Introduction

The Pakistan National Conservation Strategy (NCS) is the primary document designed to encourage sustainable development, conserve natural resources, and improve efficiency in the use and management of resources. The formal implementation of the NCS started after its approval by the federal cabinet in March 1992, although some measures were already under way in 1991, with allocations in the federal budget. Based on an extensive consultation process, 68 specific programs in 14 core theme areas were identified. Long-term goals and results expected by the year 2001 were set for each core theme area.

A committee was formed in 1998 to make arrangements to undertake a mid-term review (MTR) of the NCS. The goal of the MTR is to enable the stakeholders (government, civil society and supporting institutions) to assess the current status of NCS implementation and to take necessary steps for mid-course corrections. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) is the executing agency for the MTR.

The specific objectives of the MTR are to:

• Assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the NCS since its adoption, taking into account all the factors influencing the implementation

• Analyze and collate lessons learnt so far, draw conclusions, and formulate recommendations for making the NCS a holistic and integrated strategic guideline for sustainable development in Pakistan.

The NCS review committee identified 13 specific tasks for achieving these goals. One of these tasks entails reviewing mass awareness on environmental/conservation issues. Hagler Bailly Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. (HBP) was engaged by IUCN-Pakistan to conduct this study, which is presented in this report.
 

• Scope of Work

In its review and analysis of changes in Pakistan’s environmental legislation and their impact on sustainable development, Hagler Bailly was guided by the following TORs:

• Prepare a list of the key stakeholders in the mass awareness campaigns on environmental issues and sustainable development, such as:

• Public institutions, in particular, the Ministry of Environment

• Federal and provincial departments

• Environmental protection agencies (EPAs)—national and provincial

• Private sector institutions

• NGOs

• Donors

• Media (electronic) PTV, PBC, STN, FM100, etc.

• Press (print media)

• Collect information on mass awareness/awareness raising initiatives undertaken by the key participants of the environment and sustainable development scene

• Collect and analyze data on the mode/channel of awareness raising and its effectiveness

• Collect information on environmental and sustainable development issues that were highlighted through mass awareness

• Collect information on programs/schemes/interventions undertaken as a result of mass awareness on environmental issues

• Collect and analyze data on institutional reforms/changes caused by mass awareness on environmental issues, such as the establishment of the NCS Unit Ozone Cell

• Collect information on the resources available/allocated to mass awareness initiatives by such as private and public sectors, NGOs, donors, etc.

• Analyze and link projects initiated as a result of mass awareness campaigns

• Collect and analyze information on environmental education initiatives undertaken by provincial conservation strategies

• Collect and analyze information on institutional changes pertaining to environmental education

• Collect information on alliances formed between public and private sector institutions on environmental education and mass awareness on environmental issues.

The methodology HBP adopted for this study is briefly outlined below.

At the outset, HBP identified the parties that had played key roles in or were involved in initiatives for mass awareness regarding environmental and conservation issues. This information was obtained from the following sources:

• The NCS Unit, and its provincial counterparts

• Members of the print and electronic media

• NGOs and NGO libraries

• The Ministry of Environment, Local Government and Rural Development and federal and provincial EPAs

• Donor agencies

• Market research organizations

• Organizations involved in environmental education.

From these sources, HBP collected a representative sample of data on awareness initiatives related to environment and conservation. During data collection and discussions with these institutions, HBP focused on obtaining information about:

• Pressing sustainable development concerns that have regularly been covered in the media

• The issues that have been highlighted in awareness drives, and for which programs or interventions have subsequently been undertaken

• Environmental issues for which institutional reforms have been undertaken as a result of mass awareness campaigns

• Concerns that have brought about attitudinal changes in the general public

• Issues involving environmental education

• Topics that have led to institutional reform in environmental education as a result of mass awareness.

Data Analysis

The NCS will be the first point of reference while analyzing the data collected. HBP will review the Strategy to consider its stipulations about advocacy of environmental and conservation issues. This review will provide a focus for the subsequent data analysis. Alternatively, it could reveal that the NCS does not provide specific guidance in the area of awareness creation. In the latter case, the review will help achieve an important objective of the MTR—improving or rectifying any gaps in the NCS document.

This analysis will primarily entail ‘desk research,’ though some visits will be made to institutions that possess records of mass awareness drives, or to organizations that have themselves undertaken awareness raising initiatives. These visits will provide an opportunity to gain direct knowledge of the methods of awareness raising employed and any impacts these drives may have had, and for discussions with people who have been involved in awareness-raising and its aftermath.

In the course of the analysis, HBP has tried to:

• Determine the trends of time/coverage allocation by the media to environmental mass awareness (The degree to which the national press and electronic media cover topics on sustainable development will determine how much priority the public accords it.)

• Assess the link between mass awareness and change in public attitude

• Provide a basis for determining whether, in the context of Pakistan, the media is a practical vehicle for change

• Determine if the coverage of environmental issues is proportionate to actions implemented subsequently

• Assess the extent to which the media is used for awareness raising

• Compare the reach of the mass media with the public’s actual use of it

• Determine the impact of environmental education on attitudinal change in society

• Determine which topics highlighted in awareness initiatives are being incorporated in initiatives, and which are ignored.


