 3

How Values Can Be Taught (Vertical Approach)

OHT 4

Values Clarification Strategy

Values clarification strategies aim to increase a person's awareness of their own values and the effects of these on the environment.
The first step in values clarification is to clarify your own values.
Clarifying your value systems means asking yourself if you:

fully understand
freely choose
proudly prize, and
willingly and consistently act upon a value.
If your answer is 'all yes', then it's considered to be a fully developed value. If no, then it points to a desired value.

OHT 5

Namosi Copper Mine Roles

The Minister for Lands, Mineral Resources and Energy who will issue the licence. (This could be one person or a group).
The Namosi land owners who will reap the benefit through royalties, employment, improved standard of living and increased economic activities in the area.
SPACHEE who argues that opening the copper mine will bring about an irreversible negative impact on the environment in the country.
The Fiji Trades Union Congress who are pushing for the granting of the licence as it will generate employment for members.
One group of Veivatuloa Villages who want the licence granted as it will increase their sources of income through the sale of agricultural and marine produce to workers.
A second group of Veivatuloa Villagers who do not want the mine as it will damage the environment and their food sources, and also bring about undesirable change to the village.
Placer Pacific, a foreign Mining Company, which is applying for the Licence. The expected economic life of the mine is 27 years. It will pull out of Fiji at that time. It's major interest is the financial return to its share-holders.

OHT 6

Motion To The Minister At The Public Meeting

The public of Namosi demands that Minister advise the Government to protect the Namosi community by strictly enforcing all existing environmental protection measures and, by placing a ban on all copper mining within five kilometers of the village reduce human impacts.

Resource 1

A List of Values

Source: Adapted from IUCN, UNEP and WWFN (1991) Caring for the Earth, IUCN, Gland; and Fien, J. (1993) Education for the Environment: Critical Curriculum Theorising and Environmental Education, Deakin University Press, Geelong, p. 64.

People and Nature: Ecological sustainability

1. Respect for Interdependence

People are a part of natural systems and depend utterly on them. Thus, natural systems should be respected at all times. To respect natural systems means to approach nature with humility, care and compassion; to be frugal and efficient in resource use; to be guided by the best available knowledge, both traditional and scientific; and to help shape and support public policies that promote sustainability.

2. Respect for Biodiversity

Every life form warrants respect and preservation independently of its worth to people. People should preserve the complexity of ecosystems to ensure the survival of all specie and the safeguarding of their habitats and, through this, contribute also to the material and spiritual quality of human life.

3. Living lightly

Everyone should take responsibility for his/her impact on natural systems. They should not interfere unduly with ecological processes, diminish biodiversity, or over-exploit renewable resources and the ecosystems that support them. They should use natural resources and the environment carefully and sustainability, and restore degraded ecosystems.

4. Respect for Interspecies Equity

People should treat all creatures decently, and protect them from cruelty and avoidable suffering. People and People: Social justice

5. Respect for basic human needs

The needs of all individuals and societies should be met, within the constraints imposed by the biosphere; and all should have equal opportunity for improving their lot.

6. Respect for Intergenerational Equity

Each generation should leave to the future a world that is at least as diverse and productive as the one it inherited. To this end, non-renewable resources should be used sparingly, renewable resources should be used sustainably, and waste should be minimised. The benefits of development should not be consumed now while leaving the costs to the future.

7. Respect for Human Rights

All persons should have the fundamental freedoms of conscience and religion, expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

8. Respect for Democracy

All persons and communities should be empowered to exercise responsibility for their own lives and for life on earth. Thus they must have full access to education, political enfranchisement and sustaining livelihoods; and they should be able to participate effectively in the decisions that most affect them.

Resource 2

Reflection Questions on Questionnaire

Look at your scales and identify those whose X's are more to the left side and those that are more to the right side. |
Items which are on the left side indicate that you have a degree of awareness/knowledge about the issue. Those in the right side indicate that you have a degree of commitment on the issue. Across the length of the continuum, the X may indicate a degree of action for the environment.
From the indications or patterns of your answers (X's) based on the scale, how do you assess your level of awareness, commitment, and action for the environment?
a. Are there any personal values or lifestyle adjustments or changes and plans of action do you like to make?
b. What are they?
c. What issue do you think needs to be addressed first by all?

