Towards Building Public Awareness for the UNFCCC in Africa By Damian Ihedioha, PhD Program Director, Nigerian Envi

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Towards Building Public Awareness for the UNFCCC in Africa By Damian Ihedioha, PhD Program Director, Nigerian Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST) dihedioha@yahoo.co.uk Being paper displayed at the African Regional workshop on the Implementation of Article 6 (Public Awareness, Education and Training) of the UNFCCC, Banjul, Gambia, 27 - 31 January, 2004.

SHORT-PUT " Experience has demonstrated that open mindfulness activities have not yielded the required effects. Mindfulness raising on issues that effect on mankind, MUST have a 'human face' in its spread." – Damian Ihedioha, 2003.

Introduction Climate change coming about because of outflows of GHG by man is one of the greatest worldwide natural issues. Its consequences for agribusiness, social structures, woodlands, the economy & the biological community would be extensive. Thus lies the requirement for open attention to serve both as instruction and data apparatus for information. Building mindfulness requires dynamic joint effort with fitting partners . Environmental change crusades ought to have a logical establishment, clear stage, limits and targets.

The Objectives incorporate Increased learning of the reasons for the quickened nursery impacts (concentrating on emanations of carbon dioxide by mankind); Increased learning of what the impacts of quickened nursery impact can bring about Increased learning of and attitudinal change towards the measure of impact individual & gatherings can have on decreasing discharge; and Information spread on how individuals adjust to these effects.

Why Public Awareness on Climate Change. All human financial, social exercises, & natural procedures are subject to atmosphere These progressions fluctuate along biological systems with effects on Agric., human wellbeing & settlements, vitality, marine & new water environments. More noteworthy powerlessness for creating nations. Sectoral suggestions for environmental change, include: Marine Ecosystems: Risk from ocean level ascent and Salt water interruption Invasion and demolition of mangrove environments, Human uprooting & disturbance of wellsprings of employments, Prohibitive cost of ensuring waterfront framework

Why Public Awareness (contd.) Human Health and Settlement: Possibility of development of new malady vectors in a few ranges Increased cardio-respiratory mortality (IPCC, 1995) Ill wellbeing from expanded force and length of warmth waves Disruption of human settlements by ecological displaced people Reduction in underground water levels because of more steady dry spell Reduction in size of carbon sink emerging from loss of woodland cover

Why Public Awareness (contd.) Industry, Energy and Financial Services: Disruption in industry profitability because of conceivable emergencies in the vitality segment Disruption in the supply of crude materials from horticulture, fisheries and ranger service Potential effect on between provincial exchange, particularly nations Disruption in precipitation examples would influence vitality supplies Possible increments in the number and force of storms and helping would upset open power supply Higher danger of property protection

Why Public Awareness (contd.) Wetlands and Freshwater Ecology: Loss of biodiversity Pollution of freshwater assets Disruption of angling exercises Reduction in underground water levels Drying up of waterway courses coming about because of forest misfortunes in headstream regions

Why Public Awareness (contd.) Agriculture, Food security, Forestry, and so forth: Harvest disappointments from uncalled for adjustment methodologies Malnutrition, appetite and starvation, Reduced organic efficiency and loss of backwoods Progressive loss of non-timber timberland items (NTFPs) Land corruption and loss of product capable land Reduction in domesticated animals size and danger to nourishment security and sustenance

Awareness & Reporting On Climate Change Lack of mindfulness get to some extent from the nature and way of reportage of the issues. Giving human face to environmental change impacts generally looks exclusive & expelled from reality. Mistaken & deficient data influence understanding between human exercises/condition. Mass instruction give individuals moral mindfulness, qualities and demeanors; training is the establishment Communication – when it includes message, channel, and criticism enhances understanding and lessens clashes

Awareness Reporting On Climate Change (contd.): Article 6 Article 6 of Climate Convention urges Parties to: Promote and encourage mindfulness at different levels; Promote execution of open mindfulness programs on environmental change and its belongings; Public access to data on environmental change and its belongings; Public support in tending to environmental change and its belongings and creating satisfactory reaction systems;

