https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2390-768X
humberto@upr.edu.cu
Cooperativismo y Desarrollo, September-December 2021; 9(3), 787-807
Translated from the original in Spanish
Environmental training in government officials of the People's Power: a theoretical approximation
Formación ambiental en funcionarios de gobierno del Poder Popular: una aproximación teórica
Formação ambiental para funcionários governamentais do Poder Popular: uma abordagem teórica
Luis Humberto Márquez Delgado1; Dora Lilia Márquez Delgado2; Niurka Castillo Rocubert3
1 Universidad de Pinar del
Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Centro de Estudios de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. Pinar del Río, Cuba.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2390-768X
humberto@upr.edu.cu
2 Universidad de Pinar del
Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Centro de Estudios de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. Pinar del Río, Cuba.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0060-0455
doraly@upr.edu.cu
3 Universidad de Pinar del
Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Centro de Estudios de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. Pinar del Río, Cuba.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2508-8988
niurka.castillo@upr.edu.cu
Received: 3/06/2021
Accepted: 18/10/2021
ABSTRACT
In the framework of the updating of the Cuban economic and social model of socialist development, the environmental issue is present in the "National Plan for Economic and Social Development until 2030", which is committed to mechanisms that from the direction of territorial governments have a positive impact on the environment. In line with this claim, the priority of environmentally training government officials of the People's Power, who are responsible for leading this process in terms of local development, is recognized. Consequently, the objective of this work was to socialize the theoretical references associated with the environmental training of government officials of the People's Power. Theoretical and empirical methods were used for the documentary revision and systematization of knowledge. Among the main results, the key role of the environmental dimension as a transversal element in the management of local development was confirmed, highlighting for its achievement the importance of contributing to the improvement of this formative process, attending to environmental management, which allowed meaning its preparation in the implementation of participative environmental education processes in the community that favor the formulation and management of more sustainable public policies.
Keywords: local development; environmental dimension; environmental training; government officials of the People's Power; environmental management
RESUMEN
En el marco de la actualización del modelo económico y social cubano de desarrollo socialista, el tema ambiental está presente dentro del "Plan Nacional de Desarrollo Económico y Social hasta el 2030", en el que se apuesta por mecanismos que desde la dirección de los gobiernos territoriales impacten positivamente en el medioambiente. Alineado a este reclamo, se reconoce la prioridad de formar ambientalmente a los funcionarios de gobierno del Poder Popular, a quienes les corresponde liderar este proceso en función del desarrollo local. En consecuencia, el objetivo del presente trabajo consistió en socializar los referentes teóricos asociados a la formación ambiental de los funcionarios de gobierno del Poder Popular. Se utilizaron métodos teóricos y empíricos para la revisión documental y la sistematización de conocimientos. Entre los principales resultados, se constató el papel clave de la dimensión ambiental como elemento transversal en la gestión del desarrollo local, destacando para su consecución la importancia de contribuir en el perfeccionamiento de este proceso formativo, atendiendo a la gestión ambiental, lo que permitió significar su preparación en la implementación de procesos de educación ambiental participativos en la comunidad que favorezcan la formulación y gestión de políticas públicas más sostenibles.
Palabras clave: desarrollo local; dimensión ambiental; formación ambiental; funcionarios de gobierno del Poder Popular; gestión ambiental
RESUMO
No âmbito da actualização do modelo económico e social de desenvolvimento socialista cubano, a questão ambiental está presente no "Plano Nacional de Desenvolvimento Económico e Social até 2030", no qual existe um compromisso com mecanismos que terão um impacto positivo sobre o ambiente a nível dos governos territoriais. Em conformidade com esta afirmação, é reconhecida a prioridade da formação ambiental dos funcionários governamentais do Poder Popular, responsáveis por liderar este processo em termos de desenvolvimento local. Consequentemente, o objetivo deste estudo era socializar as referências teóricas associadas à formação ambiental dos funcionários governamentais do Poder Popular. Foram utilizados métodos teóricos e empíricos para rever documentos e sistematizar conhecimentos. Entre os principais resultados, foi confirmado o papel fundamental da dimensão ambiental como elemento transversal na gestão do desenvolvimento local, salientando a importância de contribuir para a melhoria deste processo de formação, centrando-se na gestão ambiental, o que permitiu a sua preparação na implementação de processos participativos de educação ambiental na comunidade que favorecem a formulação e gestão de políticas públicas mais sustentáveis.