Preparation of Report

The findings of the study will be documented in a report. In the report, the major participants of the mass awareness drives will be identified, the significant environmental issues highlighted will be pinpointed, and any subsequent interventions and changes in public attitudes recorded. Then, the results of discussions will be compiled, and the information collected will be analyzed to assess the issues raised in the TORs.
 

• Contributors to the Report and Acknowledgements
  

The report has been prepared by Omayma Khan, Senior Analyst in HBP’s Environmental Programs unit. Mr. Vaqar Zakaria, Managing Director, HBP reviewed the draft of the report and provided valuable comments.

The IUCN was actively involved in the preparation of this report. The following persons, in particular, provided valuable assistance:

• Dr. Asif Ali Zaidi, Head, Islamabad Office

• Ms. Maheen Zehra, NCS Coordinator

• Ms. Nargis Alavi, Head IUCN-Karachi

• Ms. Dhunmai Cowasjee, Head, Communications Unit

• Mr. Ali Raza Rizvi, Head, Education, NGO and Gender Program

• Mr. Umer Afridi, Coordinator, Communications Unit.

Critical information was obtained through discussions with the following persons:

• Dr. Syed Asif Hussain, Director, Environmental Protection Department, AJK

• Fayyaz A. Khan, Deputy Director, Information, Education and Communications, Population Council

• Seema Malik, Director, Teachers Resource Centre.

The support provided by the resource persons at the following libraries is also greatly appreciated:

• IUCN, Islamabad

• SDPI, Islamabad

• HBP, Islamabad.

Editorial services at HBP were provided by:

• Ms. Rumina Iftikhar

• Ms. Kiren Khan.

Section 2 (Mass Awareness Envisaged in Conservation Strategies) of this report reviews the NCS document and its provincial counterparts to discuss the strategies outlined or undertaken for implementation of the NCS programs. The specific initiatives that have been carried out for mass awareness of sustainable development have been illustrated in Section 3 (Communicating the NCS). Finally, Section 4 (Recommendations for MTR) provides a guideline to the MTR team for analyzing the mass awareness component of the NCS.

Mass Awareness Envisaged in Conservation Strategies

• The Pakistan National Conservation Strategy

  
  The Pakistan NCS is a broad-based policy statement aimed at achieving environmentally sustainable economic and social development in Pakistan. The three overriding objectives of the NCS are:

  • Conservation of natural resources

  • Sustainable development

  • Improved efficiency in the use and management of resources.

   

  Three operating principles have been identified to achieve these objectives. These are:

• Greater public participation in development and environmental management

• A merging of environment and economic decision-making

• Lasting improvements in the quality of life.

 

The NCS was developed over a nine-year period (1983-1992) through the collaborative efforts of the IUCN and the Government of Pakistan. The NCS development process included extensive consultation with a large number of experts, interested individuals, communities, NGOs, and government agencies. The final product, according to several observers, is outstanding, in terms of both comprehensiveness and quality.

The NCS sets out the basic guidelines for an integrated effort aimed at protecting the environment and the natural resources of the country. This broad framework provides a comprehensive point of reference for all agencies, departments, private sector companies, financial institutions, and donor agencies for undertaking systematic efforts to bring about an effective change for sustainable development.

The NCS has three main parts:

Part 1, Pakistan and the Environment, provides the context of the document. A comprehensive discussion on the state of the environment in Pakistan is followed by discussions on resource use, existing institutions, policies, instruments and environment-related programs.

Part 2, Elements of National Conservation Strategy, starts by defining the basic objectives and principles of the NCS as discussed earlier in this section. This is followed by a comprehensive discussion of issues and opportunities in the primary sectors (agriculture, forest management, rangeland rehabilitation, livestock management, water resources, marine and coastal resource management, fisheries, wildlife and their ecosystem, and mineral resources). After this, the issues and opportunities in the secondary and tertiary sectors (energy, industrial development, human settlement, pollution control, recreation and tourism) are presented, followed by a discussion on supporting programs (population, education, communications, research and technology, women in development, training and environmental information systems).

Part 3, Implementation Arrangements, provides the action agenda and implementation strategy. The NCS has 14 program areas for priority implementation. These are:

• Maintaining soils in croplands

• Increasing irrigation efficiency

• Protecting watersheds

• Supporting forestry and plantations

• Restoring rangelands and improving livestock

• Protecting water bodies and sustaining fisheries

• Conserving biodiversity

• Increasing energy efficiency

• Developing and deploying renewables

• Preventing/abating pollution

• Managing urban wastes

• Supporting institutions for common resources

• Integrating population and environment programs

• Preserving the cultural heritage.

Within the 14 program areas, 68 specific programs have been identified. For each program, the long-term goals, and expected outputs and physical investments required within the first 10 years of implementation have been identified. The NCS proposes a seven-level strategy for implementation. The seven levels are federal and provincial leadership, departmental responsibility, district coordination, community participation, individual action, corporate tasks, and government and NGO support. The required government and institutional development, the role of community organizations, and the financial support required for the implementation of the NCS are also discussed.
 

