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By Nhau Mangirazi
There is a need for sound communication as it remains key to climate change mitigation and disaster management on environmental issues affecting communities.
According to National Environment Action Plan, (NEAP), the impacts of pending disasters can be significantly reduced if there are sound communication platforms.
The 72-page document that is under scrutiny at various districts in the country says there is a need for public awareness-raising and communication.
This is under the Guiding Principle 58 of the National Environmental Policy and Strategies.
It acknowledges the need for information sharing and communication.
‘‘To improve public understanding, support for, and participation in environmental management and governance, people must have adequate information about the environment, intended developments, and the likely consequences of those developments,” reads part of the document.
It further says access to information is fundamental in realizing the effective participation of all stakeholders.
‘‘There is a lot of misinformation and lack of knowledge among various categories of stakeholders and this leads to sub-optimal participation and ill-informed decision-making. Stakeholder engagement is strongly supported by transparent and two-way sharing of information and ideas,’’ says the document. There are calls for increased levels of awareness that translate to more responsibility expressed by communities in efforts to manage the environment.
‘‘On the other hand, the impacts of pending disasters can be significantly reduced if there are sound communication platforms. Early warning systems are most effective when there are sound communication channels. On their part, communities can also give feedback on time and participate in disaster reduction and mitigation of environmental damage if they are well informed, if they trust the communication platforms and they have basic knowledge of the issues at hand,’’ it notes.
Some of the effective communication platforms identified include community radios, mobile applications, online news platforms, regular meetings and shows, demonstrations, and access to reading materials.
‘‘Droughts, floods, and accidental discharge of toxic effluent affect the environment and communities in various ways. Early warning systems should be put in place to reduce the risk associated with natural and man-made disasters. Early warning systems are supported by strong information systems. These also extend to protection of natural resources in times of environmental stress as well as in the time of resource abundance,’’ reads part of the document.
Main challenges are witnessed in informal mining activities, allocation of land in conservation areas, encroachment of wetlands, and inappropriate agricultural practices that are inconsistent with the environment where such activities are carried out.
‘‘Similar effort should be exerted on communities, including commerce and industry, to ensure that training is available to all stakeholders.
‘‘Monitoring and evaluation should be built into such efforts to maintain the effectiveness of training. This has very strong links with capacity building discussed in another section. The main emphasis on environment and training is therefore to design training programs that are informed by comprehensive needs assessment and should specifically target women and children as this approach is most effecting in promoting behavioral change in society,’’ reads the document.
As strategies, NEAP calls for stakeholders to conduct a needs assessment of communities, institutions, and individuals to be able to cope with issues of environmental management.
The Zimbabwe government has offered some independent licenses to television and community radio stations although some are still yet to be on air due to economic challenges affecting the media industry.