Learning to Make Environmental Decisions in the Bhutan Himalayas

• In Event: Excellence in Education Research: Early Career Scholars and Their Work

Abstract

The fifth and latest assessment report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that “Human influence on the climate system is clear… and that limiting climate change will require substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.” Reducing carbon emissions requires people to make changes to their lifestyles and habits. Evidence, however, suggests that people have difficulties in understanding how climate change affects their everyday lives and also how they can make choices that mitigate the effect of environmental change on their communities.
Learning to make decisions in everyday life that lead to environmental sustainability will allow communities to cope with current impacts and shape future ones. Literature in environmental adaptation suggests that environmental decision-making that would help mitigate the impact of climate change and help communities adapt to the changing environment requires that individuals: 1. Learn that everyday actions (eating breakfast, using technology, washing clothes etc) are interactions with the environment 2. Understand that everyday actions/decisions have an impact on the environment at a local, national and international level and 3. Understand that the long-term impact of these actions/decisions is an important aspect of how one can adapt to the changing environment.
Using the three points mentioned above this study examines how youth in the Bhutan Himalayas understand the environmental decision-making process. The study focuses on the Bhutan Himalayas, as communities in the mountain regions of Asia, are highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of the climate change and therefore are in an urgent need to understand and learn to adapt to the changing environment. The retreat of the Himalayan glaciers threatens Bhutanese populations by decreasing their access to water supplies and dramatically changing the landscape that they rely upon for subsistence. Therefore given the urgent need to help the people in Bhutan to adapt to the changing environment, this study focuses on the youth in Bhutan and their understanding of environmental decision-making processes.
The study examines the processes of environmental decision-making through the lens of education/learning and comments on the improvements required in formal environmental sciences/education curriculum so that young people can reflect on the decision-making processes, understand how to mitigate the impact of climate change and adapt to the changing environment. The research questions that the study examines are as follows:
1. What are the main activities that occur in the everyday lives of college students in urban Bhutan?
2. How do these college students in urban Bhutan conceptualize their everyday life decisions in terms of the impact on their local environment?
3. How do urban Bhutanese youth understand the impact of their everyday life decisions on the environment beyond local level – at national and international levels?
4. How these urban Bhutanese youth conceptualize the long-term impacts of their everyday life actions/decisions?
5. What role does the formal environmental sciences/education curriculum play in the everyday life decision-making processes among these youth in Bhutan?

Author

• Sameer Honwad, University of New Hampshire