• What the NCS Says About Mass Awareness
  

The NCS lays stress on creating greater awareness about the environmental problems and their solution in Pakistan. Channels of communications and education have been developed and invested in by both the private and public sector to target players who are important for achieving this end. Hence, mass awareness in the context of the National Conservation Strategy and, in turn, sustainable development, carries within it the components of communications (which includes the print and electronic media) and environmental education.

Mass awareness is relevant to all priority areas of the NCS. Though the requirement is of a general nature it is vital for achieving the objectives of the strategy’s 14 core areas. The NCS has outlined some broad messages that need to be disseminated for each of these areas. These are presented in Exhibit 2.1.

The ultimate aim of the NCS mass awareness drive is to bring about a behavioral change in the masses. To achieve this aim, it was decided that consolidated strategies would be developed to implement initiatives for mass awareness. These strategies were to be developed by the Journalists Resource Centre (JRC) and by the Education Unit at IUCN, the author of the NCS.

The NCS Communications Strategy

The media has enormous power to influence society. Unfortunately, this ability is wasted in Pakistan as its coverage is usually superficial and it is seen as a tool of the government, which breeds cynicism amongst the end-users. The information presented is almost entirely biased and includes very little analysis.

In a society that has a 45 percent literacy rate, the print media targets an elite that is not a representative sample of the population. However, radio is a successful medium that accesses the largest and most diverse social audience. It "covers the whole country, broadcasting 300 hours of programming a day in 21 local and 15 international languages. It cuts through the literacy barrier and is particularly effective in reaching rural female audiences. Radio should thus be the leading environmental medium in Pakistan, with due attention to regional variations in language, traditions and culture."

To ensure that a planned, comprehensive, coordinated approach using the most appropriate medium is used to generate awareness of the NCS, it was thought necessary to draw up a strategy for communications. It was hoped that this strategy would help avoid the traditional ad hoc focus on reactive publicized solutions to environmental problems, and instead create a systematic support for effecting behavioral change. Adil Najam of the NCS secretariat makes recommendations for this behavioral change in his prescriptive study, Communicating Conservation. According to him, behavioral change does not just support the NCS environmental awareness campaigns—it is the NCS. In order for the communication process to be truly effective, it must empower individuals and communities by educating them on the issues of sustainable development.

"A communication strategy is therefore an essential prerequisite to intelligent planning and implementation. It does not preclude mistakes; it simply improves the chances of success."

Together, the traditional and non-traditional components of Pakistan’s media have immense potential for information dissemination if they are utilized intelligently (The non-traditional components would include, for example, the ulema [religious scholars] and the jirga [local discussion groups]). Unfortunately, the media have rarely been managed by professionals or trained practitioners. More often than not, journalists, advertisers and even television producers enter the field without any formal training. The result is a media that is weak in its planning and ineffective in its deliverables. A major reason for this is lack of investment, a common problem in the public sector, which is also there to some extent in the private sector.

Hence, training in communications is vital to the success of the NCS strategy. As there is a lack of experts and trained expertise in Pakistan, the Communications Strategy advocates investing in or mobilizing institutions in communication training. This would involve simple training courses on communication as a process—including, for instance, drawing, photography, puppetry, and street theatre—as well as more advanced training, such as television production, concept development, etc.

The strategy emphasizes the need for incorporating indigenous knowledge into training. Although this is a vital need, it is often neglected. Messages that are meaningful and can be applied to the real life of the target audience will make the crucial connection between the communicator and the target audience. For this, message development needs to be audience-driven rather than expert-driven. Consultation involving all stakeholders prior to message development will ensure both a two-way flow of information and, eventually, the required audience response.

Exhibit 2.3 summarizes the strategy’s communication policy and planned initiatives.

The NCS Education Strategy

The NCS emphasizes the need for reform and alignment throughout Pakistan’s education system by incorporating sustainable development into the curriculum. It advocates the need to strengthen the education system at all levels, targeting not only students, but educationalists as well.

Apart from the non-formal sector, the NCS recognizes three distinct levels of formal education—schools, colleges and universities. The higher levels of education impart expertise, whereas junior levels of education create awareness or formally introduce the concepts and concerns of environmental protection. The lack of curricular support is compensated through activities such as tree-plantations, recycling projects, clean-ups, etc.

At the secondary level, science subjects such as chemistry and biology have components relevant to the environment, as does geography, which comprises topics like population, agriculture, mining, etc. The NCS advocates strengthening these components and highlighting their relevance to sustainable development. At the undergraduate level, environmental components should be reinforced in the zoology and botany programs. The same applies to engineering and medicine courses. Recently, the Punjab University introduced a diploma in environmental science, while Kinnaird College initiated a masters in environmental science. These will add to the existing courses on agriculture, applied zoology, livestock management, wildlife, etc., in the country. The NCS plan of action for curricula in all areas is to revise, restructure and update.

