 |
|||||||
| About UNEP | UNEP offices | News centre | Publications | Calendar | Awards | Milestones | UNEP Store |
|
|||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
||
| UNEP>DTIE>IETC | |
|
|
Newsletter and Technical Publications CHAPTER 4. PUBLIC AWARENESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION 4.2. Environmental Public Awarenes 4.2.2. Short Characteristics of the Most Effective Tools Effective tools of public awareness, including mass communication techniques and teaching/learning approaches, include the use of simple low-cost visual aids. The traditional ways of communication based on cultural heritage should be taken into account. They can all be easily developed to show environmental processes taking place. One may keep in mind that the simple materials and approaches are often more effective because they use readily available resources and can take into account local knowledge and existing communication channels. Public awareness, if successful, will raise the profile of the issues to a higher level in which national and international media and public attention may be attained. At this point, public ownership, pride, and concern for the resource will achieve a critical mass and continuing public support will be ensured. Example: Local Awareness Project "Laundry can be cheap" (Poland) The objective of the campaign was to increase the awareness of the environment of consumers of laundry detergents and to reduce the discharge of phosphate to domestic wastewater. The objective was implemented through messages and recommendations on rational use of laundry detergents. The campaign was addressed to the whole population of Poland with special attention focused on the region of a large water reservoir in Goczalkowice where algae blooms have been occurring since the latter part of the eighties, including sinic Microcystis aeruginosa and Auphanizomenon flos-aquae. The reservoir is situated in the upper course of Vistula River and constitutes the source of drinking and domestic water for several millions of people in the adjacent Silesian agglomeration located downstream. The campaign targeted users located both downstream and upstream. It should be pointed out that the use of septic tanks, which are not always leak-proof, and the disposal of wastewaters directly to the nearest water body, and thereby the disposal to Goczalkowice reservoir, is still a relatively common practice among the population residing within the area. No information was disseminated in Poland before commencing the campaign on the effects of laundry detergents on the quality of the environment, hardness of water supply or relationships between water hardness, and the required amount of laundry detergents. Further, manufacturers did not insert relevant instructions for use of laundry detergents. Messages were transmitted employing a great variety of techniques. They explained that laundry detergents used in households are one of the major sources of phosphates in surface waters, and that change in consumer behaviour providing the economic use of water, selection and reasonable use of appropriate chemical products, can significantly eliminate causes of eutrophication of waters in lakes and reservoirs. Consumers were informed that the quantity of laundry detergents depends on several factors, for example, on hardness of water used for the laundry: the softer the water, the less laundry detergent should be used. It means that where the water is softer, the content of phosphates in wastewater produced in households can be lower. It was then recommended that the consumer should apply the laundry detergent in the quantity corresponding to the water hardness. The consumers were also advised to:
All these partial goals are important for reducing the causes of eutrophication of waters. The campaign was based on a "ECO-ECO bicycle" concept and the persuasion that 'by saving your own money, you can save the environment as well'.
Local press, radio, and television were engaged throughout the entire period of the campaign, transmitting all information about the principles of pro-ecological laundry, water hardness in particular places and its simple methods of determination, such as observations of the bottom of a kettle, i.e., the lack of scale in the kettle means that the water is soft. An information leaflet describing water hardness and principles of
economic and ecologically "cheap" laundry was sent to the
population using soft water. In the next phase, stickers, to be fixed to
washing machines, were distributed. The message on the stickers stated the
following: you have soft water - use the lowest quantity of laundry
detergent recommended by the manufacturer. Upstream, consumers of soft
water were provided with stickers by pupils of secondary schools during
their second face-to-face visits. During the first visits, the pupils
informed the local community about the importance of an appropriate amount
of washing agents and about their effect on the eutrophication process in
the Goczalkowice reservoir. The young were prepared for the campaign by teachers who had been provided with an adequate quantity of educational material and training conducted by specialists on the causes and effects of eutrophication, laundry technology, and environmental principles. In the first place, the teachers were trained in biology and chemistry, using appropriate video films and data demonstrating the scale of the eutrophication problem in the Goczalkowice reservoir and its role as the source of drinking water for thousands of inhabitants of Silesia. Detailed educational materials, video tapes, and posters were delivered to all teachers. The training of teachers was carried out during methodology development conferences.
More than six months after training of the pupils, over ten thousand
questionnaires were dispatched to check the knowledge acquired by them in
this field. Correct answers entitled a pupil to be awarded a prize. Also,
schools which delivered the highest comparative number of correct answers
were be awarded a prize. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors supporting
the campaign who funded very high prizes and attractive book awards, a
great number of questionnaires were received in response, in which the
overwhelming majority of answers were correct. During the campaign many additional projects were accomplished, such as completing operational instructions for washing machines with information on water hardness, drawing up the maps of the hardness of the water, or conducting scientific and educational seminars. The results of the campaign were monitored throughout the entire period. An opinion poll was conducted at the beginning and end of the campaign by a professional survey centre. The research indicated a several percent increase in the awareness of the general public with regard to the effect of laundry detergent on eutrophication and the understanding of the relationship between water hardness and the amount of laundry detergent used. Constant monitoring of inflows to the sewage treatment plant was also performed. It showed a decrease in the phosphate content in the sewage, which confirmed that the assumed objective of the campaign was attained. In spite of the formal termination of the "Laundry can be cheap" campaign, the implementation of its objectives have continued through regional centres of environmental education. The role of the manufacturers of laundry detergent who insert maps of water hardness on packages and disseminated individual water hardness testers, was also important. Example: Public Alert System During Algae Blooms with Cyanobacterial Dominancy, Australia Excess nutrients in lakes and water reservoirs cause massive algae blooms creating serious water pollution problems, as well as public health hazards. Blue-green algae blooms, cyanobacterial water blooms, may release toxins into the water. Moreover, cyanobacteria and their toxins can affect fish health, composition, and structure of zooplankton populations, etc. The best way of alerting the public to prevent human health hazards and avoid scandals and sensations about cyanobacterial water blooms, is to organize a press conference at the beginning of the bloom season. During such a meeting, the broad spectrum of information should be provided. During the bloom season it is useful to organize some type of exhibition focused on the problem of eutrophication, cyanobacterial biology, and toxicology. People, particularly children, are seriously interested, and this is a promising tool for environmental education. The most professional attitude appears to be in Australia, where water blooms occur each summer season. A number of leaflets, with information for farmers, recreating public and people who drink water from sources with cyanobacterial dominance, give knowledge in a comprehensive and educative way.
|
|
|
||||
The campaign was carried out in stages over a period of nearly two years.
Table
of Contents
 |
© United
Nations Environment Programme | privacy
policy | terms
and conditions |contacts|support
UNEP | UNEP
sitemap
|