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Environmental literacy refers to a person’s capacity to perceive and interpret the state of the environmental systems and the appropriate action to manage, restore or improve those systems (Roth, 1992). Similarly, Orr (1992) defines environmental literacy which he refers to as ecological literacy, as the individual’s capacity of knowing and caring about and the ability to take action on the environment. He further says that environmental literacy involves an understanding of how individuals and societies relate to each other and also to natural systems. This understanding will enable an individual to identify problems emerging from the environment, and their causes, which require changes in the ways human beings relate to each other and to the natural environment. From the definitions, it can be seen that environmental literacy is defined in terms of knowledge, understanding, attitudes and action-taking. Therefore, in order for an individual to be environmentally literate, he/she has to have knowledge and understanding of the environment, develop positive attitudes towards the environment and take action to address issues and problems that may arise in the environment.

Environmental literacy is considered as one of the fundamental goals of environmental education because its ultimate goal is to develop environmentally literate individuals (Dissinger et al., 1992; UNESCO-UNEP, 1989). Usually, when we talk about literacy, we link it with texts, meaning the individual’s ability to develop reading, comprehension, writing and numeracy skills. But the concept of literacy has also come to refer to other disciplines and fields of study. With reference to the environment, it has been argued that we can talk about

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environmental literacy because the biophysical environment can be treated as a text (Stables & Bishop, 2001). In so far as the features of the biophysical world reveal themselves through the signs we attribute to them, it can be said that we read the environment just like we read a text (Dissinger et al., 1992). Therefore, as one becomes literate in reading texts, one can also become environmentally literate. It is therefore taken that environmental literacy has content, skills and processes that learners ought to know in order to be able to demonstrate environmental literacy (Cutter-Mackenzie & Smith, 2003). Environmental literacy can therefore be acquired from direct personal interaction with the environment as well as from various other sources such as relatives and friends or through education and media. Based on the works of Fien (1992), Orr (1992, 1994), Roth (1992) and Simmons (1995), environmental literacy is categorized into four levels, namely environmental illiteracy, nominal environmental literacy, functional/operational environmental literacy and highly evolved environmental literacy.

On the first level of environmental literacy (environmental illiteracy), refers to a person who has little understanding of environmental concepts, processes, issues and problems. On the second level (nominal environmental literacy), a person has knowledge about the basic terms, facts and meanings used in communicating about the environment (Roth, 1992). However, such people still have misconceptions about the environment and environmental systems. On the third level (functional/operational environmental literacy), a person can correctly define environmental concepts, understand how environmental systems are organized and function and how the different systems relate to man. He/she also possesses knowledge and skills to take action to solve environmental problems arising in his/her immediate environment. Such a person has a broader knowledge and understanding of how human and natural systems interact. On the fourth level of environmental literacy (highly evolved literacy), a person has an adequate knowledgebase about the environment and understands how socio- economic and political processes influence the environment. In addition, he/she has the ability to synthesize environmental information and use it to act in ways that will lead to environmental sustainability. From the analysis, it can therefore be said that a person who is environmentally literate is one who has a rich knowledgebase, skills and multifaceted beliefs about the environment, and has also attained the higher levels of environmental literacy. I would suggest that for teachers to be able to teach environmental education effectively, they have to have the third and fourth levels of environmental literacy.

Roth’s (1992) categorization of environmental literacy as nominal, functional or operational and highly evolved environmental literacy cannot be related to Marcinkowinski’s (1991) view of environmental literacy, which he says comprises knowledge, skills, understanding and active involvement in the environment. Neither can it be related to the Scottish Office’s (1993) definition, which is in terms of knowledge and understanding of the components of the environment and its systems. Although the above definitions have common areas of concern, they lack grounding in debates about literacy.

However, these views about environmental literacy touch on six main areas of environmental education, which are environmental sensitivity, knowledge, skills,