The NCS strategy for the formal education sector addresses the needs of primary college and university students. It suggests that non-formal activities be targeted at the preschool child and adults, who are not covered in the formal education sector.

Based on these approaches, the NCS sets out very clear objectives of education on sustainable development. They are to help civil society:

• Become aware of and sensitive to the environment and its allied problems

• Acquire basic knowledge about the environment, its associated problems, and humanity’s critical presence and role in it

• Learn skills for anticipating, avoiding, and solving environmental problems

• Develop the ability to contribute and evaluate environmental policies, measures, and programs

• Develop a sense of responsibility and urgency leading to direct participation in appropriate environmental actions.

Apart from this, the NCS clearly outlines policies and measures it feels are necessary to incorporate environmental education into formal and non-formal education. These are listed in Exhibit 2.2.

However, despite the above mentioned objectives, policies and measures, an environmental education strategy has not been devised for the NCS. This appears to be mainly because the nature of environmental education is not widely understood. Through discussions, it was learnt that environmental education is not considered part of the continuum of mass awareness that begins with communications and ends with environmental education. As this basic concept was never explained explicitly, in the NCS or any other document, mass awareness has become synonymous with communicating via the mass media only.

In addition, the curriculum of the formal education sector is so rigidly defined that environmental education has been unable to penetrate it. In fact, it appears that the Ministry of Education considers environmental education to be the mandate of the Ministry of Environment. Initially, neither government agency accepted this responsibility and the concept of environmental education lost its significance.

The NCS Unit convinced the Ministry of Education that the subject was vital to the curriculum. Ideas to set up a task force for designing a curriculum for the subject were floated. The issue was given considerable thought and training workshops were held with educators. Subsequently, it was felt that although the workshops provided excellent input to teachers, actually internalizing what was learnt so that it was reflected in day-to-day teaching would be nearly impossible as the teachers could not fit their new knowledge into the existing teaching schedule. It was thought that a separate subject would be an added burden in the already overcrowded curriculum and, in order for environmental education to be relevant to real life natural resource use, it should be incorporated into existing subjects such as biology, geography, Islamiyat, etc.

Unfortunately, this has also not been done, and pressure is still being applied to incorporate environmental education in the national curriculum. Recently, the Curriculum Wing of the Ministry of Education decided that the subject "General Science" will, in future, be termed Environmental Education. In this way, environmental education will only have to be incorporated into one subject. To date, this arrangement has not been finalized.

Although environmental education seems to have been largely ignored at the national level, it has not been overlooked at the provincial level. All provincial and local strategies that have so far been developed have considered it a priority. Rural areas have given the topic greater weightage than their urban counterparts.

• What Provincial Strategies Say About Mass Awareness

Once NCS implementation was in place, the next logical step was to develop provincial strategies. The first of these was the Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy (SPCS). While the NCS concerns initiatives and approaches that are general and wide-ranging, the provincial strategies are more specific, tailored to the norms and culture of each province.
 

• The Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy (SPCS)

  
  The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) was the first province to make a specific commitment to implementing the NCS. The provincial bureaucracy, keen to prepare a document based on its own key concerns, such as forests and water resource management, developed what is thought to be a model amongst provincial strategies. The SPCS is considered by its authors, to be more advanced than the NCS as it involved greater public consultation during formulation, including all stakeholders, ie, government, NGOs, the private sector, and district and village communities. It is the first instance of the government visiting people to discuss issues pertaining to the environment.

  Though the NCS discusses the importance of mass media, it, surprisingly, ignores environmental education. Education is discussed, but not specifically environmental education. However, the SPCS has devoted a complete and comprehensive chapter to both mass media and environmental education. The SPCS even contains its own communications and education strategy. This was developed not only to inform the people of NWFP about the SPCS, but also to outline a set of priorities relevant to NWFP, based on the priorities of the people and not the experts.

  Although no empirical research has been done so far on the level of environmental awareness in NWFP, the district and village level public consultations undertaken to develop the SPCS proved that lack of environmental awareness is a fundamental problem that needs to be addressed. Along with the conventional tools of mass awareness, such as the print and electronic media, the SPCS public consultation process employed more traditional methods to spread information about sustainable development. The hujra (a daily meeting for male members of society), the jirga (the traditional decision making forum of society), and the godar (area where women draw water and where they go to purchase daily bread) were all used for holding discussions and providing education on environmental protection.

In 1994, the SPCS undertook a pilot public awareness project designed to test the SPCS communications strategy. Stage plays, workshops for radio and television producers, writers, and journalists were held with the result that a Roundtable was formed with all these participants providing input into the formulation of the SPCS Communications Strategy. This highlighted the importance of non-traditional methods of media such as street theatre and puppetry, in publicizing issues.

Of the formal media, radio is the most powerful, reaching out to almost all of NWFP’s population. Though more people are gaining access to television (around 48 percent now), it is still a luxury of the middle and upper classes. The cinema is the third most important medium, which is particularly popular during the weekends when many come into the city to see a movie. The print medium is limited to the educated population—the total circulation of English, Urdu and Pushto newspapers is under 100,000 in the province.