Awareness Reporting On Climate Change (contd.): Article 6 T down-pouring of logical, specialized and administrative work force; Cooperate in and advance, at the worldwide level, where suitable, utilizing existing bodies; The improvement and trade instructive and open mindfulness materials on environmental change and its belongings; D evelopment and usage of training and preparing programs, fortifying of national organizations/trade or secondment of faculty to prepare specialists in these fields

Basic Components of Public Awareness Information: giving adequate proof, database, and research finding, on wellbeing, condition and financial advantages/costs through: Identification and assessment of mediations Health ramifications of indoor air contamination Opportunities for CDM interests in power era, transport and waste management,etc. Database on vitality arrangement, vitality assets, and suitable vitality innovations Tested intercessions of strengthening of ladies

Basic Components of Public Awareness: (Contd.) Education: Highlighting advantages of preparing that helped other people Encouraging all areas of society to prepare individuals Develop and connect with expansion officers to give nearby groups some preparation Bringing indigenous individuals' information, encounter, know-how, into open spotlight Introducing environmental change/ecological instruction into school educational programs

Basic Components of Public Awareness: (Contd.) Communication through: Developing instruments for advancing mindfulness: pamphlet, radio and TV programs Partnerships among correspondence practioners to advance more dynamic participatory open verbal confrontation Developing field particular procedures for correspondence and raising support Outlining commands, including terms of reference for NGOs, Educators, the Media Develop work arranges in view of alloted duties.

Media And Climate Change Issues Media incorporate all strategies for mindfulness raising that achieve substantial gatherings of individuals; In genera it: Create mindfulness Provide data Educate individuals Shape ideas& convey issues to the general population plan Help individuals change demeanor and conduct Assist in attitudinal and behavioral change; and, Help individuals see how to change state of mind and practices.

Why Awareness At All Public mindfulness encourage the accompanying: Influence arrangement of government Raise bolster for activities by raising open enthusiasm, financing, and aggressive edge Raise open profile and examination of tasks Help in access to information and contextual investigations for further research Help center thinking and hone explore plan C reates authorization nearness, in this way advancing complian ce.

Public Awareness Strategy Plan of activity that foresees boundaries and assets to accomplishing the goals of working with media and partners to: To viably exchange learning – upgrading open comprehension of the issue included; Communicating discoveries and worries to individuals who can make utilization of them; To change impression of individuals; To reach focused on group of onlookers for research results and issue based concerns.

Public Awareness Strategy (Contd.) For focused crowd, it is essential to: I dentify and fragment the objective gathering for mindfulness in the very same way you would for whatever other venture; Use of target gathering decides successful messages, through FGDs or message pretest; Use words and additionally pictures that make meaning and are natural to the objective gathering; Approach and utilize a mindfulness program e.g nearby dialects, and so forth) that is most pertinent to the objective gathering Key to any technique is cooperation on atmosphere crusade More vital, is mix and coordination of the messages and target bunches Present undermining pictures that portrays effects and outcomes of inaction.

Radio: Strength Language adaptability – accessible to proficient and uneducated as it has no visual Relatively cheap, accessible to many individuals Uses batteries, no power cut issues Moveable, runs with gathering of people Broadcast can be rehashed Weakness Not valuable for instructing, as it has no visual Affords no clarification, however permits individuals know where to get more information Some individuals don't make them pick an Awareness Medium

Television: Strength No formal training expected to comprehend what you see and hear Allow for showing Role models can show up on TV carrying on constructive behaviour Weakness May not be accessible wherever Too costly for some Producing projects might be more costly than radio and print media No open door for clarification Awareness Medium (contd.)

Print Media: Strength Permanent record – can be perused and over again Can be passed starting with one individual then onto the next Tends to be more trusted Serve as a kind of perspective material Weakness Only helpful for those educated in the dialect of production Doubt of reality if government Owned/disparaged Difficult to right errors Awareness Medium (contd.)

Awareness Medium (contd.) Alternative Media Drama, Songs, Comics, Mus