The Drum Beat 376 - Sustainable Development: Communication Impact

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The meaning of 'sustainable development' is notoriously difficult to grasp. While many definitions have been advanced, the most commonly cited one comes from the 1987 United Nations (UN) World Commission on Environment and Development report "Our Common Future", which describes it as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Other UN texts refer to the "interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars" of sustainable development as economic development, social development, and environmental protection.

This issue of The Drum Beat attempts to illuminate the concept of sustainable development as understood through a communication lens by exploring diverse strategies, experiences, evaluation-related challenges, and impacts. Please click on the URLs of specific interest to you for further information.

To access additional information and resources, please visit our Sustainable Development window (Editor's note: this window is no longer active) and peruse a recent issue of The Drum Beat focused on Youth and Sustainable Development.

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SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION: COMMUNICATION INITIATIVES

1. Simbani Africa - Africa
"Until recently, the African population - largely illiterate - was frequently denied the right to express itself. But, for more than a decade now, local community radio has become a great tool - wisely established, used and managed by the communities themselves who take ownership on it - contributing to change in attitudes and thus to sustainable development." Simbani Africa aims to build bridges between African communities by gathering information from various rural and urban communities in order to broadcast these voices to as wide an audience as possible. Correspondents collect information on where community radio stations are located, feed it to the news agency, and then distribute it via the agency's website on a daily basis. Simbani Africa also broadcasts weekly thematic features with audio; focus areas for the stories include: gender, the environment, sustainable development (human rights, democracy and elections, and conflict resolution), food security and agriculture, and HIV/AIDS.
Contact Yoro Sangaré newsac@amarcafrica.org

2. Community Visioning Initiative - Palau, Micronesia
As part of a long-term planning process whereby community members together lay out a blueprint for changes they want to see within their communities, then implement the plan and evaluate progress on an ongoing basis, this initiative aims to provide the basis for sound land use planning decisions and for achieving sustainable development. Drawing on participatory methods, the community-led and community-oriented process was discussed in newspapers and aired on radio and television; brochures in Palauan and English, as well as a poster, were produced; and photo murals were developed to graphically illustrate the values and challenges of each community. The visioning strategy has reportedly worked well in other rural areas, such as on the island of Moloka'i in Hawaii, where successes include: the establishment of a dialysis centre, the restoration of fish ponds, the return of Taro patches, and the prevention of cruise ships from docking on the island.
Contact Ms. Tiare Holm pcs@palaunet.com

3. Water for Life Campaign - Global
Launched in August 2006, this joint United Nations (UN)/Music Television (MTV) Network initiative draws on the active, creative participation of young people - using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to inform youth about the world's growing water crisis and to expose them to fresh ideas about how they can apply their time, talent, and energy to help solve it. The integration of popular culture and a popular musician/rap star (Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter) is intended to motivate youth around the world to take action both in their own lives and in support of global eco-friendly initiatives. As part of his international concert tour in September, Jay-Z traveled to Turkey, South Africa, and other areas where sustainable, environmentally-friendly solutions had been found or were being developed to bring fresh water to devastated communities. An MTV documentary series will follow Jay-Z's experiences as he meets people without access to safe drinking water.
Contact unwater@un.org OR Diane Domondon diane.domondon@mtvstaff.com

4. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) - Bangladesh
TIB's objective is to ensure sustainable economic development and good governance by working as a catalyst of social movement against corruption through research and advocacy programmes for policy change and institutional reform. TIB uses a multi-pronged approach that includes a website, information centres, online databases, television and radio, print media, and people's theatre. TIB firmly believes that mis-governance can be reduced through concerted citizens' efforts; to that end, one of the core emphases is civic engagement programming at the grassroots level in the form of informal committees of concerned citizens (CCCs).
Contact Mr. Iftekhar Zaman info@ti-bangladesh.org OR Mr. Sajjed Hussain sajjad@ti-bangladesh.org or sajjad.hussein@gmail.com OR Abu Sayeed sayeed@ti-bangladesh.org

5. Regional Agricultural Information Network (RAIN) - Eastern and Central Africa (ECA)
This network of agricultural information organisations and professionals in 10 countries works to promote sustainable management of client-oriented agricultural information throughout the ECA region. RAIN's focus is on strengthening regional capacities to access, generate, exchange, package, disseminate, and use agricultural information to further economic growth - in part through resources shared on its website.
Contact Dorothy Mukhebi d.mukhebi@asareca.org OR rain@asareca.org