Although mass awareness drives on the environment are increasing, they are nonetheless irregular. It was felt necessary to develop a communications strategy which would pool all the existing activities and forge them into a systematic approach with an objective. Therefore, the SPCS Support Unit at IUCN-Peshawar hired a Communications Officer who developed a working paper in consultation with the communities and communications professionals concerned with the environment, such as radio producers, drama writers, etc. A workshop was held and a roundtable for communications was formed consisting of these professionals. A communications strategy was developed, and the members of the roundtable assumed ownership of it.

Communication

The SPCS Communications Strategy aims to create awareness of sustainable development issues and an understanding and acceptance of the SPCS among the people of NWFP. This will create an informed public that supports and helps implement the SPCS. The Strategy proposed to undertake specific activities for key audiences such as provincial line departments, parliamentarians, NGOs, ulema, formal and non-formal media, industry, federal government and donor agencies, armed forces and the general public. Each sector has a three-year activity plan laid out, with some long-term initiatives. Of these initiatives, the most innovative and also the most effective media tool was that of the ulema (religious scholars and clerics). The ulema are perhaps the province’s most influential sector of society, and hence the most important vehicle for bringing about behavioral change. The vast network of mosques, approximately one to every 30 households (pers. comm.: Fayyaz A. Khan), makes them the most extensive medium of communication, especially in the rural areas. (See Section 3.1.3)

Although the SPCS has a separate education strategy, the communications strategy also contains an education component. It aims to bring the younger generation into the environmental movement, who can then, in turn, reach those sectors of society that are inaccessible by mainstream media.

As the province lacks a specialist library on sustainable development, the strategy also envisages setting up an Environmental Information Management Centre (EIMC) to support environmental reporting, education and research. The EIMC will provide the necessary support to the SPCS and will cater for the needs of government, NGOs, media and educational institutions. It will contain:

• A central library/documentation/information center;

• An audio visual program;

• A development resource promotion unit;

• A training and management section; and

• Rural information centers.

Once the center is established in Peshawar, district branches will be set up to reach rural areas and other districts of the province where it can also work as a catalyst in motivating people to contribute to sustainable development.

A workshop has been held with the stakeholders of the EIMC. Representatives of NGOs, the media, academia and the government met to agree on the main principle, from which a Steering Committee on the EIMC was developed. The committee has so far developed a concept paper. However, after the departure of the IUCN Coordinator Communications—who has not yet been replaced—this initiative was not taken further.

The communications roundtable, on its own initiative, produced a drama based on the environment. The writer and the local PTV General Manager were both members of the roundtable, which facilitated the development subsequent airing of the production. The result was a drama entitled Shaakhsaal, meaning branch or result. This helped sensitize other members of the electronic media to problems relating to the environment and environmental themes and messages were built into many subsequent teleplays.

To build media capacity, the communications strategy emphasized training journalists on environmental reporting. So a Sarhad forum for environmental journalists was formed, which was a precursor to the national Pakistan Forum for Environmental Journalists (PFEJ). This project trained journalists in Peshawar on how to keep the debate on sustainable development alive. Subsequently, the forum initiated a project in which its members visited different regions and imparted training to local journalists and reporters. This forum continued to grow strong and eventually sought its own funding outside of the SPCS.

However, like the NCS Communications Strategy, the SPCS could not persuade the provincial government to adopt ownership of this communications strategy. This was primarily due because the NWFP government did not have any in-house capacity to undertake the SPCS. Despite its being a focal point for the SPCS in all the government’s line departments, the SPCS could not penetrate the government, which is considered a major weakness of the strategy.

Environmental Education

An education strategy was not specifically commissioned in the NWFP. It was through the process of public consultation that the need for such a mechanism became a priority. After the completion of the SPCS, its education strategy had still not been finalized. As this strategy will eventually be incorporated into the provincial education program, it was thought essential to 1) hire a focal point to liaise with the Education Secretariat, and 2) to prepare educational tools in order to develop the full strategy.

Education reform efforts are hampered by complicated bureaucratic requirements. The federal government is responsible for updating and changing textbooks and curriculum development, while the provincial governments are in charge of textbook production.

The provincial education department, like its federal counterpart, has suggested that environmental education should be merged into existing subjects on the curriculum and not taught as a separate subject. It was thought that environmental education should ideally strengthen other subjects.

The SPCS states that if environmental education is to be truly incorporated into the NWFP education system, the education department will have to be strengthened to the extent that it becomes self-sufficient in this type of education and its associated disciplines, such as geography and biology. Training in material design, curriculum development, textbook production and teacher training will need to be provided.

At the school level, some institutions have established Environment and Wildlife Clubs for their students, which undertake informal activities such as competitions and functions. NGOs are also active. The Pakistan Environmental Protection Foundation (PEPF) has conducted training for teachers in environmental education, as has the In-service Training Unit (ISTU), a Peshawar based forum for teachers’ education. Other NGOs are involved in tree plantation campaigns and in establishing nurseries.

