Environmental Education: A Veritable Tool for Fostering Youth Ecopreneurship in the Current Economic Uncertainty

Abstract

Environmental Education is the development of environmentally literate citizens in skills, knowledge, attitudes and values. The process of entrepreneurship applied to create businesses that solve environmental problems or operate sustainably is termed ecoprenuership. When youths are given proper environmental education, they can avail themselves of environmental job opportunities in several areas including waste collection, environmental consultancy, air pollution analyst, natural resource manager, waste recycler and nature conservation officer without necessarily earning a degree. Nigeria has enormous environmental problems which youths could leverage to make a living but only about less than 2% venture into it. Government and NGOs can help the youths to have access to such opportunities by granting them loans and organizing training and workshops on the various skill acquisition programmes on environmental jobs. Youth are therefore enjoined to look inward and acquire the “ecopreneural" spirit that would enable them to tap into the treasure hidden therein.
Keywords: Education, Environmental, Ecopreneurship, Youth, Empowerment,