Palavras-chave: desenvolvimento local; dimensão ambiental; formação ambiental; funcionários governamentais do Poder Popular; gestão ambiental
INTRODUCTION
The environmental problems generated by the irrational use of natural resources are evidence of problems that, in turn, affect the social and economic environment in which human life develops, making it a priority to promote political actions aimed at preventing, mitigating or solving the adverse impacts that are manifested in the different environmental contexts (natural, social and economic), with the intention of achieving local development.
In this regard, Pérez and Oviedo (2019) argue that the environmental problems facing the world must be assumed with a comprehensive approach, with a view to the development of coherent and synchronized public policies, recognizing that the environmental dimension must be present in all the work of public administration, so as to contribute "to achieve an adequate integration of the environmental dimension in all economic and social public policies of the nation" (Cabrera & Catasús, 2017, p. 415 cited in Pérez & Oviedo 2019).
Authors such as Muñoz and Romero (2020) as well as Ortiz and Alejandre (2020) refer that conceiving local development from the environmental dimension constitutes a priority, due to "the environmental urgencies that arise in the 21st century and that have repercussions on the territory as an expression of local environmental problems" (Ortiz Bosch & Alejandre Jiménez, 2020, p. 1).
In line with these criteria in Cuba, environmental policy and management are essentially materialized in the territories, and their application corresponds to the Local Bodies of People's Power, as well as the establishment of the adjustments and priorities corresponding to the characteristics of each territory, in interrelation with the communities and in coordination with the territorial delegations of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma in Spanish) and other bodies of the state management at that level.
This line of thought underlines the priority that environmental training of government officials of the People's Power represents, as well as clearly revealing the main challenges to be met in the improvement of this training process.
However, despite the significance of the environmental training of these professionals, in the National Environmental Strategy of Cuba (EAN in Spanish), it is pointed out among the main deficiencies in the evaluation of the strategic cycle of environmental education 2010-2015: "Insufficient incorporation of the environmental dimension in the training system of most of the Organisms of the Central Administration of the State and in the different levels of Government" (Citma, 2016, p. 22).
On the other hand, the aforementioned document adds that, despite the fact that government participation is increasingly evident in the implementation of environmental projects in the territories, in general, the management of these projects lacks political will, manifesting in practice an "Inadequate coordination between the grassroots structures in the territories for the development of participatory environmental education processes in the communities" (Citma, 2016, p. 22).
From this, it is derived that in practice there is an insufficient incorporation of the environmental dimension in the training system of government officials of the People's Power, not strengthening its transversal character, which implies that the environmental training of these professionals is asystemic and decontextualized, limited to the execution of actions of environmental content in an isolated, spontaneous and ineffective way, not favoring their preparation for the integration of environmental considerations in public policies.
In response to the limitations presented, the present study was carried out with the objective of socializing theoretical references associated with the environmental training of government officials of the Popular Power, in order to prepare them to integrate the environmental dimension in the management of local development, with which they can provide more effective solutions to the problems of the environment and its preservation, by facilitating the training of the different social sectors of the community to assume environmental management in a participatory way.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In order to obtain the results of this research, different methods of the theoretical and empirical level were used, starting from a dialectical-materialistic approach, which allowed to determine the main contradictions and relations between the components of the object of study, channeling the researches to the search of new regularities.
Among the methods of the theoretical level, the research applied the historical-logical method, which made possible the analysis of the theoretical referents associated to the process of environmental formation of the governmental official of the popular power, allowing to reveal its essence, priorities and manifestations; the systemic-structural method, together with the modeling method to approach all the categories that characterize this formative process and its relations. And, as methods of the empirical level, the documentary analysis was used with the intention of verifying the priority of the environmental theme in the formation of these subjects.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Arguments in favor of environmental training for government officials of the People's Power in Cuba
The protection of the environment has been a priority of the Government in Cuba since the triumph of the Revolution, which is reflected in the Constitution of the Republic, being carried out through an integral work of the instruments of environmental management identified in Law 81 of the Environment, approved since 1997, highlighting as one of these instruments, in Article 18, paragraph h, Environmental Education.
On the other hand, on the role of the State in the protection of the environment, in the New Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, approved in 2019, in its Article 75, it is stated that:
The State protects the environment and the country's natural resources. It recognizes their close linkage with the sustainable development of the economy and society to make human life more rational and ensure the survival, well-being and security of present and future generations (National Assembly of People's Power, 2019, p. 6).