Resource 3

Environmental Continuum Questionnaire

Instructions: Answer each question under every issue or topic by placing an X mark anywhere along the continuum indicating the degree of strength of your response. Work independently and answer thoughtfully and honestly what you ACTUALLY DO. If some questions are not applicable to you, answer spontaneously what you WOULD ACTUALLY DO, if given the opportunity.

Example:

Issue on Municipal Waste

Always

Often

Rarely

Never

a. Do you pick up litter from the ground?

X

B. Do you segregate your waste at home?

X

c. Would you give up personal time to educate neighbours?

X

A. Electrical Energy Consumption

Always

Often

Rarely

Never

1. Do you turn off lights when not in use?

2. Do you keep your refrigerator coils clean ?

3. Do you observe the following electricity-saving tips?

ironing in batches
using fluorescent lamp instead of incandescent
turning off fan when no one is inside the room
cleaning or replacing filters of airconditioner

B. Recycling

Always

Often

Rarely

Never

1. Are you actively participating in a recycling program in your community?

2. Are you willing to initiate a recycling program in communities where there are none?

3. Do you consciously choose products made out of recycled materials?

C. Gasoline consumption

Always

Often

Rarely

Never

1. Would you tell a friend if her car seems to be smoke-belching?

2. Would you organize carpooling in your community/among your students?

3. How willing are you to reduce using fuel-powered vehicles to get to work and walk instead?

D. Use of chemical pesticides and fertilizer

Always

Often

Rarely

Never

1. Do you make it a point to inform yourself of the toxic compounds in chemical fertilizers?

2. Do you buy organically grown food?

3. Do you avoid pesticides which contain toxic compounds?

E. Wildlife Protection

Always

Often

Rarely

Never

1. Would you spend money to buy a T-shirt with a message to help protect our wildlife?

2. Would you consciously boycott products made out of endangered animals (ex. ivory ornaments, coral jewellery, snakeskin shoes)

3. Would you report to authorities violation of wildlife protection laws?

F. Rainforests

Always

Often

Rarely

Never

1. Would you take time out to attend a talk on the state of our forests?

2. Would you write a letter to your local or national leader expressing your stand on the preservation of rainforests?

3. Would you use alternatives to tropical hardwood in building your house/buying furniture?

Resource 4

Guide Questions

Instructions: Think of new environmental issues or topics not covered in the Environmental Values Questionnaire. As a group, come up with two (2) new issues or topics. Under each topic, write three environmental questions which can be answered by a range of responses in a continuum.

A. Topic/Issue: ________________________________________

Always

Often

Rarely

Never

B. Topic/Issue: ________________________________________

Always

Often

Rarely

Never

Resource 5

Background Information Namosi Copper Mine

Early in 1992 Placer Pacific Limited and Placer Dome Inc. were jointly granted a Special Prospecting Licence over the Namosi copper/gold prospect through their respective Fiji registered companies, Placer Pacific Namosi Limited and Placer Namosi Limited. Placer Dome funded all workers to the completion of a feasibility study.

Following the granting of the licence, a major diamond drilling program using up to four drilling rigs was completed. The program was designed to better define the high grade portions of the main East and West Waisoi deposits. The program was successful in locating a new higher grade zone on the north east edge of the Waisoi West deposit. It also extended both Waisoi deposits and increased the previous resource estimate.

The new measurement indicated resources at Waisoi of 930 million tonnes of 0.43 percent copper and 0.14 grams of gold/tonne. This represents a 50 percent increase in contained metal over the previous estimate. All of this resource could be recovered from two open pits.

Metallurgical testwork indicate the easy recovery of copper and gold into clean concentrate. Mine, mill and infrastructure design work has progressed in conjunction with a comprehensive environmental monitoring program. The company has commenced discussion with the Fiji government on permit requirements and possible commercial arrangements for the project.

An economic evaluation utilising all the new data is proceeding to investigate the potential of processing up to 100000 tonnes of ore per day. If positive results are gained additional infill drilling and detailed design work could commence soon.

Total expenditure by Placer during 1993 on the Namosi project exceeded six million Fiji dollars. Funds are continuing to be committed to evaluate the project. The minimum expenditure for the two year period, under the terms of the Special Prospecting Licence, was five million Fiji dollars.

