Communication and Education Approaches
Click here to access more information about Communication and Education Approaches
As part of a community-based conservation program, a communication and education campaign was launched in 2002 in Sierra de Manatlán Biosphere Reserve in central western Mexico. The reserve can be characterized by a wealth of biological diversity, which contrasts with the extreme poverty of the local rural communities. The campaign aims to reduce forest fires by 50% in 10 of the communities in and around the reserve with the highest incidence of fires. Fires in Sierra de Manatlán occur both intentionally (the practice of slash and burn to make way for agriculture and cattle ranching is prevalent) and unintentionally (fires from visitors' campfires are also a problem). Fires result in the destruction of regenerative vegetation and seed trees, the alteration of wild animal habitat, and changes in the soil due to erosion. Through communication and education, the campaign aims to raise awareness of these facts and encourage the responsible use of fire in agriculture, ranching, and recreational activities (see www.rarecenter.org for more information on similar campaigns).
The strategy is to draw attention to the problem by building national pride around a charismatic local bird, the Mexican Trogon (Trogon mexicanus). The trogon was chosen as the target species because: - Its red, green, and white plumage mirrors the colors of the Mexican flag whose symbolism as a source of national pride is well established.
- It is part of the local lore; the trogon lives primarily in the mountainous regions of Sierra de Manatlán, but descends to the broadleaf lowlands in April and May when, according to local lore, the trogon's cries announce the onset of the rainy season.
- Forest fires are a major threat to the trogon's nesting grounds and its young since the dry trees, in which it nests, burn easily in a blazing fire.
The strategy is to try to personify the environment in a single creature. Similar attempts at this type of personification have proven successful in different countries. In the United States, Smokey The Bear, the fictional cartoon character created by the United States Forest Service, has urged generations of Americans to help prevent forest fires (see http://www.smokeybear.com/). Another example is from the Guaraqueçaba area of Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest where a local non-profit organization, SPVS, developed a social marketing campaign with kits for children, families and schools to 'adopt' the local parrot and preserve the forest (see www.spvs.org.br). From the Manatlán campaign-which plans to reach a total of almost 50,000 people-to nationwide or even international campaigns, communication and education can be used as a conservation strategy to reach project audiences both large and small-from a group of local farmers to all of the extension agents in a national government.
What does communication and education have to do with biodiversity conservation?
People make decisions and take action towards protecting or destroying the environment based on information, perceptions, and alternatives. Communication and education can help biodiversity conservation practitioners to change individual and group behaviors around specific environmental issues. For example, communication and education can serve to: build public support for a protected area; encourage policy makers to develop and enforce environmentally-friendly laws and regulations; and strengthen the technical capacity of farmer associations, park guards and municipal government staff.
Communication and education draws from a wide range of tools and techniques, combining education, behavioral research, social marketing, gender analysis, participatory methodologies , and communications. It also draws upon lessons from a variety of disciplines, including health education, agricultural extension, interpretation, and other fields.
Communication and education interventions can be designed to reach discrete audiences with targeted messages through formal, nonformal, and informal settings. A successful communication and education program will combine formal (school-based) activities with extension work or other organized nonformal settings with media and other informal channels. While each program will have a specific objective and target audience, most communication and education interventions share a common methodology that incorporates assessment and research, planning, pretesting, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.
What is social marketing?
The campaign for the Mexican Trogon in the Sierra de Manatlán Biosphere Reserve is an example of social marketing. As one of many communication and education strategies, social marketing is the application of commercial marketing techniques-such as television and radio-but with two significant differences. First, the benefits of social marketing are for the society as a whole and not the individual organization. Second, social marketing focuses on changing the behavior of people, which involves participation and risks.
In biodiversity conservation, social marketing can be used to assist in changing the behaviors of stakeholders to encourage support and direct involvement in conservation efforts. The GreenCom project puts it this way, "Strategic participatory communication starts by involving the people affected by environmental problems in the decision making process" (see www.greencom.org).
When designing a social marketing program, it is important to note that social marketing involves education, which leads to changing peoples' awareness or knowledge, but it then goes on to help people use that new knowledge to change their behavior-the ultimate goal of many conservation programs.
Many different types of organizations have used social marketing successfully. For example, health organizations use social marketing to encourage family planning, safe sex, and other health issues. Social marketing tools can be employed by anyone who wishes to change the behavior of people and bring about environmental and social change. There are various methods in applying social marketing, and organizations adapt their marketing methods to their own goals and audience(s). What may work in one community may not be appropriate in another community; therefore, different objectives will require different approaches.
Click here to access more information about Communication and Education Approaches
Back to Top
©2003 Community Conservation Coalition
|
Metafore Newsletter