It is from this state function and through government bodies that the State projects environmental policy and management (Citma, 2016).
In this sense, the Local Organs of People's Power are responsible for the application of the approved environmental policy, as well as the establishment of the adjustments and priorities corresponding to the characteristics of each territory, through an adequate environmental management "by means of a multidisciplinary approach, taking into account the cultural heritage, the accumulated national experience and citizen participation" (National Assembly of People's Power, 1997, p. 7).
From this approach, which recognizes the key role of the Local Bodies of People's Power in the implementation of environmental policy, the priority given in Cuba to the environmental training of government officials of People's Power is based, which must guarantee their preparation to develop an adequate environmental management; while, "...it is the state mechanism through which the intervention of public political power in the environmental field is achieved and which seeks the search for sustainable development" (Soler del Sol, 2013, p. 15).
The guiding document of the Cuban environmental policy is the National Environmental Strategy, which first cycle was approved in 1997, being successively revised in 2007, 2011, 2016. This document establishes the principles on which the national environmental work is based, characterizes the main environmental problems of the country and proposes among the ways and instruments for its prevention, mitigation or solution to environmental education, signifying its key role in the work of government agencies in favor of forming capacities in people and society, which contribute to the transformation of reality.
In this sense, the EAN, for the period 2011-2015, explicitly specifies the need to consolidate the processes of environmental education in government agencies, which contribute to the solution or mitigation of environmental problems in the sphere of their competence.
On the other hand, the EAN 2016-2020 proposed as one of the prioritized lines for the period (2016-2020): "Promotion of the transversality of environmental education in governmental and non-governmental projects aimed at improving the quality of life of the population" (Citma, 2016, p. 37).
Culminating the 2016-2020 period, which closes with the impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the EAN is updated and/or adapted, recognizing the need to improve the educational processes with the intention of achieving a resilient and sustainable recovery.
Derived from this, the potentialities of developing a process of environmental training of government officials of the Popular Power are recognized, which, based on environmental management, promotes their preparation in environmental education as a necessary instrument in favor of dynamizing the participation of local actors in the search for and implementation of solutions to the identified environmental problems, favoring the formulation and implementation of more sustainable public policies. All this will make possible to determine the essential contents (system of knowledge, skills and values) that characterize this training process.
Regarding the main environmental problems manifested in Cuba, the EAN, in the period 2016-2020, lists the following:
Each of these environmental problems can compromise the country's economic and social development goals if they are not properly addressed. Hence, they constitute priorities in the work of government officials of the People's Power in favor of local development.
Currently, in the framework of the updating of the Cuban economic and social model of socialist development, the environmental dimension is present within the "National Plan for Economic and Social Development until 2030" (PCC, 2017), through the strategic axis: "Natural resources and environment", in which, specifically, two of its specific objectives are considered important references that underpin the process of environmental training of government officials of the People's Power.
Objective three states:
Design and implement a model of local and community management with an environmental approach, which integrates under the authority of territorial governments the protection and rational use of natural resources and the fight against pollution and social indiscipline that negatively impact the environment (PCC, 2017, p. 20).
And goal eight: "To progressively improve environmental quality in human settlements, in close consultation and coordination with the inhabitants of these settlements" (PCC, 2017, p. 20).
In this context, also the proposal of the Task Vida converges: State Plan to face climate change that involves local governments in the management of actions oriented with emphasis on prevention, adaptation, as well as the reduction of risks and vulnerabilities, mainly in the prioritized areas, making evident the need to develop educational initiatives in the communities.
Explicitly, Task 10 of this Plan highlights the key role of environmental education in addressing climate change, expressing the need to: "Prioritize measures and actions to raise the perception of risk and increase the level of knowledge and the degree of participation of the entire population in tackling climate change and a culture that promotes water saving".
In general, environmental problems are present in the main development agenda of the country, which justifies the need to improve the environmental training of government officials of the People's Power, whose mission is to lead the management of local development, taking into account the environmental dimension. On the basis of this mission, the present work means their preparation to develop participatory environmental education processes in the communities, which favor citizen participation in the formulation and management of public policies in benefit of the improvement of environmental conditions at the local level.
