Contribution of Geo-Informatics to Environmental Education: demonstration of an example from the research

摘要

Environmental education aims to teach how human beings can manage ecosystems in a sustainable way. However, often the inherent spatial character of the environment is underestimated or even ignored; consequently Geo-Informatics, a dynamic tool for spatial analysis, is missing from relevant curricula, thus deviating from thorough environmental approaches. The aim of this work was to set out the necessity of Geo- Informatics in meeting the fundamental principles of environmental education. Geo-Informatics is used for demonstrating a common environmental problem in order to compare a spatial solution with a non-spatial one. The study site is in Crete, where olive oil factories pollute stream waters resulting in serious reduction of the biodiversity in the island. The example shows that if one ignores the spatial parameters of the problem, the research inferences will be completely arbitrary, the educational message no sound, and no sustainable management decision could be suggested. Modern applied environmental research reveals that Geo-informatics, originating from a necessary technology for environmental problem solving, is being proved an important tool for educational demonstrations and insights.