A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

104 MARINE AND COASTAL
PROTECTED AREAS
3. Radio: An excellent medium, it is available in most countries and is extensively
used by schools and other teaching institutions. Radio series on environmental
issues, especially if there is a strong story line, are often appealing to children and
not only children listen to school radio, often their families do as well.
4. Print media: Newspapers and magazines can reach either general or specific
target groups. Careful analysis must be made of the type of material needed for
each, how it fits into your education programme and goals and the gains you hope
to make from it. Journalists must be dealt with carefully but can be most helpful
in environmental education work.
5. Books and pamphlets: Each type must be evaluated for suitability. Books are
expensive to produce but can be useful in schools and for sale to a selected adult
audience. Pamphlets and leaflets can help in specific cases, e.g., rules for
management.
6. Posters: They are attractive, easy to make, salable, and are a general educational
tool. They can be useful in schools and other institutions, but are not so effective
for specific target groups.
7. Printed clothing: T-shirts may be a very good educational tool with specific target
groups, especially those in remote areas and where people interchange belongings
within the groups regularly. They can become prestige items, showing that the
wearer is fashionable and part of a ‘new movement’. They are cheap to produce
and can be sold to support conservation.
8. Badges: Many of the things said about T-shirts are applicable. Badges are cheap
to produce and make in quantity. Young people like wearing them and they can
be used as rewards with school groups. Teenagers and even older people often
like badges. They are highly visible and a good talking point.
9. Entertainment: Messages in locally acceptable forms of drama are one of the best
ways of getting your message across to your audience. People like to be entertained
and if they can be made aware of issues and motivated at the same time, all the
better.
10. Open meetings: They are most often held to discuss specific issues concerning
developments in government plans and may be aimed at soliciting ideas from the
public. Such meetings should encourage interactive participation. Meetings that
are held just to propagandize the people should be avoided.
Changes of basic attitudes are difficult and not often affected by short-term
awareness campaigns, according to Hudson (1988), who advises that it may be
possible to sell soap powder in crash campaigns, but to cause fishermen to use less
destructive techniques for fishing, for example, would take much longer. But such
changes of public opinion are possible in the long run, especially where the coastal
management staff have a good relationship with the people affected and where the