All funding for the Namosi Project come from Placer shareholder's fund that are sources from operating mines in other countries.

Resource 6

What's in it for Landowners?

Source: Adapted from Dr Roman Grynberg, Fiji Times.

Namosi Province is among the most pristine and beautiful places in Fiji. In 10 Years it will not be that beautiful because there will be two massive pits dug in the mountains to extract the copper ore in the area.

There will also be a huge dump site where 100,000 tonnes of rock will be dumped every day and there will be a giant drain pipe down to Navua where the copper tallings will be flushed into Beqa Passage.

There will almost certainly be a four-lane highway built up to the mine from Suva and probably as far as Navua where the port will be.

As Placer Pacific is not intending to build a big mining town, people will commute from Suva and Navua and as a result within 20 years there will be substantial housing developments along the road between Suva and Navua.

But what is the hardest thing to imagine is not just how much the geography will change but just how much the lives of the people of Namosi will change. Their lives, along with the economy of Fiji, will change, probably, irreversibly.

If the Government of Fiji wants to develop the mine, it or the Native Land Trust Board, will have to come to an agreement for compensation, in order to give the mine developer Placer Pacific, access to the land that will be needed for the development to proceed. Under the 1990 Constitution, the Government has legal but as yet unclear obligations to the landowners to assure that they benefit from the development.

Late last year, Placer submitted to the Government a package of compensation proposals that would give landowners compensation for the land that would be used. That proposal is based essentially on the Papua New Guinea formula where compensation is paid on the basis of land used by the developer.

What is particularly fortunate for the Fiji Government is that the number of people directly affected by the Namosi mine is relatively small. As a result the Government and the developer may be in a unique position to develop a system of compensation that pays landowners in ways that generate a sustainable flow of income.

Proposals for compensation to the landowners based simply upon the destruction and use of land are unlikely to work and may lead to similar sorts of difficulties to those that arose on the island of Bougainville with the Bougainville Copper Mine. If anything the experience of large and long duration mining projects in developing countries is that they result in high rates of population growth among the local population, a total change in lifestyle and almost invariably a decline in subsistence agriculture and a greater and greater reliance on purchased food.

In 1988, I was sent to Panguna in Bougainville as a journalist for the Times of PNG. On that occasion I was met by an angry young man named Francis Ona, the leader of an insurrection against the PNG government.

My discussion with Mr Ona was a classical dialogue of the deaf he speaking in islands pidgin and me replying in my broken 'highlands pidgin'.

What I only began to understand much later was that Mr Ona and many of the younger generation of landowners did not want the mine at all.

Mr Ona's sister, Porpotua Bororo, basically said precisely that: "We have gotten nothing out of this mine and soon it will close and we will not even get compensation".

Such a position at first appeared incomprehensible because Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) had been paying millions of dollars annually in land compensation as well as royalties to the landowners at Panguna.

While many of these people had the traditional rights to use this land they were not landowners and received only what their relatives gave them.

The result on Bougainville was the result of a combination of this system of compensation, combined with the massive environmental degradation caused by mining together with a Department of Minerals which, while being staffed with dedicated officials, was totally preoccupied with developing mines because that is how the officials were judged.

These errors resulted, at first in an insurrection by Mr Ona and the other landowners that shut the Bougainville mine. It finally resulted in a violent and bloody civil war.

Namosi is very obviously not Bougainville and Fiji is not PNG but still there are several lessons that arise from the experience of Bougainville. The first is that you cannot necessarily believe that by paying landowners all those affected adversely in the mine area will benefit.

The second is that each landowners and all those in the mine impact area must be compensated for the loss of their lifestyles.

The BCL mine effectively destroyed the traditional lifesytles of many of the Bougainvilleans in the Panguna area and the landowners claimed that the amount that was given to them for the loss of the land was not even equivalent to what they would have earned if thy had put the land under cocoa.

It was certainly insufficient to assure enough money for them and their children to live in a lifestyle which they felt they deserved given the enormous copper and gold wealth under their feet.

If the government of Fiji proceeds with a land compensation package to the landowners and those in the mine impact area that is based on the number of acres taken and the number of trees destroyed they will be making a principled mistake not just a financial one.

