Top government agencies in charge of education should comply with the two-year-old law requiring environmental education in all levels of learning, Sen. Pilar Juliana ‘’Pia’’ S. Cayetano said Thursday.

Cayetano said all schools, whether public or private, formal or vocational, are required under Republic Act (RA) 9512, known as the National Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008, to integrate environmental education in the curricula in all levels.

Cayetano is a principal sponsor of RA 9512.

She said the law mandates the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) to implement the law.

These agencies should coordinate with other government offices to come up with learning programs that would instill in the youth awareness of pressing environmental issues and their responsibility as citizens in protecting the country’s different ecosystems and building capacities specific to their locality to adapt to climate change and mitigate the risk of disasters, she said.

She said a good start would be to require all students to practice solid waste management in their schools, and later pass the knowledge on to their homes and communities.

Students in upland and fishing areas should be specifically taught more about sustainable forest management and fishing, respectively, she said.

“Arming our youth now with knowledge and tools to confront and address climate change should prove to be our government’s best investment in protecting our natural resources for future generations,’’ she said.