Buenos Aires, Argentina - IUCN

¤
¤
¤
¤
¤
¤
¤
Commmunications and education can support the
use of other instruments like law or financial incentives
to bring about change.
Hands-on activities are the most effective way to
generate change and participation.
An education and communication programme
requires a four-phase cyclical approach: research,
planning, implementation and evaluation. Too
often education programmes only do the planning
and implementation phases.
Every communication strategy should be flexible
and adaptable. Refine the approach from practical
experience and evaluation.
Too much educational work takes place in isolation.
Drawing on lessons learned and networking
are vital.
On the need for research
Research should be the first phase in designing a
programme of education and communication, to
understand the environmental problems, their
probable causes and the reasons why people
behave as they do.
There is a need to develop and share research and
methodology on successful environmental education
programmes.
On the audience
¤ Involve all parties concerned at every stage. This
leads to participation, ownership, credibility and
continuity.
¤ Make the education programme relevant to the
lives and needs of individuals and communities.
Information on its own does not usually change
behaviour; linking it to personal benefit is more
effective. Benefits may be improved social standing,
better health or greater financial wealth.
¤ Try to understand peoples' needs and priorities so
as to segment the audience and plan the best
approach in each case. Understanding the community
may enable the choice of intermediaries
such as children as educational agents.
¤
Build long-term sustainability by encouraging
local residents to participate and take the lead. It is
often necessary to train effective leaders, who can
communicate well with individuals in the community
and with those in "power".
Remember that in some cultures pragmatic factors
are paramount and that ethical approaches in
education are not necessarily appropriate.
National Frameworks
In this session, participants considered how governments
could facilitate the process of environmental
education and communication. They heard about the
work of UNESCO and its cooperation with IUCN,
about government initiatives to stimulate environmental
education in Canada and Netherlands, about
governments supporting NGOs in environmental
education in Spain, and about the National Landcare
Program and the Great Barrier Reef Authority in Australia.
They also heard from experiences in Nepal (the
National Conservation Strategy) and in Zambia (the
Environmental Education Programme), as well as
about national government support for environmental
education in Ecuador and Venezuela.
Key points and issues emerging were:
Many examples of government practice around the
world demonstrate the value to environmental
education from national planning, networking,
communication and active participation by and
between government and NGOs, issues emphasized
by Agenda 21 (Ch 36).
Government can provide funds to stimulate action,
provide back-up support for community initiatives,
and facilitate the exchange of information
and ideas.
By coordinating efforts, governments can economize
on resources and can reduce duplication of
effort.
Nations are at different stages in creating a government
framework for environmental education; in
some situations NGOs are providing the key educational
influence.
Without support and involvement from government
and institutions, the work of NGOs all too
often results in sectoral and isolated action that is
hard to sustain in the long term.
In many nations, it is vital to improve networks and
distribution channels to handle the proliferation of
information on the environment.
There is a need to break down barriers between
so-called experts on environmental education and
other people. The key to success lies in working
with people and promoting the will to collaborate.
72 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
¤
¤
¤
¤
¤
¤
¤
¤