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attitudes and values, personal investment and responsibility and involvement (Dissinger et al., 1992). Some of these areas can still be categorized into two main areas of environmental literacy, which are affect and behaviour (Roth, 1992). The affect category includes environmental sensitivity, values and attitudes, while the behaviour category involves personal investment, responsibility and active involvement. This categorization therefore makes four areas of environmental literacy, which are knowledge, skills, affect and behaviour. It can be said that the different ways of looking at environmental literacy are an indication that there are weak conceptions of environmental literacy, hence inconsistent applications of literacy in environmental education (Stables & Bishop, 2001). But still the fact is that the biophysical environment is laden with meanings, as everything operates as a sign. Therefore, everything can be treated as a text and it is on this basis that the concept of literacy is based. It seems that no one is completely illiterate of his or her surroundings, but people’s ability to process and analyze information varies from one individual to another. Although scientific knowledge is used as a reference point for environmental literacy, other types of knowledge like traditional or indigenous knowledge are also included. As a result, it is assumed that environmental literacy is something that everybody has. The reason for this assumption is that every individual lives and interacts with his/her environment always. Therefore, much of the environmental literacy develops in daily life activities as people interact with their environment (Barton, 2002). According to Smyth (2006), this kind of environmental literacy is built from awareness by the acquisition of greater knowledge and understanding of the components of the system, the links between them and the dynamics of the system. This is evidenced by the fact that many local or indigenous people live in harmony with nature and manage their resources wisely (McCay, 2001; Murdoch & Clark, 1994). For example, before the development of science and technology, many traditional communities had a lot of environmental knowledge, which helped them to live sustainably and within the carrying capacity of the life support system of the planet earth. They had knowledge about their environment and its dynamics, the available resources and how to use them in a sustainable manner. In Tanzania, for example, some communities had different ways of conserving their resources. Taking the case of the North Pare community in Tanzania, people conserved the catchment areas by declaring the forests around them to be sacred places. So nobody was allowed to go into these forests for whatever reason. Also, nobody was allowed to collect water with a soot covered cooking pot, or bathe and wash clothes in the water sources (Sheridan, 2004). This enabled them to get enough clean water throughout the year. Also, before the introduction of piped water, most people got their water from rivers, lakes and furrows. To keep the people from polluting the water sources, the Nguni people in Tanzania, for example, told children that if they urinate in the river or lake their sex would change to become female if they were male or male if they were female (From traditional tales). As a result, since nobody wanted their sex to change, they did not urinate in the water sources. Such conservation practices differed from one society to another because different societies had different ways of understanding their environments and the environmental issues and problems.

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As can be seen from the examples above, although most of the people in the traditional societies were not literate in terms of knowing how to read and write, they were environmentally literate. They had the power to understand the different factors that contribute to environmental change and how the change can be addressed. This could be referred to as functional and critical literacy (Dissinger & Roth, 1992; Stables 1998). However, the situation has changed with the emergence of science and technology. People have become environmentally illiterate. A survey done by the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) in the United States in 2000 found out that there is widespread environmental illiteracy. For example, a majority of people do not know the causes of water and air pollution and poor solid waste management (NEETF, 2001). This is not the case with the USA only, but it is now a common phenomenon in many countries. Many of the environmentally friendly traditional practices have been abandoned by many communities. What could have caused this environmental illiteracy, which has led to a number of environmental problems like the greenhouse effect, acid rain, depletion of ozone layer, desertification, poor waste management, and land degradation? Although developments in science and technology have contributed a lot to an improved understanding of phenomena and quality of life, they have also contributed to the scale and rate of environmental degradation (Bowers, 2001). The role of indigenous knowledge in developing environmental literacy among learners should not be underestimated. As seen previously, different communities have vast a wealth of knowledge about the environment (in most cases, not documented), which advocates sustainable living. This knowledge is based on day-to-day hands-on activities in the environment and it sometimes surpasses that of professionals in different fields.

Environmental literacy is context-specific, and like environmental behaviour is affected by other factors like power relations and social and cultural factors (Hares et al., 2006; Schwartz & Thompson, 1990). Environmental literacy is not only conceptions in people’s minds but also something manifested in people’s environmental behaviour. It is assumed that unsound actions leading to unsustainable situations may take place due to insufficient knowledge, difficulty to interpret, or distorted perception of the environment. Therefore, if a person is to be considered environmentally literate, he/she should be able to demonstrate observable behaviours concerning knowledge of the key environmental concepts, skills in managing the environment, identification of environmental issues and problems and strategies to address these problems (Hares et al., 2006).

Environmental literacy is essential for sustainable living. Therefore, it can be enhanced through formal and informal learning. As said earlier, much of environmental literacy develops in daily life activities as one interacts with one’s environment (Barton, 2002). This suggests that, teaching and learning in school should not be compartmentalized into different unrelated subjects where abstract facts are transmitted to the learners. Instead, learners should be involved in learning through different activities which enable them to interact with their environment. This is referred to as learning through or in the environment (Palmer, 1998; Palmer & Neal, 1994).

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How people behave towards the environment is also affected by other factors along with environmental literacy. These other influencing factors can be political, cultural, economic or social. These factors can make people find themselves facing or causing environmental problems despite their environmental literacy. But people do not always behave in a way regarded as optimal or expedient towards the environment. For example, on the one hand people may feel obliged to harm their environment in order to secure their immediate livelihood or survival, even if they are knowledgeable about the negative long-term consequences of their actions. On the other hand, people may end up with sustainable solutions, even though they lack knowledge considered scientifically correct. These conclusions may be based on their previous experiences, beliefs or traditional practices. It may also be that people are aware of environmental problems, but they lack the knowledge of, or commitment to collective action. This may be the case of common property in some societies. In common property, for example land, collective action may pose a challenge because the stakeholders may have conflicting views on how the common resources should be used (Adams et al., 2003). When a person is environmentally literate, it does not necessarily mean that he/she will develop concern for the environment, which is also an important aspect of environmental education.