It is entirely possible that the Namosi mine will be sufficiently rich and of sufficient duration that the people of Namosi will be permanently changed and will become fully integrated into Fiji's money economy.

However, it is also quite possible that they, or a good portion of them, will not be fully integrated into the economy and that what will be lost is a subsistence lifestyle and it will not be replaced with a lifestyle that the landowners consider to be a clear improvement.

The company and the Government must prepare a proposal that compensates for that possible loss because, if 15 years from now, the landowners are not as well as off as they are now and they see people making a great deal of money there may well be trouble.

By that time Fiji will become very dependent upon its copper earnings and the potential for economic dislocation caused by landowner disputes will be substantial.

The best way to guarantee this is by the establishment of a trust fund that could be used for development projects in Namosi or to pay a flow of income that is at least equivalent to the subsistence income they have now.

Fortunately there are very few people in Namosi and this could probably be done without financial in crippling the project.

If it is not financially possible it will mean that the development would occur at the possible long term expense, rather than the benefit of the landowners.

These are the views of Dr Grynberg and not necessarily those of the University of the South Pacific where he was employed at the time of writing.

Resource 7

Role Cards For Namosi Copper Mine

1. The Minister for Land Mineral Resources and Energy

You are the Minister responsible for issuing mining licences. Placer Pacific is applying for a licence to mine the Namosi Copper deposit. Namosi Province has been notorious to your political party as it is a very strong nationalist area. You are mindful of the next general election. You want your party to win the Namosi seats so your decision will be critical to their return to Parliament. You are also mindful of the harmful effect of the mine on the environment. The priority of your government is economic development and the returns from the copper mine will certainly boost the economy of the country.

You are receiving delegations whose presentations will help you decide whether to issue the licence or not.

2. Namosi Land Owners

Namosi land owners claim that their province has been the most neglected part of the country. There is very little economic development taking place in Namosi. The roads are bad, some villages can only be reached by horseback and the people still depend on root crops and yaqona for their income. The people feel that the government has neglected them for too long. Since the closing of the banana industry several years back, nothing in particular has been introduced to the province except for a few fish ponds, beef farming through FDB loans and a dwindling cocoa industry.

Opening the Namosi Copper Mine will be a "manna" from heaven. This is the answer to your prayers. The mine will certainly accelerate Namosi's economic development and will make Namosi contribute positively to the achievement of the national economic goals.

Ask the Minister to grant the licence to Placer Pacific without further delay.

3. SPACHEE

Use the attached information in the article titled The Proposed Namosi Copper Mine from the SPACHEE Environwatch newsletter to present your case to the Minister. Ask him/her not to grant the licence. Tell him/her that there is not enough information available yet to gauge the impact of the mine on the environment. Use this as a delaying tactic. Tell him/her that a time frame of five years will be needed to get all the information. This might kill Placer Pacific's interest and hopefully a new government will be elected that might decide against the opening of the Copper Mine.

Extract other information from the attached article to help you argue your case.

4. Fiji Trades Union Congress

You tell the Minister of your strong endorsement of Placer Pacific's application for the mining licence.

Since the industrial unrest in Vatukoula, hundreds of skilled miners have lost their jobs. Many have returned home and are having difficulties in adjusting to village life as they have spent the majority of their lifetime in Vatukoula. Their children's education has been badly affected. Ministry of Education and Fijian Affairs have been inundated with calls and applications for scholarships.

If the mine is opened, these skilled miners could fit into the operations with ease thus accelerating the initial establishment process.

Thousands of other people will find employment . The mine is expected to be in operation for 27 years. Ask the Minister to consider the joy of the people who will find employment at the mine, the people of Namosi itself and the economic gain that the mine will bring to the nation. Ask the Minister to consider the amount of money the government will earn through workers income tax, VAT etc.

If she/he refuses the licence, the lives of these people will continue to be as miserable as they are. Ask the Minister to grant the licence.

5. One Group of Veivatuloa Villagers

Your group wants the mine opened because of the benefit the mine will bring to your village.

A deep water dock will be made near your village. A factory that will be used to chemically process the ore will also be built near your village.

Employment , electricity, transportation, royalties from the damage to your fishing ground will help families to build new and better home and will help improve schools and church facilities.