Theoretical referents that support the environmental training of government officials of the People's Power
In line with the above, it is assumed theoretical references that mean the environmental dimension in local development and that contribute to support the environmental training process of the government official of the People's Power.
In this sense, it is considered pertinent to start from the concept of environment that is assumed.
Authors such as Márquez et al. (2021) propose a broad and integrating conception in the analysis of the environment that links it closely with development, expressing that it is:
A complex and dynamic system, composed of three major subsystems: nature, society and economy, which evolves through the historical process of society, recognizing as an element of significant importance in its study the relationships between society and nature, as well as the key role of culture in shaping these relationships (p. 302).
Regarding the conceptions on development, the researchers Muñoz and Romero (2020) maintain that since the Second World War it begins to be understood as economic growth, which led to an aggravation of the environmental problem, generating an environmental crisis at global level. This development paradigm, focused on the economic as the main indicator of "welfare and progress", is questioned mainly since the 60s of the twentieth century for its high social, economic and environmental costs, associated with the excessive and irrational way in which humanity relates to nature.
Theories defending development associated with economic growth are nowadays strongly questioned, recognizing the unfeasibility of this conventional development model that prioritizes economic growth at all costs, without taking into account the capacity of environmental systems to assimilate economic actions, causing a serious deterioration of natural systems, while, from the social point of view, it has accentuated problems in underdeveloped countries, such as poverty, migration, food insecurity and deficient hygienic-sanitary conditions, among others.
One response to this conception of development has been to devise an alternative development model called sustainable development, the concept of which was officially coined in the report of the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtlant Commission), in the document entitled Our Common Future, which states that development should aim to meet the needs of the present generation without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The notion of sustainable development set out in this Report has not always been well accepted. For many, it is an ambiguous concept that lends itself to multiple interpretations and in which an evident anthropocentric character can be seen in its focus on satisfying current and future human needs (Márquez Delgado et al., 2021).
However, according to Sosa, Riquelme and Diez (2020), the concept of development has evolved from a quantitative approach to a more qualitative concept, becoming more complex and multidimensional, by seeking to "...integrate and associate the economic and social dimensions with the ecological dimension", as a response to (...) the growing environmental problems and the limits imposed by nature to exploitation and uncontrolled economic growth" (p. 314).
Currently, there are several definitions of sustainable development, and with the proclamation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the framework of the new 2030 Agenda, the evolution of this concept has been appreciated, which has already transcended the mere notion of economic growth, by combining the three basic dimensions of development: natural, social and economic.
Sustainability in its broadest sense includes not only nature, but the entire environment in which human life develops. Consequently, every economic or social policy that is planned should have this approach, in order to reduce negative environmental impacts, while ensuring an improvement in the quality of life, based on the principle of equity.
These challenges posed by sustainability are faced in all their intensity in the local space, as it is considered the physical space in which the economic, social and environmental dimensions that make up the notion of sustainable development interact. Thus, in recent times, the local space has been revalued, becoming a strategic space for the coordination of public policies, as it is closer to the population.
From this, the recognition of the local dimension of development as one of the main components of sustainable development is derived, considering that its implementation at community scale implies the participation of social actors, which leads to signify the role of the community in the process of local development (Muñoz Campos & Romero Sarduy, 2020).
In relation to the term community, from the study presented by the researcher Zúñiga (2020), the following can be identified among the elements that characterize it: social group where participation processes take place, which inhabits a specific geographical space, shares cultural references, develops a sense of belonging and presents common problems. From this point of view, a community is considered to be a neighborhood, an institution, a company or an organization. In a People's Council there can be several communities, which can be school, institutional, business, neighborhood, among others, and even one or several communities can be identified within each one of them.
On local development, in the Policy to Promote Territorial Development, it is defined in the following terms:
...essentially endogenous, participatory, innovative and innovative process of articulation of interests between actors, territories and scales (municipal, provincial and sectoral or national). It is based on the leadership of municipal and provincial governments for the management of their development strategies, directed from the management of knowledge, innovation and the promotion of projects that generate economic-productive, socio-cultural, environmental and institutional transformations, with the objective of raising the quality of life of the population (Guzón Camporredondo, 2020, p. 9).
There are several definitions of local development, however, there is consensus in considering it as a process that requires the participation of all key local actors (local government, community, institutions, businesses, political and social organizations) in the design and implementation of alternatives for the improvement of reality, taking into account the interrelation of the economic, social and environmental dimensions, as well as the need to carry out educational actions for its dynamization.
