Strengths and Opportunities of the Third Sector in Environmental Education in Vulnerability Areas of the Baixada Fluminense (Rj)

Abstract

Environmental Education (EA) is of relevant importance in research, in citizen actions and in theoretical productions to support socio-environmental public management. The main objective of this study is to present a critical analysis of the strengths, opportunities and challenges of the EDUC Project of the NGO Guardiões do Mar, active in Baixada Fluminense, with regard to environmental education initiatives associated with the theme of access to drinking water and to sanitation. The EDUC Project carried out environmental education work in five communities around the industrial complex of the Duque de Caxias Refinery (REDUC/RJ), in locations where the accelerated urbanization process took place without infrastructure, contributing to the contamination of water bodies. The application of a semi-structured questionnaire was used to determine the data referring to the communities and the surveys served as the basis for the evaluation system of SAPEA-Water environmental education programs and projects, which validated the importance of the EDUC Project, serving as a benchmark for the good practices of sustainability, protection of life and the environment, as proposed in the 2030 Agenda.