6. CMS VATAVARAN - India
Launched by India's Centre for Media Studies (CMS), CMS VATAVARAN is a biennial, competitive, and (every alternate year) travelling festival of environmental and wildlife films that is envisioned as a movement - an attempt to change minds, attitudes and policies using communication. Workshops on subjects like the shifting trends in wildlife film-making, corporate social responsibility for sustainable development, electronic waste management, underwater filming, and environmental journalism have also been incorporated into the festival.
Contact Alka Tomar alka@cmsindia.org OR CMSVATAVARAN@cmsindia.org OR info@cmsvatavaran.org

7. Asante Akim Multipurpose Community Telecentre (AAMCT) - Ghana
AAMCT is a solar-powered community centre that seeks to empower disadvantaged Ghanaians by providing them with access to indigenous and emerging ICTs. Located in the village of Patriensa, AAMCT provides career development and job preparation services. The centre also offers health-related services and training, and has initiated a bicycle-tricycle conversion programme in an effort to create employment and improve access to work, provide courier services, protect the environment, and promote sustainable development. The aim is to promote social, cultural, and economic growth in the Asante Akim district.
Contact Osei Darkwa odarkwa@yahoo.com

8. Wetland Friends of Nepal (WFN) - Nepal
WFN is a voluntary group working to promote awareness about wetlands among local communities, to spur local participation in wetland management, to encourage wise use of wetland resources for sustainable livelihood, to facilitate preparation and implementation of wetland management plans, and to foster research and action on wetland ecosystems. After observing that illiteracy and lack of conservation awareness among indigenous Tharu community members living at Ghodaghodi Lake (Ramsar Site) were exacerbating activities threatening the lake and its biodiversity, a WFN researcher began working with the local community to aid them in developing their vision for wetland management, such as by supporting threatened flora and fauna species. Local conservation clubs and an online network are also being formed to bring community members and conservationists into a common forum for discussion, to ensure sustainability of conservation efforts, and to make resources available for free access. An educational kit and brochures - in the local language, and avoiding technical and scientific terminology - will be produced for schoolchildren.
Contact Gandhiv Kafle gandhiv@wetlandfriends.org OR Gopal Prasad Ghimire mail@wetlandfriends.org

9. Common Concern Network (CCN) - Nigeria
CCN aims to promote peace and sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria through participatory education, mobilisation, sensitisation, and empowerment of youth to be agents for peace and stability. CCN collects information on agricultural practices and experiences in sustainable agriculture, appropriate communication methods, and participatory approaches to rural development. Information is sourced from professional farmer organisations, NGOs, the internet, libraries, and local farmers. The information is then disseminated by post and hand-to-hand to youth development organisations, community-based organisations (CBOs), and similar organisations that focus on improving access to basic needs. Another focus of CCN's work is reducing unemployment among youth through self-help job creation and income generation programmes.
Contact Aliyu A. Ahmed postmaster@commonconcernnet.gq.nu OR yettoreinitiatives@yahoo.com

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SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES AND THEIR IMPACT

10. Calvert Women's Principles
Based on the belief that the participation of women in civic, political, and economic activities is critical to building strong communities and a vital economy, Calvert (a USA-based family of socially responsible mutual funds) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) created this code of corporate conduct focusing on gender equality and women's empowerment. "The Calvert Women's Principles recognize that women are economic actors and productive assets, and that empowering women is a key to sustainable development around the globe."

11. Use and Application of Community Options, Assessment and Investment Tools (COAIT)
by M. Brown, B. Greenberg & R. Sundararajan
"Development practitioners now widely appreciate the direct link between the prospects for sustainable resource use and greater involvement by local communities in natural resource management. Most practitioners also recognize that many communities in developing countries lack the capability to appropriately manage the natural resources on which local livelihoods depend. Many communities also lack the know-how to assess the costs and benefits of economic development opportunities, or to make well-informed decisions about development options that may be available." In response, this article introduces a community development approach designed to help communities in developing countries to better assess the link between livelihood options and sustainable resource use. COAIT also aims to enable communities to plan and initiate development activities consistent with the sustainable management of livelihood resources and natural capital.