This is the opportunity that you have been waiting for. The Minister should not hesitate to grant the licence. You are Nationalist but, if the mine is open, all your people will support the government in the next general election. Financially, by this time the people will be so well off they can contribute positively to the party campaign finance.

6. A Second Group of Veivatuloa Villagers

Tell the Minister that if she/he grants the licence, she/he will be responsible for the death of your people. Who knows, one day the factory might explode and kill all the people in your village like the Union Carbide factory in Bopal, India.

They are going to make a deep sea docking near your village. This will scare the fish away or it will even kill them or make them so poisonous that they can not even be eaten..

Tell them that some people from the village who work at USP have told them of the negative effects of the mine. You do not understand the meaning of this development but from your simple villagers' mind, this project will be too big for your village. Prostitution, drunkenness, drugs and many other bad things will come to your village as people begin to earn money from the mine.

People will become too lazy and will begin not to follow the chief's orders and village laws as they earn too much money.

Traditional and social fabric will be broken and social problems will increase.

You are better off as you are. You are scared of the change this will mean for you village and you do not know what it will bring to your people.

Tell her/him that trouble is already brewing in the village as the other group wants the mine opened. The Roko wants the mine opened as it will help people with their soil. Already there is a division in the village even before the first soil is turned.

This could be another Bougainville if the government is not careful.

7. Placer Pacific

Feasibility studies have shown that the Namosi Copper Mine will be of immense economic benefit to the country. Expectation is that the financial return of copper and gold will be 60% more that sugar and tourism put together annually, well into the F$500 million mark. The life of the mine will continue for the next 27 years.

As can be seen, this mine alone will see Fiji through into the year 2000 and beyond. It will create jobs for thousands thus taking care of those graduates coming into the job market every year.

Economic spin offs for the people of Namosi will be immeasurable, more employment opportunities, improved infrastructure, communication facilities, income generation through sales of food crops to cater for mine workers and their families, provision of better social amenities and so on.

Social benefits will be tremendous, education will be affordable, better medical facilities and services and the provision of other goods and services will be facilitate with the opening of the mine.

Foreign exchange earnings will place the government in a highly favourable status thus external trade will greatly improve. The government will therefore be placed in a better position to provide goods and services for a society whose standard of living has increased.

Suggest to the Minister that the country will forever be indebted to him/her for having the foresight, wisdom and the depth of commitment to ensure the economic well being of the country and its people. Nothing more, nothing less is wanted of him/her but the granting of the mining licence.

Resource 8

Group Positions

Groups

Major Views on Namosi Copper Mine

Minister for Lands, Mineral Resources and Energy

Namosi Landowners

SPACHEE

Fiji Trade Union Congress

Veivatuloa Villagers (for licence)

Veivatuloa Villagers (against licence)

Placer Pacific Mine Company

Reading 1

Transforming Attitudes And Practices

Source: Adapted from IUCN, UNEP and WWFN (1990) Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainability, 2nd draft, IUCN, Gland.

Issues

Awareness of environmental issues and the need for a sustainable relationship with earth has increased greatly in recent years, and continues to grow. Even so, the will to face hard decisions is largely absent; and the actions taken so far have not been enough to counteract the steady deterioration in the quality of the environment.

The chief impediment to overcoming this deterioration is failure to develop sustainable behaviour patterns among the majority of the world's people. What is needed is a fundamental transformation of people's attitudes and practices. To bring this about will require deliberate and coordinated efforts and time. The World Commission on Environment and Development stressed that the next few decades would be crucial in this respect. The longer the delay, the fewer the opportunities and the greater the obstacles.

Only a new worldview and morality can change the basic relation of people to the earth. People's behaviour is a matter of choices based on values. But individuals, groups and societies are often divided within themselves, and with one another, over which values to choose. This is especially true when the resources of life are limited or are poorly understood.

Ethics help resolve such conflicts. By pointing out what is right and what is most worthwhile, they encourage people to think about the most important issues involved in their choices. Ethics do not give easy answers to the dilemmas of life, but they do encourage people to choose the options that serve the best interests of others as well as themselves. They also motivate people to make the sacrifices such choices often require. In a world of limited resources, conflicting values, and competing individuals and groups, ethics are the way human beings learn to cooperate with each other and the rest of life for the mutual wellbeing of all.