In Cuba, the leader of the local development process, the Popular Power, has the responsibility to articulate individuals and actions around the municipal government, meaning the Popular Council as an ideal space to enhance this process with social participation, being considered an intermediate form of government between the municipal instance and the population, which coordinates and integrates the actions and community structures.
On the other hand, taking into account the key role of the community with its political, social and economic structures in local development, authors such as Limia (2006) and Hernández et al. (2020), cited by Muñoz and Romero (2020), refer to the term local and community development. However, they make no distinction in their study between local development and local and community development, using the two terms interchangeably.
In relation to the environmental dimension, the studies of Utria (1986), quoted by Ortiz and Alejandre (2020), express that it permeates all the other dimensions of development, at the same time that all of them are reflected on it, hence every action related to the economy and society must attend to the protection of natural resources.
In this sense, the environmental dimension is recognized as a transversal element in the management of local development, which allows "moving from a growth model to a new development model, based on the balance of economic, social and environmental factors" (Asín Semberoiz, 2006, p. 3). All of which guarantees the sustainability of public policies.
However, according to Asín (2006), one of the problems present in most administrations is that in all of them there is little or no environmental transversality, making it necessary to deepen the integration of environmental considerations in all public policies, as "it should be a cross-cutting policy that permeates the form and substance of all public policies to make them more sustainable" (p. 3).
Going deeper into the environmental dimension, Hernández et al. (2020), quoted by Muñoz and Romero (2020), state that:
It includes respect, preservation and care for the socio-natural heritage of the popular councils that make up the Cuban municipality, reveals the asymmetries in human-nature relations, generates participation of all actors involved in the care and management of the environment and this involves sensitizing and raising awareness in the community about environmental issues, training them to transform bad environmental practices and for the implementation of actions to adapt to climate change (p. 93).
From this approach, the transversal character of the environmental dimension in local development is based, meaning for its adequate integration in economic and social public policies the potential of environmental education as an instrument of environmental management that allows promoting the participation of all the key local actors (local government, communities, institutions, enterprises, political and social organizations) in the search for more effective solutions that minimize the dilemma between nature and development, propitiating the possible economic growth and the satisfaction of needs with greater equity on the basis of reducing negative environmental impacts.
Environmental education as an effective tool to transform reality, being assigned in the opinion of González Escobar (2017, p. 8), "...a challenging task: it is to educate to change society, assuming responsibility in the formulation and management of public policies for development, but with a real sense of democratic participation".
This line of thought can be appreciated through the different international events that have been developed on the subject, especially since the International Seminar on Environmental Education held in Belgrade in 1975, in which it has been urged that environmental education be inserted in government policies as actions that facilitate the close interrelation of the population with its government, mainly local, recognizing the significance of environmental education for the development of public policies and how these policies can also contribute to its promotion.
In correspondence with this conception, in Cuba environmental education is declared as one of the management instruments of environmental policy, being analyzed in Law 81 of the Environment, as a continuous and permanent process of learning; a dimension of the education of all citizens "...to propitiate the orientation of economic, social and cultural processes towards sustainable development" (National Assembly of People's Power, 1997, p. 7).
Going deeper into environmental education, Márquez et al. (2021) refer that environmental problems are the object of study of environmental education and its objectives are aimed at raising awareness and training for, together with the different social actors involved in these problems, formulating, implementing and evaluating the solutions applied, taking into account in a significant way the promotion or strengthening of values and attitudes that are essential to reverse the existing environmental situation in a given context and contribute in this sense in an adequate local environmental management.
On the other hand, environmental management is defined in Law 81 of the Cuban Environment, in the following terms:
A set of activities, mechanisms, actions and instruments aimed at guaranteeing the administration and rational use of natural resources through the conservation, improvement, rehabilitation and monitoring of the environment and the control of human activity in this sphere. Environmental management applies the environmental policy established through a multidisciplinary approach, taking into account the cultural heritage, accumulated national experience and citizen participation (National Assembly of People's Power, 1997, p. 7).
Considering this definition and for the purposes of this work, which object is the environmental training of government officials of the People's Power, it is recognized that the concept of environmental management integrates the administrative dimension which has to do with typical administrative processes such as planning, coordination, direction and evaluation, and the environmental dimension related to all those actions that promote environmental protection, which is the element that differentiates it from other types of management.