12. Communicating Sustainability: How to Produce Effective Public Campaigns
This guide shows how the power of communication can be harnessed to achieve the goal of promoting more sustainable lifestyles. According to the authors, sustainability communication is often limited to providing information. However, research shows that raising awareness - and even changing attitudes - does not bring sustainable development principles to life. The premise is that national and local authorities can bring about real behaviour change about through communication that is moving, personal and practical - in part through attractive and effective campaigns that make sustainable lifestyles fashionable and "cool" - combined with good policies and a solid infrastructure that enable people to make the right choices. The guide begins by offering 3 pitfalls to avoid in sustainable development communications, followed by strategies for developing a communications plan that avoids these pitfalls; 16 case studies from around the world illustrate the advice given, and lists of publications and organisations point the way to further action.

13. Co-partnership in Forest Management: The Gwira-Banso Joint Forest Management Project in Ghana
This paper presents evaluation findings of a project initiated by 2 timber companies in collaboration with local authorities and farmers in Gwira-Banso, Ghana. The participatory communication strategy involved meetings with chiefs, elders, and farmers to discuss their experience in forest management; educational workshops to improve conditions of land exploitation; and the incorporation of local representatives into the project steering committee. The study found that these strategies were effective, with positive impacts on environmental conditions as well as on the local economy. For instance, 3 years after the project was launched, about 50% of all farms planted trees supporting local reforestation efforts and the timber economy. Survey responses also suggested that agricultural practices had changed over the period of the intervention, replacing slash-and-burn field activities with more environmentally sensible methods.

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Hygiene and Sanitation Training Curriculum
HIP Needs Inquiry

The Hygiene Improvement Project (HIP), based at the Academy for Educational Development (AED), is seeking assistance in developing a training curriculum. Their questions include:

Do you think there is a need to develop a new training curriculum for hygiene and sanitation programme implementers in the field working at the community and household level? Do you have examples of training curriculum from your own work that you would be willing to share? HIP is interested in examples from all over the world.

Also, if you think that there is a need to develop a new training curriculum, are you willing to help in the development of the curriculum? Would you be willing to review the material or even be a member of a technical advisory group?

Please send your responses to the above directly to
Catherine O'Brien cobrien@aed.org
by December 31 2006.

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ADDRESSING CHALLENGES IN UNDERSTANDING AND EVALUATING SUSTAINABILITY

14. Sustainable Development Network - Bangladesh
The Bangladeshi branch of the Sustainable Development Networking Program (SDNPBD) aims to support the sustainable development information needs of all sectors of society, with a particular focus on the needs of CBOs in rural areas as well as farmers, women's groups, rural youth, and small and medium entrepreneurs. This initiative works to develop and provide access to simple, cost-effective, and replicable ICT systems as a means of addressing a perceived lack of information sharing among advocates of sustainable development at the local and national level; this lack is understood as exacerbating poverty and hampering efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To implement this strategy, the SDNPBD draws on the internet, relational databases, and other ICTs - as well as face-to-face exchanges.
Contact Dr. M. Asaduzzaman asad@sdnbd.org OR Dr. Hakikur Rahman hakik@sdnbd.org OR info@sdnbd.org

15. Participatory Forest Management: An Overview
by Kate Schreckenberg, Cecilia Luttrell & Catherine Moss
Participatory forest management (PFM) can be defined in various ways, but is, generally, the active inclusion of rural communities in the management and utilisation of state-owned or formerly state-owned forest natural forests and woodlands. "There is an expectation that PFM can bring substantial benefits in terms of livelihood security and poverty reduction, as well as providing important indirect benefits to the poor in terms of improved local governance and empowerment. At the same time, there is growing concern that PFM approaches may not be as pro-poor as they could be." It is difficult, according to the authors, to assess just what these implications are, for there is a lack of solid impact evidence related to PFM in part due to the difficulty of measuring the range of costs and benefits for different groups of people (e.g., for women and marginalised ethnic groups); little research attention has been paid to the distribution of benefits within communities (i.e. social equity issues).