Ethics are therefore essential for sustainability. It has always been so. Every society that has treated the land and the people well has had an effective conservation ethic. What is unprecedented today is the need for a world ethic of sustainability. A world ethic is needed because:

Individual actions now combine to have global effects. For the first time in human history, we must be individually conscious of our impacts on the planet. Since value conflicts and competition for scarce resources are worldwide in scope, the ethical principles to resolve them must be shared globally.
There is no longer an effective ethic of sustainability in any major society in the world. The chief value for large numbers of people today is growth in personal levels of consumption. This value is reinforced by powerful commercial interests who use the mass media very effectively. Reductionist and mechanistic views of the world prevent people from seeing earth as a whole.

The absence of an adequate ethic of sustainability is a major factor responsible for the failure to meet basic human needs, for growing inequities and loss of freedom in the use and enjoyment of nature, for loss of diversity and integrity of cultures and ecosystems, and for destruction of the capacity of the biosphere to support future generations. The need for a world ethic of sustainability - an ethic that helps people cooperate with one another and nature for the survival and wellbeing of all individuals and the biosphere - could not be greater.

Some values that could be included in such an ethic include:

People and Nature: Ecological Sustainability

1. Respect for Interdependence

3. Living lightly

4. Respect for Interspecies Equity

People should treat all creatures decently, and protect them from cruelty and avoidable suffering.

People and People: Social justice

5. Respect for basic human needs

The needs of all individuals and societies should be met, within the constraints imposed by the biosphere; and all should have equal opportunity for improving their lot.

6. Respect for Intergenerational Equity

7. Respect for Human Rights

All persons should have the fundamental freedoms of conscience and religion, expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

8. Respect for Democracy

Reading 2

Values Education And Environmental Ethics

Source: Angelina Galang, Mirian College, The Philippines.

In the beginning of time, as taken from the account of the Christian Bible, God created a world that was full of beauty and splendour, richness, and fruitfulness. The earth was covered by a blanket of trees and it abounded in species of plants, animals, birds, and insects. The land were watered by rains that seeped through vegetation and soil to form clear flowing rivers and sparkling lakes which teemed with fish and other aquatic life. The blue seas contained enchanting coral reefs.

This was the time when the earth was at its most beautiful, beautiful beyond expression. We stand in awe at the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator who fashioned this world of life, colour and abundance. The earth was His masterpiece!

The account of the Book of Genesis manifests the greatness of the Creator: Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, to our likeness...so God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky, over every living creature that moves on the ground...to every wild animal, to every bird of the sky, to everything that creeps along the ground, to everything that has the breath of life, I give every green plant for food." So it was. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. By the seventh day, the work God had done was completed, and He rested. And God made blessed the seventh day and made it holy.

Genesis 1:26-31

God's command to the newly created couple in Genesis "Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it is seen as the key in shaping the human-earth relationship. The injunction in Genesis is interpreted to mean stewardship. Human beings are expected to be caring and nurturing and not to be exploitative of the Earth. Stewardship implies harmony with nature emerging from the understanding of the interdependence among all things. The call to stewardship is a privilege. "As with all privileges, human beings will be accountable for their stewardship. If they are caring and cultivate harmony in all their dealings with each other and the earth, then they grow in the image and likeness of God" (McDonagh, 1986).

Apilado (1994), a Filipino Protestant pastor, believes that:

To be a steward implies accountability. As a people of God, we are accountable for the condition of the world...for the decay of culture, for the pollution of environment, for the destruction of the ecosystem.

Why? Because, created in the image of God, we are endowed with the capability to know what is good and more importantly, we have the power to do what is right."

Similarly, from the religious attitudes of the Buddhists and Taoists, the call to stewardship and the responsibility for the earth is also manifested. The Buddhist religious philosophy manifests respect for human values and social values as shown in their reverence for life and concern for all living creatures. The Taoist religious philosophy advocates obedience to the natural processes, love of nature, and respect for the environment.

Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddharta Gautama, an Indian prince who renounced his riches, title and family and lived a simple life. Gautama was called "Buddha" meaning the Enlightened One. Buddha intended his teachings to be a system of moral philosophy to guide people in their search for complete peace and true happiness called Nirvana. Buddhists practice the virtue of compassion and reverence for all creatures. This compassion and reverence for life is evident in a poem quoted in Thomas Berry's book, "Buddhism" .

