Environmental education — an inseparable part of culture

Instilling a habit in a child not to throw a water bottle or an ice cream wrapper onto the street, but to take them to specially designated places, is a great, lifelong good deed for nature. When a person protects the beauty of nature as the apple of their eye, treats its wealth with care, and lives without harming gardens and flowers or polluting air and water, it ensures eternal gratitude from the native land to its child. All of these are just some of the manifestations of environmental education and a great sense of love for nature, which must be born and take root in the mind, heart, and inner world of every person from early childhood. After all, humans themselves are a part of this nature! How can it be then, if they harm themselves?! The ability to carry a vast love for nature in one's small heart is one of the main prerequisites for being a true human being.

In the modern world, as humanity faces global challenges such as climate change, improving people's environmental culture to find solutions to these problems comes to the fore as an important demand of the times and an urgent task. Eliminating such ecological threats that pose a danger to nature—which is considered our common home—and, consequently, to the prosperous life of all humanity, depends on the actions and efforts of each of us, as well as on our careful, responsible attitude toward the beauty of the surrounding environment. Reflecting on this fills one with pride that generations of educated, well-mannered youth with hearts overflowing with love for nature are forming one after another in our society, contributing to the progress being achieved.

Interested in the work established and successfully carried out in our country to raise such youth, we organized a roundtable discussion. It was attended by the Head of the Department of Professional Development of Education Workers of the National Institute of Education, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor Sapargeldy DURDYEV; UNDP Project Specialist Jemal DURDYKOVA; and the Chairperson of the "Young Naturalist" public organization, Leyli SHYHMEDOVA.

— Sapargeldy Kakyshovich, it would be proper to begin the conversation with you. Educational institutions play an important role in shaping the environmental culture of the younger generation from an early age. What kind of work and activities are being carried out in this direction by the educational institutions of our country?

S. DURDYEV:

— Environmental culture is considered an inseparable part of the general culture of humanity. Hero-Arkadag, in his book The Meaning of My Life, focuses on twelve types of education that are the source of happiness and presents valuable information about the role and significance of its most important type—environmental education and love for nature—in human society. It should be noted that the educational institutions of our country provide this important type of upbringing to the younger generation in combination and harmony with other types of education.

For instance, children being raised in preschool educational institutions are taught a lesson called "Introduction to the Surrounding World and Nature." Its main goal is to provide toddlers with initial concepts about the nature around us and introduce them to social life, through which a love for the environment, nature, and an environmental culture are formed in children from an early age. Through games and information, a person begins to understand from early childhood that they are one with nature. The task of fostering skills inextricably linked to the ecological literacy and culture of young children runs like a red thread through all lessons.

At the primary level of general education, the cultivation of environmental culture in the younger generation is carried out through various academic subjects, in particular, through natural science and the basics of life safety. The curricula of these subjects allocate a large place to valuable knowledge and concepts about living in harmony with nature, knowing and observing its laws, preserving and rationally using natural wealth, and passing nature on to future generations in its current beautiful state, which are considered crucial components of environmental culture. At the levels of basic and complete secondary general education, subjects such as biology, geography, the basics of life safety, and literature play an important role in fostering environmental culture in the rising generation.

In accordance with the goals and objectives defined in the "Concept of Transition to Twelve-Year Secondary General Education in Turkmenistan," approved by the Decree of the President of Turkmenistan dated March 1, 2013, the role and significance of the subject "Ecology"—newly included in the curriculum of general secondary schools and studied by students in grades 11–12—is very significant. In this aspect, an important role also belongs to the scientific and creative (project) works performed by school students in various academic subjects.

— Turkmenistan is also actively participating in the international project "Climate Box." What are the goals and features of this project?

S. DURDYEV:

— In his speech at the Regional Environmental Summit held on April 22 of this year in Astana, the esteemed President paid special attention to the problem of global climate change and its consequences, which is one of the most acute challenges of modern times. The Head of State emphasized: "Currently, we all face serious environmental threats. Climate change, which negatively impacts all spheres of life, is the main one among them. We are witnessing the depletion of water resources, soil degradation, intensification of desertification processes, loss of biological diversity, and an increase in migration cases from regions unfavorable for human life."

Global climate change and its negative consequences pose an important task for educational institutions—teaching the younger generation modern and necessary knowledge about climate, as well as forming their key skills to adapt to climate changes. The international project "Climate Box" is of great importance in solving this pressing problem. Our country actively participates in this project, widely introducing it into educational work to provide the younger generation with modern knowledge about climate change.

Based on this international project, the "Climate Box" educational and play kit of materials was first published in 2019 in the Turkmen and Russian languages with the technical support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and distributed to the country's educational institutions. This year, a new edition of this kit was published, significantly enriched in content and improved in structure, and presented to educational institutions.

The "Climate Box" is an educational program on the topic of "Climate Change" for school students and youth, as well as an identical set of educational materials. It offers information on current issues related to climate change on the planet, assignments, valuable ideas for project work, educational games, as well as methodological recommendations and training for educators on how to teach this important topic during lessons and within various extracurricular activities. It is part of the educational and play kit of materials on climate change for students in grades 2–12 of general secondary schools and teachers who instruct subjects such as natural science, biology, geography, basics of life safety, ecology, and chemistry in educational institutions.

The "Climate Box" textbook is an interactive learning toolkit that helps study global climate change in a visual and accessible form. Currently, this manual has been adapted to the national contexts of more than 20 countries worldwide, including Turkmenistan.

— What work is being carried out jointly with international organizations and their respective structures to involve youth in environmental protection and ensure ecological well-being, which is one of the important directions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals?

