ABSTRACT
This chapter examines environmental education and participatory democracy and environmental education and Precautionary Principle (PP). From its inception, the field of environmental education emphasized developing educational programs about local or community issues. Environmental educators should 'focus on the local environment, but do not neglect state, national, and international environmental issues'. Students of environmental education have expressed this sentiment, stating that learning about local issues led to increased pride and sense of ownership. Citizen participation has been called a variety of terms, such as "civic environmentalism", participatory democracy, or "strong democracy". The objective is increased involvement at all decision-making and planning stages by the widest variety of stakeholders. Many people believe that the precepts of the Precautionary Principle are already the dominant ones in our society. The precautionary principle represents an attempt to move beyond this artificial division, uniting scientific and social perspectives.
