Role of Social Workers in Environmental Protection and Development

Abstract

Environmental degradation threatens not just the quality, but the very existence of life on earth.Hence
environmental social work has become the need of the hour. In the current article, the author begins by
shedding light on the concepts and causes of environmental degradation, and then goes on to describe the
prevalent strategies and prominent international and national efforts towards environment protection. The
role of the social worker in Indian environmental practice is also analyzed based on a study conducted by the
author and literature review. Environmental issues are very important for all the people thorough the world.
They impact the quality of human life. Each of us must protect the environment and must take part in
preventing problems. The social workers have a great role regarding environmental issues. The paper aims
to obtain opinions of students of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Social Work branch, Bachelor degree,
third academic course regarding environmental issues. The research question are : “What are the perceptions
of students of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Social Work branch, Bachelor degree, third academic
course about environmental issues?” and ““What are their perceptions about their contribution to
environmental protection as future social workers?”. It is used the focus-group method and technique of
interviewing the students of Social Work branch, Bachelor degree, third academic course. In the study, we
had the participation of 39 students of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Social Work branch, and third
academic course. There are given the appropriate conclusions. All the students consider very serious thes
issues related to the environment. They accept that environmental protection is very important. Regarding
the quantity of information that the students have about environmental issues, 10 students accept that they
are very informed and the rest of the respondents said that they are less informed. The students affirm that
they must contribute as future social workers in the environmental protection and they list a lot of actions for
solving environmental problems, including: a)recycling, b)choosing the best products for the environment,
c)avoiding travelling by car, d)the use of public travel, e)saving electricity, f)becoming a member and
contribution to environmental organizations, g)giving donations for environment protection.