Taoism was started by Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher who lived in the 6th century B.C. His name means "old scholar". His teachings focus on the ways of virtue like humility, calmness, patience, and love of nature.

The story of creation describes the movement of life and this movement continues until today. Sadly, it has been a movement from abundance to poverty. The injunction in Genesis has been interpreted to mean license for humans to use the earth's resources with wanton abandon for their self-interests. Now, the mountains are brown and bald, the forests are denuded, the fish in the rivers are scarce, the monkeys, deer, wild pigs and eagles are almost gone. Humans have destroyed the animals' homes and hunted them relentlessly. Many species are already extinct and the destruction of species is expected to increase during the next decade as the few remaining forests are wiped out by loggers and slash-and-burn farmers. The world is now in poverty, drastically reduced in habitat and species diversity and thus, the ability to sustain life.

According to Father Thomas Berry (1991), all civilizations are not blameless. Berry says that the Chinese, for example, have one of the best philosophies of human-earth relationship in so-called classical civilization, but already in the Neolithic times they started cutting down the trees. They used them to build houses, boats, wooden sledges, wooden wheels and carts for transportation. The Chinese have not stopped cutting trees. This is why China's mountains are often bare and the annual floods cause much destruction and famine. Moreover, Chinese dynasties engaged in wars with each other and the wars used up their resources.

The Greeks used to be simple people who lived in city-states like Athens. Then they learned to engage in large wars like the Trojan War in which their resources were used up. The trees in the hillsides were used to build ships for their large expeditions. Some 2,500 years ago, the philosopher Plato observed the impoverishment of the Greek environment, that the hillsides of Greece had been denuded and the water springs had dried up.

The Romans had enjoyed a mountainous peninsula with valleys suitable for agriculture and pasturage. At about 300 B.C., they spread Roman rule and gained control of Western Mediterranean. They established settlements in the hills and cut down the trees to give way to settlements. The Romans also engaged in wars and conquests that used up their resources and in time, they realized that their land was ruined.

The once luxuriant growth of North Africa had also suffered. North Africa used to have lush tropical forests drenched by heavy rains. Its natural resources were fabulous, producing for the world 98% of its diamonds, 55% of its gold, and 22% of its copper. Conquerors and traders came to Africa to enrich themselves and they looted African resources like gold, ivory, and wood. The looters hacked away the forest and cut the mountain sides to extract these riches. The Philippines up to the 1950s enjoyed the abundance yielded by a land 50% of which was covered by tropical hardwood forests. Its coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems teemed with unbelievably beautiful and varied aquatic life. Now, 50% of its people live below the poverty line. Activities like illegal logging, dynamite and cyanide fishing, improper land use activities driven mainly by greed and disregard of life processes have made impotent its environment. Its land and water have lost their capacity to meet the needs of its population.

How much of the richness and beauty of the earth is now left in the twentieth century. The natural world has been wounded. Ecological devastation has reached such proportions that the future of human race is in doubt. The devastation is rooted largely in the arrogance of humans, dominance over others, thoughtlessness, indifference, detachment from other living forms, and in the values of insatiable desire for material things and luxury.

In their greed, many loggers made big money from the forests in utter disregard for the guidelines for sustainable forestry. Likewise, large fishing operators using illegal means of fishing have made super profits from the seas. Their greed has enabled them to acquire wealth and power but they have left a legacy of destruction in the forest and the seas.

One of the thoughtless practices that has endangered many species is the trade in wildlife. Because of this trade, many species are already extinct and without humans considering that once a species is gone, it is gone forever. Once a species gets extinct, the world loses a unique gene formula and its contribution to the web of earthly life. With it also goes its special combination of features that mirror one unique facet of the Creator.

Such and every human act has an impact on the natural world. Like the behaviour of other organisms, these acts are part of the order of things. We give and we take from the environment. It is when humans act in an exploitative, abusive manner that we disturb the order of things. It is when we take much more than we need, and when our wastes stress the environment that trouble begins. Attitudes and lifestyles that assault the earth, coupled with the increased population of humans on Earth, have brought about the critical state of planetary environment.