The Education Unit formed a roundtable with representatives from the government education sector and private sector, parents, private education, rural development and environmental specialists to discuss issues related to merging environmental education into the curriculum.

Again, like the Sarhad Communications Strategy, there are problems with the Education Strategy. Difficulties in hiring an Education Officer have delayed much of the strategy initiatives, and, as with the national education strategy, getting the government’s cooperation has proven to be difficult.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The SPCS sets out specific activities to monitor the effectiveness of its communications strategy. These are:

• A sample survey amongst various target groups to determine their present understanding of the environment and related issues

• Concurrent monitoring of the activities under the communications strategy

• Repeat sample surveys once every two years, amongst the target audience, to assess the changes in understanding and attitudes and to determine how these changes relate to the implementation of the communications strategy

• Regular adjustment of the strategy as a result of regular monitoring.

In addition to this, the SPCS sets various goals for its mass awareness component. Some of these have to be achieved within three years of implementation. For the purpose of this MTR, it is these that are relevant; the remaining long-term objectives fall beyond the range of this study. The short-term goals are to:

• Conduct the survey mentioned above

• Establish an EIMC

• Have SPCS focal points in key government departments

• Hold regular inter-departmental briefings on sustainable development within government departments

• Arrange roundtables with provincial cabinet members

• Persuade parliamentarians to form a House Committee on the Environment

• Train a corps of ulema on environment so that they can impart training to others

• Hold hujras between the Deputy Commissioner, NGOs and the communities to discuss environmental issues

• Train and support a group of writers, journalists, puppeteers, artists and singers to present environmental issues through their work

• Support the creation of a forum for environmental journalists

• Bring the boy scouts and girl guides into the campaign for environmental protection and awareness

• Develop information packs for key players in the SPCS plan of action

• Train and build the capacity of NGOs and community based organizations (CBOs) to disseminate information on the environment

• Establish a cell in the Sarhad chamber of commerce to train businessmen on the NEQS

• Involve the local armed forces in the environmental initiatives

• Produce a documentary on the environment of NWFP

• Conduct fortnightly briefings for journalists

• Broadcast environmental messages on television and radio

• Get ulema training schools to include environment in their curricula.

For its education component, the SPCS sets out commitments that have to be achieved in three years. The current status of these initiatives will measure the effectiveness of this strategy. These commitments are to:

• Recruit a focal point for environmental education work in the Education Department

• Establish an Environmental Education Roundtable

• Establish a planning and management group in the Education Department

• Select demonstration districts to pilot test the education strategy

• Hold an orientation session for the Director Education and key staff members

• Design, initiate and evaluate training for key players in environmental education

• Test an environmental education curriculum for inclusion in the Primary Teaching Certificate and Certificate of Teaching courses

• Develop, test and replicate an environmental education component

• Participate in workshops/seminars on strategic planning for environmental education

• Initiate ‘greening’ of literacy and basic education activities

• Include environmental education into the Chitral Conservation Strategy

• Develop links between environmental education focal points and other strategy projects of the NCS.

The Chitral Conservation Strategy

Since this Strategy is currently in its draft stage, HBP was unable to acquire a copy of it.

The Abbotabad Conservation Strategy

As this Strategy is currently in its consultation and development stage, HBP was unable to acquire any information on it.

• The Balochistan Provincial Conservation Strategy

  The Balochistan Conservation Strategy (BCS) is still in its draft stage. Because it has not been finalized and implemented, its effectiveness cannot be assessed right now. This is different from the case of the SPCS, where initiatives had already begun before the document was ratified by the government. At the time of this study, the strategy was still seeking donors for its implementation, which is the primary hurdle in its undertaking. However, some initiatives relevant to environmental education and communications are in place, which can support the BCS’s mass awareness component.

  Communications and education is an important independent program of the BCS. The strategy recognizes that extensive support is required for this program, for which effective mechanisms should be set up in the government’s environment related departments or in the private sector.

  The strategy has registered a growing interest in the environment, based on the increase in the number of schools, NGOs and private sector institutions currently involved in raising awareness on the environment. There is also a greater concern in the province’s media to highlight environmental concerns of both national and provincial interest. Unfortunately, both financial and human resources are constrained, and hence the level of awareness raising is not as high as that of the SPCS.

  Like the SPCS, the most practical form of mainstream media for BCS is radio. It reaches out regularly to 87 percent of the target audience while the print media can only access about 3-4 percent. Boosters have recently been installed at various points in the province and now 70 percent of the population can receive Pakistan Television broadcasts. But the effectiveness of this medium for mass awareness depends on whether the population can afford or access it.

  Balochistan is a less developed province of Pakistan. Taking into account its resource constraints, poor outreach, gender disparities, the nascent state of its NGO sector, and its socioeconomic structure, it appears that awareness can best be raised here through non-formal channels of communication. The BCS acknowledges that ulema, jirgas, melas (festivals), street theatre and industrial exhibitions (fruit shows, handicraft exhibitions) would be useful platforms for awareness raising.

