Education for soil and water conservation on the Loess Plateau, China Issues and options

Severe soil erosion and its attendant negative impact on the ecosystem and rural livelihoods constitute the most critical ecological and social issue on the Loess Plateau in China. Environmental education is one of the most important measures for soil and water conservation. Recently, significant progress has been made in the social, basic and scientific aspects of environmental education in China. However, the authors' observations show that farmers and herdsmen on the Loess Plateau have little access to environmental education, and especially to appropriate learning materials on soil and water conservation. It is therefore recommended that (a) funding for education on soil and water conservation should be increased, (b) an association of farmers or herdsmen should be established to focus on soil and water conservation, (c) locally appropriate learning materials should be developed, and (d) education on soil and water conservation should be integrated with poverty reduction programmes.