Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs

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• Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Water
  and Environmental Affairs
• Albi Modise
• Chief Director Communications

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INTRODUCTION

• Environmental education and awareness is
  increasingly being promoted as a tool in managing
  our environment and create a sense of ownership
  and heighten awareness.
• In the 20th century serious environmental
  concerns like pollution, climate change,
  biodiversity, etc have triggered great concern
  about the relationship between humanity and the
  environment.
• In 1978 UNESCO Tbilisi Declaration, mentioned the
  need for environmental education.
• This Declaration Convention defined environmental
  education as a process of developing a world
  population that is aware of and concerned about
  the total environment and its associated
  problems, and which has the knowledge, skills,
  attitudes, motivation and commitment to work
  individually and collectively towards solution of
  current problems and the prevention of new ones.

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INTRODUCTION

• Parties to the UNFCCC have accepted certain
  commitments, taking into account their common but
  differentiated responsibilities and specific
  regional and national priorities.
• At national and regional level, the
• Development and implementation of public
  awareness programme on climate change and its
  effects
• Public access to information on climate change
  and its effects
• Adopting a participatory process for addressing
  climate change and its effects.

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INTRODUCTION(continues)

• There is need to continuously heighten awareness
  of Climate Change while also seeking to promote
  actions that seek to minimise damage on the
  environment is vital.
• Public education and awareness is critical to
  attain environmental and ethical awareness,
  values and attitudes, skills and behaviour
  consistent with sustainable development and
  effective empowerment of the general public in
  decision making.
• With the debate on Climate Change accelerating at
  multilateral level, this is an opportune moment
  to address public awareness. With South Africa
  preparing to host the COP 17, there will
  inevitably be a lot of interest on the process,
  whilst also affording us an opportunity to raise
  the debate on climate change as a threat to human
  development.
• Notwithstanding international efforts, South
  Africa has just finished road-shows on National
  Climate Change Response Strategy Green Paper
  process.

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STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

• To educate the general public and other relevant
  stakeholders of the unique South African
  environment and its importance. For example South
  Africa is the third mega diverse country.
• To heighten public awareness on how behavioral
  and consumption patterns change could have a
  negative effect on our quest to protect the
  environment in our own simple way, each of us
  have a role to play, not just government.
• To simplify the various themes and issue of
  climate change with targeted and outreach driven
  tactics employed to influence this change.
• To support the conservation and sustainable
  management of South Africas resources . Our
  lifestyle is placing a strain on our environment.
• To urge South Africans to report environmental
  crimes to the authority.
• To ultimately improve the quality of life of
  South Africans .

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UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF

• Government work is a public activity, hence we
  must engage communities pro-actively in the
  attainment of a citizenry that is conscious of
  environment (and its goods and services).
• Despite this being a cross-cutting and concurrent
  function, DEA as the national department is
  expected to provide sector leadership.
• DEA to work with other departments (Health,
  Education, GCIS, Water Affairs, Agriculture,
  Energy, COGTA, etc)
• Government has a constitutional obligation to
  inform the public, since an informed citizen is
  able to take informed decisions.
• Development communications demands active citizen
  involvement in government programs Development
  is about people.
• Active engagement with citizenship ensures
  empowerment

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KEY PRIORITY AREAS

• Enhancement of the understanding of the science
  of Climate Change to ensure all levels of
  participation nationally.
• Strengthen collaboration with the National
  Disaster Management Centres in ensuring Early
  Warning signals reach communities to be affected.
  Collaboration with community structures like
  religious, women, youth formations and community
  media structures.
• Participation by disadvantaged and vulnerable
  groups to be encouraged to ensure informed
  citizenry.
• Climate Change, its effects and how ordinary
  South Africans can make a difference
• Collaboration with SAWS on the patterns that have
  been observed over the past years. This will
  paint a picture of how the temperatures have been
  observed overtime.
• Get provincial and local government to actively
  drive the message aimed at creating awareness and
  arm communities with information.

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COMMUNICATIONS VEHICLES

• Launch of coordinated multimedia and outreach
  driven Public Education and Awareness Campaign
  employing wide range of social marketing tactics
  and platforms
• Television, Radio, Print, On-line (New Media)
• The Green Line TV programme on SABC 3,
  co-sponsored by DEA
• Dedicated Radio Talk shows discussing Climate
  Change and its Impact (Public , Commercial and
  Community Radio Stations). Engage communities.
• Partner with print media to have a series of
  focused pages on Climate Change that would unpack
  the phenomenon and need for behavioral change(
  for e.g. use renewable energy, water saving tips,
  energy saving tips, etc)
• Industrial Theatre, Outreach programmes aimed at
  allowing direct engagement and unpacking of
  messages in relevant language.
• Engage Basic Education. School visits
  demonstrations and wall charts demystifying
  Climate Change
• At Stakeholder Engagement level, partner with
  private sector to close other possible gaps.

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WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

• Severe flooding and drought could worsen.
• Our behavioral change is key in the reduction of
  carbon emissions.
• Carbon creates a blanket in the upper atmosphere
  that traps heat. This in turn is directed back
  onto the earth and results in what is called
  global warming.
• Worldwide we begin to realize an increase in
  global temperatures
• Our own country has also been affected by this
  increase. For e.g. changes in ocean temperatures
  and currents affected our marine resources and
  there has been a southwards shift in some of our
  fish stocks. This will impact negatively on food
  security.
• Affect our quest to build a healthy South Africa,
  with a risk that malaria and other water borne
  diseases could spread to new areas and put many
  more people at risk.

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COMMUNICATIONS CHAMPIONS

• Members of Parliament as public representatives
  of various constituencies are at the grassroots
  level of engagement.
• Minister and Deputy Minister who as part of their
  Public Participation Programmes should use these
  platforms to heighten awareness
• Media houses to be enlisted as possible Champions
  (SABC, National Community Radio Forum, Media
  Development and Diversity Agency, Avusa,
  Independent, Primedia, Kagiso, Media 24, etc).
• Enlist the services of well known South African
  personalities to drive the message of Climate
  Change as posing threat to development and
  Africas ability to feed itself, etc.
• Some communities in South Africa cannot receive a
  basic radio and or television signal. If you
  employ traditional media, these communities are
  left out. Hence a multimedia approach, i.e.
  Outreach efforts using industrial theatre to
  transmit the messages.

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MEDIA PROFILE

• SA has over 561 magazines read by just over 12
  million people that should be looked at as
  platforms of engagement.
• Over 15 million South Africans read newspapers,
  with over 29 million of them listening to the
  radio (community, commercial and public service
  stations)
• SABC is the biggest media house in the country
  with 15 Public Broadcasting Service radio
  stations and 3 Public Commercial Broadcasting
  Services reaching over 90 of South Africans in
  all official languages.
• Over 26 million South Africans watch TV in South
  Africa. Evidently, collaborating with SABC and
  eTV is central to reaching these households.
• Vukuzenzele has a print order of 1,6 million
  copies which are circulated in all the nine
  provinces.

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COMMUNICATIONS APPROACH

• Given the interrelationships in the issues of
  Climate Change, more co ordinate communications
  and awareness approach is central.
• This must be driven at inter-departmental level
  for the attainment of our strategic objectives.
  Co ordination with the GCIS for integrated
  messaging that recognises each departments role
• Role of COGTA key in light of the role played by
  the National Disaster Management Centre. Solicit
  the response of ordinary people on the ground in
  case of an impending natural disaster.

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END !

• THANKS