J. DURDYKOVA:

— Environmental culture is one of the main areas of activity of the United Nations Development Programme Representation in Turkmenistan, which has been ongoing for more than 20 years. It covers crucial areas such as adaptation to climate change and mitigation of its negative impacts, energy efficiency, development of renewable energy, sustainable urban development, conservation of biological diversity, and ecosystem restoration, as well as disaster risk reduction. In our country, wide-ranging measures are being implemented in cooperation with the Development Programme to attract youth to activities in this area.

One striking example is the implementation of the UN structure's project titled "Climate Education to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Action." As Sapargeldy Kakyshovich noted, this project is a complex of interactive textbooks created to closely involve the younger generation in studying the issue of global climate change. This project, funded by the Government of the Russian Federation, initially launched in a single country and subsequently turned into an international program. Currently, the "Climate Box" manual is available in 17 languages, and its versions are adapted to school curricula and local conditions of Eastern European, Central Asian, and other countries. The updates that occurred between 2023 and 2026 include even more critical information and expand the scope of the international project to the countries of Southeast Asia.

To date, the "Climate Box" set of educational manuals has been adapted in our country and received the support of the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan, the National Institute of Education, as well as a positive Conclusion from the Analytical Group of the Academy of Sciences. Thus, the "Climate Box" was printed with a run of 1,000 copies (500 in Russian and 500 in Turkmen) and prepared for handover to the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan. For the convenience of teachers, an electronic version is also included in the kit.

Within the framework of the project, a series of webinars on the issue of climate change was conducted for teachers of various subjects between 2023 and 2026. Turkmen educators also actively participated and successfully spoke at international conferences held in the cities of Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Bangkok (Thailand). Turkmen school students visited a summer camp organized for children, where they presented their climate projects.

In 2025, an olympiad on the topic of "Climate Change" was held. As shown by the results of the climate olympiad, which was organized in an online format, the interest of the regions in the "Climate Box" initiative is steadily growing. One of the prize-winning places was taken by a school student from the city of Tedjen, Ahal velayat. This indicates that youth in all corners of our country are taking an increasingly active part in this work, and their enthusiasm is rising. Upon summing up the results of the international competition conducted within the "Climate Box" project this year, Turkmen teachers were also awarded prize-winning places.

Disseminating information to the public on climate change, digitalization, environmental protection, and involving youth in these activities is also one of the core work directions for the UNDP Representation in Turkmenistan. In this regard, it regularly organizes training sessions for school and university students, as well as environmental campaigns such as planting tree seedlings and cleaning territories of waste.

UNDP takes an active part in organizing and conducting the events of the Local Conference of Youth on Climate Change (LCOY) in Turkmenistan as part of the preparations for the annual meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The goal is to draft the Output Summary of the initiatives of the youth of Turkmenistan. These events have been held regularly since 2021. Exemplary students, young SDG Ambassadors, climate activists, specialized experts, and international consultants participate in them.

— What kind of work does the "Young Naturalist" public organization conduct to foster a love for nature among youth and support their environmental initiatives? What can be said about the future goals of the organization and the activities planned to be held with young naturalists?

L. SHYHMEDOVA:

— The "Young Naturalist" public organization was established in our country in the autumn of 2022. Its main goal is to shape an environmental culture among the younger generation and support their initiatives in the field of environmental protection. In this direction, we do not limit ourselves merely to conducting promotional and educational work, but also actively involve youth in practical, scientific, and creative activities.

Our organization implements a number of projects to support the innovative environmental initiatives of youth. As an example, we can mention the "Ozone and Climate" scientific and creative competition, held jointly with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Development Programme among students in grades 7–12 of our capital. School students presented their innovative project works and models on protecting the ozone layer and mitigating the consequences of climate change. Furthermore, to further enhance the creative abilities of youth, the "Bagy-bossan Watanym" contest was announced. On the occasion of World Environment Day, together with the Secretariat of the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO, we recently held an environmental campaign called "Cooperation for a Green Future" We conduct such events regularly.

We assign a special place to eco-tours aimed at shaping an environmental culture among youth and demonstrating in practice the importance of a careful attitude toward natural resources. In April, within the framework of the project of the UN Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility on sustainable ecosystem management in the Aral Sea region, we organized a two-day eco-tour to the Amudarya State Nature Reserve with the participation of youth. During the tour, young naturalists, together with specialists, enriched their knowledge about the ecosystem of coastal tugai forests, rare birds, and the wildlife of the region, and also learned practical skills for maintaining a clean environment. Such events help increase the ecological literacy of youth and form a responsible attitude toward the environment in them.

We widely utilize the capabilities of the digital system. On our official website, tebigatchy.co.tm, environmental news of Turkmenistan and the world is regularly posted in three languages. The site publishes not only news, but also popular science articles by researchers of state nature reserves, experienced ecologists, and specialists. We are delighted that our young volunteers show great activity in preparing interesting news and articles.

The "Young Naturalist" public organization faces even higher goals in the year "Independent neutral Turkmenistan – the homeland of purposeful winged horses," when the 35th anniversary of our sacred Independence will be widely celebrated. We will continue organizing promotional and educational events and various creative contests among youth using innovative approaches. In addition, to broadly support environmental projects, research papers, and proposals from youth, we plan to hold major competitions dedicated to nature conservation. With the participation of young naturalists, we will carry out new eco-tours to the state nature reserves of our country.

— Dear guests, we express our immense gratitude to you for participating in our roundtable discussion and for the interesting conversation, and we wish you continued success and prestige in your noble activities.