Spiny Forests of southern Madagascar. Source: WWF
The "Power" of Solar-Powered Radios for Conservation
Are you familiar with the World Wildlife Fund ( WWF)? For more than three decades, the WWF has been working towards African conservation through training park guards, funding antipoaching campaigns, and sponsoring ecologically sound community development programs. The WWF is committed to providing a long-term, science-based stategic vision for developing the Dry and Spiny Forests of Madagascar. Ecosystem conservation is essential to address immediate threats to biodiveristy, reflect needs and aspirations of local people and create the policy and partnership foundations for long-term conservation.
So how do you engage and educate people in rural communities about best practices towards ecosystem conservation, when many of the rural communities do not have basic amenities such as electricity, running water and transportation? The WWF joined with Andrew Lees Trust to develop a solution—distribute solar-powered radios and create listetener groups throughout the Spiny Forests of southern Madagascar!
Conservation Radio Programs
We know the impact radio can have. Going back to before the days of television, people used to sit around the radio and listen to everything from news broadcasts to comedy shows. We currently tune in to radio talk shows and broadcasts to get our news, and there are specific radio programs that target educating the public in science, such as Pulse of the Planet and NPR's Science Friday and Living on Earth. This is the founding idea for "Projet Radio."
"Projet Radio" was started in 1998 to provide information and education to local populations in the southern regions of Madagascar to develop food security and prevent against the effects of drought and extreme poverty. The approach was to use local actors speaking in the local language to produce radio programs that responded to local information needs. Knowing that the rural audience is 95% illiterate, audio was determined to be the best medium through which to communicate and empower the local population to improve farming, livestock rearing methods, sustainable resource management, health care and nutrition, and general levels of social and economic well-being. The villagers were provided the solar-powered radios by WWF and Andrew Lees Trust.
Success(?) of Projet Radio
It is well-and-good to develop the radio programs and distribute solar-powered radio to villages, but were the villagers listening to the broadcasts? And, more importantly, could they apply their new knowledge to their current situation and make the adjustments necessary to improve their lives? Interviews with the target audience found that 93% reported listening to the scheduled radio broadcasts, 82% understood and remembered key messages, and 76% had been able to apply the lessons learned.
So the project is a success! ...or is it? During the pilot phase of the project, 37 of the 195 radios distributed were reported broken. The funding for this project has ended, and no one is tracking and repairing radios. Local radio stations desperately need to upgrade their equipment and signal strength, and actors are needed to record additional broadcasts. Will additional funding continue to make a difference, or perhaps this "infusion of information" for a period of a few years will be enough to get passed along and make a difference? A difficult question to answer...