  Unlike the SPCS, Balochistan lacks both a strong network of NGOs and an effective bureaucracy. At the time this report was written, funds for the strategy’s implementation had not been secured. This will not only check its implementation, but will also limit its scope. It will only be possible to outline the precise activities after funds become available. Until then, proposals of activities in the communications and education strategies will remain flexible and general.

  The strategy sets out needs for communications and education, focusing primarily on:

Raising awareness and educating tribal leaders and other local opinion leaders about environmental issues and sustainable resource use

Building the capacity of staff in the government, media and NGO sector who will be involved in environmental education and communication

Raising environmental awareness and promoting participation of local women’s groups in all education and communications consultations

Making optimum use of funding

Incorporating environmental communications and education in all development initiatives at the provincial and local community level.

These needs are coupled with the following general initiatives, which will be tailored to the province’s particular program of action under mass awareness:

Orientation and capacity improvement of of personnel of both formal media (print and electronic) and informal media through meetings, workshops and training courses

Institutionalizing the environment subject in formal and non-formal education through training of master trainers, curricula development, teaching, and extra-curricular activities, eg, nature clubs.

Developing and implementing sector and theme specific environmental communications and education programs.

These initiatives fall within the strategy’s short-term goal of generating awareness in environmental issues and constituency building, and its long-term goals of enhancing the capacity of key stakeholders and institutionalizing sustainable development principles into Balochistan’s education and communications sector.

A strategy for education, which will comprise a communications strategy, is due for completion in June 2000. Although these two sectors are merged, there is a communications strategy specifically for publicizing the BCS itself.
 

• The Northern Areas Conservation Strategy

 

The Northern Areas Conservation Strategy (NACS) is currently being developed, although some activities, particularly those related to environmental education, are already under way.

Environmental Education

In 1992, the Aga Khan Rural Support Program’s (AKRSP) Forestry Section, wishing to raise awareness on sound forestry practices, established nature clubs in some of its schools in Gilgit. The Education Unit at IUCN was contacted for aid in material development and training for nature club leaders. The two organizations held a workshop on training and development of material, following which six government schools and five Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) Schools established Nature Schools in their institutions. Four teachers (three from the government and one from AKES) were nominated to become resource persons for the Nature Clubs, and were given training.

In 1995, the AKRSP decided that it should no longer take the lead role in this sector, and that either a government institution or the AKES should take up the initiative. An IUCN team visited the Northern Areas to assess whether there was potential for facilitation of environmental education by local organizations. Surprisingly, many organizations responded positively, including several local NGOs, such as WWF, which has a regional environmental education program; the Directorate of Education; the Aga Khan Development Network; and local schools.

As discussed earlier, the Ministry of Education has not formally introduced environmental education into its curriculum, although, in 1997, the then Minister for Education, Anita Ghulam Ali, gave a clear policy statement to this effect. At the provincial level, this process is much more advanced, especially in the Northern Areas and NWFP.

Again, as with the SPCS, environment related activities in the education sector had already begun prior to the strategy’s formulation and implementation. Hence, some of the activities, such as incorporating environmental education into a BEd course at a local college, can be taken.

The NACS hired an Education Coordinator who undertook preliminary needs assessments and scoping exercises of the education sector to develop an education strategy. Exploratory meetings with stakeholders and data collection on the formal and non-formal education systems were vital components of his work. A strong working relationship has been established with the Northern Areas Education Department.

At the time this report was written, a preliminary education strategy had been developed and circulated for internal review.

Communications

In 1998 the NACS Unit hired a Communications Coordinator, who has since been identifying key stakeholders and developing awareness raising materials. A communications roundtable has been formed which includes members from the electronic media and press. To generate understanding and awareness about the NACS amongst the stakeholders, civil society and partners, various activities have been carried out under the strategy, including the publication of informative articles and workshops and briefings for the media.

An initial draft of the NACS Communications Strategy has been prepared and is being internally reviewed. The Communications Interest Group will table the draft for discussion once it is set up.
 

• The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Conservation Strategy

The Azad Jammu and Kasmir (AJK) Conservation Strategy is currently in its development stage, therefore, HBP could not obtain the strategy document. However, through discussion with the Director, EPD-AJK, it was learnt that a short-term strategy for mass awareness has been in place since October 1999, and will continue till June 2000. Before its termination, a consultant will be hired in March using UNDP funds, to devise a comprehensive long-term strategy. Like the BCS, the AJK conservation strategy will encompass both communications and environmental education. Also, like the BCS strategy, it will be a broad framework of initiatives tailored to the needs of the province at the time of implementation.

AJK’s official population is 3 million, of which 700,000 have migrated overseas, leaving a population of approximately 2.3 million. Of these, 57,000 are teachers and 25,000 are civil servants (pers. comm.: Dr. S. A. Hussain). Therefore, for any mass awareness strategy to target a large relevant section of the population, in the case of AJK, the education and government sector must to be targeted.

