Developing an Environmental Science Curriculum for Tuvalu

The seemingly paradisical environments of Pacific Island countries with their coconut palms, coral reefs and white sand beaches are threatened with destruction. Why? Rapid population growth straining limited natural resources, industrial development and mining activities creating problems of non-biodegradable waste disposal, depletion of rare and fragile species, and large scale erosion are but some of the reasons Pacific environments are changing rapidly. The threat of the Pacific becoming a dumping ground for nuclear waste poses a further problem. The protection of the Pacific environment and the conservation of its natural resources underly recent developments which will benefit Pacific Islanders (SPREP, 1986). The activities of the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) are aimed at helping the countries of the region study and solve their own problems (Dahl, 1983). One of SPREP's priorities is environmental education- both non-formal (e.g. clean-up campaigns) and formal (e.g. developing school curricula). With the support of SPREP, Tuvalu has commenced a formal environmental education programme, assisted by the Institute of Education (IOE) of th