A água e o desenvolvimento sustentável

Abstract

This paper is based on research that took place between 2008 and 2012, research that was sustained in the belief that education is the most effective mean that society has to face the challenges of the future (UNESCO, 1997), and sought to contribute to teacher self-training in education for sustainable development.

A virtual community of practice was created, composed by teachers of Basic Education of Physics and Chemistry from Portugal and from African countries where Portuguese is the official language, and also from different contexts. Education for sustainable development was the community purview. The water was the motivating and unifying theme because it established an ethical challenge simultaneously social, economic, environmental and political.

Asymmetrically distributed, over the surface of the Earth and in the temporal period, water is a priority, almost of all times and cultures. Today, in an era when the global perception of phenomena is meaningful, the priority of a fair and equitable distribution of water is urgent, to ensure consumption in quality and quantity to all mankind and all living beings.

On the other hand, the fight against poverty is a major challenge to achieve equitable and sustainable development and water plays an important role here (Heerden, Blignaut & Horridge, 2008) being considered one of the limiting factors for development (Aronson, Blignaut, Milton & Clewell, 2006). When people do not have access to safe drinking water at home or when they do not have access to water as a productive resource, their choices and freedoms are limited by health, poverty and vulnerability problems. Water brings life to everything, including human development and freedom (United Nations Development Program [UNDP], 2006).

The research concludes that water is considered an essential asset to life and particular attention is now required to it due to environmental attacks to which is targeted, as well as economic, social and political attacks related to access and quality of drinking water.

Due to the experiences motivated by the different cultural and geographical contexts, the perceptions of the African teachers were different from those of the European ones. Due to these differences the sharing of ideas made in the virtual community of practice, between European and African teachers, created a new approach and more diversified learning strategies on the theme of water and sustainable development issues.

This experience opens the way for future projects such as the creation of partnerships between educators and professionals around the world on water and sustainable development.