From this, it is derived the idea of basing the process of environmental training of government officials of the People's Power, attending to the dynamics of environmental management as a generalizing activity, which, with the coordination of the Territorial Delegation of the Citma, the advice of the University and in connection with the People's Council as a management structure for development on the basis of the identified environmental problems, will allow them to influence in the improvement of the environmental conditions of the communities, contributing favorably to local development.
For such purposes, the potential of community environmental education, a specific type inserted in non-formal environmental education, is seen as a necessary and effective proposal to promote participatory processes which facilitate the management of public policies with an environmental approach. All of which means the role of environmental education as a key instrument of environmental management in favor of local development and, consequently, the need to prepare the government official of Popular Power for its development in the community, so as to favor the involvement of the population in decision making on policies, programs and projects aimed at the environmental improvement of their living environments.
Consequently, environmental management as a generalizing activity of the government official of the People's Power, oriented to local development, is defined in the following terms: sequenced process of actions and their operations, based on local environmental problems and in link with the key local actors of the community: (local government, institutions, enterprises, political and social organizations, formal and informal leaders ) through which is meant the preparation of this professional to manage processes of environmental education which are aimed at forming the community (sensitizing and training with a view to ensuring the participation of the population in the transformation of their reality), contributing to assuming environmental management in a participatory way.
Hence, to the extent that the government official of the People's Power is trained to develop participatory environmental education processes in the community, he contributes to achieve an adequate environmental management, by promoting the participation of local actors in the actions of environmental diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation, in order to revert the existing environmental situation.
It is recognized that the actions (diagnosing the environmental situation, planning, executing and evaluating the results) are energized by environmental education as a transversal process of environmental management, through which it contributes to form capacities in the key local actors, especially in the population, which favors community environmental self-management. In this way, the government official becomes an educator.
Environmental management as a generalizing activity makes its development concrete in the community, since it is in the community where the work of the local government is integrated with institutions, enterprises, social and political organizations, which constitute the objects of work of the government official of the People's Power.
In light of these considerations, participation is identified as an essential element that should characterize the environmental training of the government official of the People's Power. Authors such as Iglesias and Jiménez (2017) and Muñoz and Romero (2020) have addressed the centrality of participation in development processes, for which the training of government officials of the People's Power is essential. All of which revalues the role of environmental education as an instrument of environmental management that contributes to making citizen participation effective in the construction of the Municipal Development Strategy, its policies, programs and projects, thus achieving progress in the integration of environmental considerations in all local public policies.
In line with this, it is also significant the key role of culture in its broadest and most comprehensive sense, understood not only as accumulated knowledge or literary artistic expressions, but as behaviors, values, ways of thinking, doing and being that characterize the different individuals, human groups, communities and, therefore, an essential element to be taken into account in every action that is projected for environmental improvement.
The referents approached in this work allow to conceptualize the environmental training of the government official of the Popular Power in the following terms: process with transversal character, focused on guaranteeing the articulation of knowledge in the cognitive, procedural and attitudinal order for environmental management in function of local development, recognizing environmental education as a transversal process that allows it to train the community, which will contribute to assume in a participative way the environmental management and in the way of acting of these professionals with respect to the environment.
In summary, from these referents which mean the environmental dimension as a transversal axis in the management of local development, the need to contribute to the improvement of the environmental training of government officials of the People's Power is justified, as an essential element in the whole process of environmental integration and change in public administrations and thus be able to progress towards sustainability.
From the theoretical study carried out, it is defended the idea of strengthening the environmental training of government officials of People's Power, oriented to guarantee their preparation for the development of participatory environmental education processes in the communities which promote the participation of key local actors, especially of the population in the improvement of their environmental conditions, favoring an effective environmental management in the territory, and at the same time making it possible to advance in the formulation and implementation of more sustainable public policies.
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Conflict of interest:
Authors declare not to have any conflict of interest.
Contribución de los autores:
Luis Humberto Márquez Delgado and Dora Lilia Márquez Delgado designed the study.
Luis Humberto Márquez Delgado prepared the draft (first version).
Luis Humberto Márquez Delgado, Dora Lilia Márquez Delgado and Niurka Castillo Rocubert were involved in data collection, analysis and interpretation.
All the authors reviewed the writing of the manuscript and approve the version finally submitted.
