ISLAMABAD, March 18: The ministry of environment in collaboration with the education ministry is working on a four- year project to include chapters on environment awareness in school curriculum from class I , Minister of State for Environment Maj (retired) Tahir Iqbal said.

He was speaking at the launching ceremony of a book - Mubadiat-i-Mahol (elements of environment) - here on Thursday. The book has been written for teachers by Dr Ghulam Akbar, director environmental education, WWF-Pakistan.

The minister said the Swiss government had given an aid of Rs27.8 million to the his ministry and both the ministries were actively working on the project. "Already, a special committee, comprising environment experts, officials from the ministries and educationists, has been constituted to develop a curriculum to be included in various books focussing on environmental problems," he said.

Similarly, he added, the ministry of environment had initiated a project for teachers' training in collaboration with the Allama Iqbal Open University at a cost of Rs12 million.

Under the project, schoolteachers would be trained in environment studies, so that they could be able to teach the subjects when they are included in the curriculum.

Six main public sector universities are offering all level studies - MSc, MPhil, PhD - and the job market in this subject has immense opportunities, he observed.

It is encouraging that people have started discussing environmental problems in their everyday lives, the minister said, adding "I am hopeful that our next generation will be more environment conscious."

He said more and more books should be written on the subject. Since 75 per cent of the population lives in villages so a book on environment in Urdu will go a long way in creating awareness.