16. Media for Sustainable Development Content Survey: A Baseline Study Report On Sustainable Development Content/Themes For Community Radio Stations in Africa and Central America
This report examines the strategy of using participatory community radio as a tool for fostering sustainable development. The research reported here is motivated by the observation that "many individuals and communities around the world are not aware of the real meaning of the concept, how to participate, how to act at a local level, and how to demand policies and programs that benefit them and their families....Community radio is based on the principle of development and community participation and yet no comprehensive study exists either in Africa or in Central America to assess the level at which community radio has succeeded in reaching its communities through the production of programs related to sustainable development." To address this void, researchers from AMARC Africa, Panos Southern Africa, and Pronatura Mexico conducted a study of 13 community radio stations in Africa and Central America. They found that these stations "are not doing enough to ensure that local communities participate in the selection and production of programmes regarding sustainable development issues, especially in deciding what themes or topics to cover." Environmental themes received an average of less than 2 hours of programming per month in some African stations, while none of the Central American stations had specific programmes on food security. That said, the research highlights the potentially significant role that community media can play in facilitating community and national ownership of development agendas, particularly when programming is conducted in local languages.

17. Global Gleanings: Lessons from Six Studies of Community Based Forest Management
A Report Prepared for the Ford Foundation's Environment and Development Affinity Group (EDAG)
by Nicholas K. Menzies
This paper brings together the findings of 6 reviews commissioned by the Ford Foundation to contribute to an ongoing process of learning about community-based forest management (CBFM). "Despite the difficulty of collecting and analyzing statistics on forest cover on a global scale....[a]ll six studies point to considerable achievements over the last twenty years....There is evidence from most ongoing CBFM programs of reduced levels of conflict between forest management agencies and communities. Many forest communities do now enjoy increased agricultural productivity (China), or a net infusion of capital into CBFM project areas (Philippines), or substantial investments in community-level assets such as schools, public buildings, and community enterprises (Mexico). The reviews all point out that it is difficult to ascribe such changes directly to CBFM programs, but that there is evidence of improved livelihoods." That said, Menzies stresses that there is concern that the impact of CBFM can be limited to project sites, and "may be hostage to changing fashions and paradigms in the international development community."

18. Africa: Making Information and Communication Technologies Work for Food Security in Africa
by Romeo Bertolini
Prepared for an April 2004 Kampala, Uganda conference, this paper points to satellite-based systems as one example of ICT applications relevant to resource-sensitive agriculture. To protect land property rights, administrative bodies are increasingly using geographic information systems (GIS) and database applications for efficient land surveys and registration. According to the author, having a registered asset both encourages farmers to undertake sustainable land management and enables them to borrow funds against the asset. Moreover, geospatial and information tracking technologies are becoming inexpensive tools for monitoring environmental management. Best-practice databases can indicate new ways for intermediate organisations to encourage rural smallholders to use environmentally sustainable farming methods.

19. Sustainability of the Planet: Issues, Incentives and Tools for Sustainability in the Supply Chain - Report from Sustainability of the Planet Forum and Workshops, October 3rd-4th 2006
This report provides a detailed overview of each of the workshop sessions held as part of the October 2006 Forum on Sustainability of the Planet, which drew 135 experts from 33 countries together to ask a series of questions about sustainable development and strategies for supporting it, and to set a concrete course of action. In general, the workshop saw "a strong will and intense commitment among a number of key international organisations to start to actively cooperate", with the expectation of "results that could influence both the political and business agenda." However, in envisioning how to move forward, participants identified several key gaps, including a gap in awareness about what "sustainable development" is and the urgency of addressing it. Participants also noted that existing instruments are not being used to their full potential; for example, why do the majority of organisations still not measure their sustainability impacts? Participants encouraged development of new indicators and methodologies, such as by introducing a scientific testing period before launching new standards for sustainability in an effort to understand the users' perspective and make sure that useful standards are produced.

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PULSE POLL

2006 was a successful year for using communication towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). If you agree, please indicate how? If you disagree, why not? If possible, please provide examples.

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RESULTS of past Pulse Poll

It is crucial for promoters of behaviour change projects to be role models of the desired behaviour.

Do you agree or disagree?

Agree: 86.54%
Disagree: 11.54%
Unsure: 1.92%
Total number of participants = 52

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This issue was written by Kier Olsen DeVries.

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