Under the short term strategy currently in place, mass awareness activities undertaken so far include school debates, a weekly environmental program on the local television channel, two weekly environment programs on the radio, regular newspaper coverage, and distribution of leaflets and pamphlets. The school activities also include setting up of environmental groups, which will be a focal point for the AJK Conservation Strategy.

The local Extension Services Management Academy provides training for professionals working in community development. With assistance from the implementers of the AJK short-term mass awareness strategy, the academy delivers a component on environmental issues in each training exercise it conducts. This training is conducted by EPD personnel. Local government institutions such as district and union councils are also trained in raising awareness of environmental issues. In addition, they are given motivational training to persuade rural communities to, for instance, avoid the use of plastic bags and boil water for human consumption.

Environmental education is not currently a direct activity of the strategy. The school curriculum is based on the federal curriculum, and environmental education will only be included when a national revision of the school curriculum is undertaken. However, indirect environmental education activities do take place, such as the school debates mentioned earlier. A major reason for this deficiency is the institutional and financial weaknesses of the local EPD, which is currently administering the strategy. Until last September, the EPD had only one staff member and very limited resources. Since then only three more personnel have been hired. Hence, the department does not have the capacity to carry out more environmental activities.
 

• The Punjab Conservation Strategy

A conservation strategy for the Punjab province has not yet been devised. The government has to invite an agency to devise a strategy and, so far, it has not made any such request. However, despite this, mass awareness initiatives have been undertaken in the province. The presence of organizations such as WWF-P and the Society for the Advancement of Higher Education (SAHE), coupled with strong Forest and Wildlife Departments, ensures that the environmental agenda is addressed. Although there is no formal provincial strategy, these organizations, and others, use the NCS as a framework for their work. In fact, mass awareness and environmental education initiatives are significant in this province.
 

• The Sindh Conservation Strategy

As with the Punjab Conservation Strategy, the provincial government has not yet commissioned the Sindh Conservation Strategy. However, as in Punjab, mass awareness initiatives are under way, and have been so for some time, due to the presence of a regional WWF-P office and IUCN’s head office in Karachi.

Communicating the NCS

This section discusses awareness initiatives that have been undertaken in Pakistan to meet the objectives of the NCS. To gauge the effectiveness of such campaigns, criteria need to be defined. The volume of funds invested in such campaigns may be considered one indicator of the level of commitment. However, it is not very reliable. For one thing, it is difficult to estimate the exact cost incurred on many mass awareness initiatives, particularly those related to the print media. NGOs such as the IUCN and WWF, which have in-house communications units, have developed a network with media practitioners who print news items and articles on sustainable development free of cost. A press release or briefing is often enough for adequate coverage of an issue in the press. Then, very often, the cost of the campaign does not reflect the size of the project or its impact. A case in point is the Kirthar National Park Highway Campaign (see Section 3.1.7). Although it was a high profile campaign, its cost was minimal, consisting of meeting and travel expenses, etc. Thus, the cost of awareness initiative does not necessarily reflect the level of commitment, the extent of awareness raised, or the effectiveness of the campaign.

A better criterion for assessing the awareness raised and environmental commitment, particularly with respect to the print media, is the extent of coverage in national newspapers and periodicals over time. Exhibit 3.1 illustrates the rise in numbers of articles published, indicating the greater priority assigned by the press to issues regarding sustainable development. Exhibit 3.1 provides information on the numbers of articles published under the heads of Agriculture, Environment and Energy. The Environment head contains articles on the 12 core NCS areas other than agriculture and energy.

Market research would be very useful in assessing such campaigns’ effectiveness. To date, however, such research has not been carried out in the area of environment or sustainable development.

It is difficult to establish a direct linkage between mass awareness initiatives that have taken place and the NCS. Many environmental awareness activities in Pakistan did not profess a connection with the Strategy, although their objectives were in line with it. Likewise, government departments such as the forest and wildlife divisions do not directly refer to the NCS as a justification for their work. However, it is assumed that the NCS, as the government’s overall strategy for sustainable development and the environment, propels all its activities in this field. It is also assumed that environmental NGOs use the NCS as a guideline for their projects.

Thus, the awareness initiatives discussed in this section are not directly linked to the NCS. They are relevant, rather, by virtue of having some of the objectives as the Strategy. It should also be noted that, due to the vastness of the topic under research, and the short time-span given for the study, not all the projects mentioned could be described in detail.

Environmental Awareness Through the Use of Mass Media

A report by an IUCN consultant, Omar Noman, emphasized the need for the government to formulate a coherent communications campaign on the environment, so that coordinated messages are sent out to the public and the limited resources available are used in the most efficient manner.

In 1992, the Ministry for Environment and Urban Affairs Division (EUAD) approved a project entitled "Environmental Awareness through the use of Mass Media" at a cost of Rs.10.28 million. This initiative launched a variety of activities through the print and electronic media, employing entertainment, such as theatre and cinema, and other means. Of the principles outlined for the campaign, the third states, "part of the media messages should be targeted to the priority projects selected for the first phase of NCS implementation." During the project’s four-year span, 5 environmental movies were to be developed, mobile units were to be employed to take environmental films into rural areas, 10