The message is clear. In our desire to enjoy life to its fullest, we may be causing the untimely destruction of life itself. It is already late in the day and so much damage has been done to the earth because of the values that humans have woven into their lives.

We can and we must do something about the damage because the damage is fast becoming irreversible.

We need a new creation (Berry, 1991).

We simply have to go back to the traditional values that emanated from our stewardship role. We need to cultivate caring and nurturing, sharing, harmony with nature and respect and reverence for all life. We need to promote sustainable living.

Caring and nurturing is exemplified by St. Benedict of Norcia, the sixth century saint who is known for cultivating the soil in a renewable way. Benedict and his monks implemented a kind of agriculture that did not only maximize yields but also sustained God's wealth (McDonagh, 1986). In the Philippines, the values of caring and sharing of tribal people is illustrated by an experience of an educator named Cesar who had the privilege of joining a group of Tasaday in Cotobato in Southern Philippines to a forest trek going to the caves. When they were in the forest, they passed by a big log full of mushrooms in it. Cesar saw the Tasaday elder gather the mushrooms for the next meal. Then the elder stopped. Cesar thought that the Tasaday elder was exhausted, so he helped him gather the mushrooms. But the Tasaday elder held him and said, "Let us not gather anymore. These mushrooms I have gathered are enough. Let us leave some for the others who will also pass this way today."

This is the life in the tribal communities in Cotobato in Southern Philippines. Their life is nurtured by creation and they in turn nurture creation. They take only what is needed for the present. The rest they leave for others and for future generations to use. This is their own version of sustainable development.

For Cesar, this is a living example of the motto:

Learning to be, learning to become,

Learning to care, learning to share.

This motto summarizes what we want to attain in values education and environmental ethics.

Respect or reverence for all life was observed to be carried out by Indonesians. They try never to needlessly harm any living creatures. A Filipino observed that when an Indonesian sees a snake, he will get a long stick, let the serpent crawl on it and then throw the stick away, not harming or killing it.

Harmony with nature is exemplified by the Nisga'a and Haida people of Northern British Colombia, Canada. They have preserved their homeland in its pristine beauty by living in harmony with their surroundings the mountains, the rivers, the vegetation, and the animals which enjoy this homeland with the rest of the aboriginal peoples. Like the tribal people of Philippines, their life is also nurtured by creation. The roaring Nass river give them fish, the mountains give them fruits and berries.

They also get their cedars, maples and pines with which to carve their totem poles and build their homes and canoes. They take only what is needed and never put a strain on these resources. Their culture values stewardship of their environment.

This sacred, non-utilitarian view of nature is captured in a letter which Chief Seattle of the Duwanish tribe from Washington wrote to the American President in 1854 in response to a request by a government to buy the Indian lands and relocate the tribe on a reservation. Chief Seattle was a keen observer of the 'white man's' destructive ways and he was concerned about what will happen to the land, the rivers, the mountains, the air, and the beasts when the white men takes over.

Other tribal peoples did not write letters. They fought back to protect their land. The Teduray of South Upi, Cotobato, in the Philippines protested against the loss of their remaining forests when the chainsaws of a logging company started to cut down the trees. Macling Dulag of the Kalinga and Bontoc in Northern Philippines lost his life as he fought to save their homeland from the four huge dams that would have submerged by the Chico River basin. Udege people in Siberia protected their land and were threatened by a logging conglomerate. The indigenous people's of India's Narmada Valley have pledged to commit mass suicide in a desperate bid to stop a dam that will flood their homes and destroy their bond with the land. These are the ultimate expressions of the environmental worldview.

If we are to find the essential features of environmental education today, it is the realm of values that we must turn to. Values are the standards that guide our behaviour and represent the basis of our belief system.

We cannot make a blade of grass, but there may not be a blade of grass unless we protect and nurture it. So, we have a fantastic mission ahead of us. This, in some sense has to be the very soul of education...We have to protect the rainforest and everything else from ourselves"

(Berry, 1991).

Indeed, we have found the enemy and it is us.

References

Apilado, M. (1994) The Greening of Life and Creation, NCCP Newsletter, 34(2), April-June.

Berry, T. (1991) "Saving the Earth", (Handout).

McDonagh, S. (1986) To Care for the Earth, Claretian Publications, Quezon City.