Relationships between ecological restoration and environmental education: a critical view from Enrique Leff's conceptual framework

Abstract

Ecological restoration (ER) arises from Leopold's environmental ethics in the 1930s. Since about 1970, the discipline was consolidated with exponential growth in social movements and environmental policies. Analysis of the current and future development of the ER is currently on international and national journals, networks, societies, and within environmental public policies. In this last case, to such a degree, it is considered to be one of the rights of nature in the Latin American Constitutions, such as in Ecuador, Bolivia, and in the United Nations priority plan between 2021-2030. However, ER is poorly addressed in the field of environmental education. In this scenario, we consider it appropriate to confront some theoretical frameworks of environmental thought with the meaning and practices of ecological restoration and environmental education. With this in mind, based on a literature review and an interview with Enrique Leff, we present a critical view of the ER around three topics: a) A synthesis of an environmental conceptual framework of Enrique Leff; b) the historical development of ecological restoration, c) the relationships between Leff's conceptual framework, ecological restoration, and environmental education. We conclude that ER has "plasticity" to be included in different rational frameworks. Finally, we propose three historical periods of the ER: the ecocentric period, the scientific-technological period, and a new growing humanistic, creative and critical period in which education plays a central role.

Restoration‐based education: a brief overview of a field under construction

“…Among these typologies, the first ones were strongly centered in contact with nature, and concepts of ecology (Fang et al 2023). The new perspectives emphasized politics, culture, philosophy, and the aforementioned critique of sustainable development (Sauvé et al 2005; Pérez et al 2021).…”

“…A frequent component of the environmental education discourse refers to ecocentric and biocentric worldviews (Ross 2020) that overcome the dichotomy or dualism between human beings and nature. These conceptions, unlike anthropocentrism, extend the concepts of ethics from human beings to all living beings and promote the recognition of rights to nature (Carvalho et al 2020; Pérez et al 2021).…”

“…However, nowadays, the pedagogical purpose of ecological restoration is not shared by the entire restorationists' community (Jordan 2003;Jordan & Lubick 2011). Frequently, ecological restoration is promoted as a substrate for business-based solutions for the environmental crisis, under an anthropocentric approach (Kimmerer 2011;Cross et al 2019;Pérez et al 2021).…”

“…From the educative field, Leopold's land ethics has been widely accepted as an ambitious but necessary goal (Sauvé 2005; Pérez et al 2021). For this reason, ecological restoration and environmental education have a solid substrate where to build a fruitful transdisciplinary relationship.…”