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The role of the media incommunication, education, public

participation and access toinformation on climate change

issues.Saikou Jammeh, Editor-in-Chief, The Daily News, on behalf of Madi

Ceesay, the publisher

National Stakeholders Workshop on Community Based Adaptation to ClimateChange 24-25 February 2011, Mansea Hotel

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In pursuance of its mandate to

educate and inform, the media

stimulates public participation inenvironmental management bypurveying relevant, accurate and

timely information that shapespublic opinion towards a positivebehavioral change.

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The MediaCommunication & EducationPublic ParticipationAccess to Information

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Communication & EducationSignificantly, themass mediamust be reliedupon to providechannels forreaching varioustarget groupsthrough anappropriate mixofcommunicationmodes.

Therefore, themedia should

Establishment of links with thesources of messages to bedelivered.

Transmission of the messagesthrough various techniques andchannelsObserving and assessing feedback.

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Access to InformationBecausedifferent types ofmedia reachdifferent types ofaudiences,

incorporatingdiverse mediamodalitiesenhances acampaignseffectiveness in

reaching thetarget groups.

Print media (newspapers,magazines newsletters

Electronic (Radio, TV & online)Traditional media

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Public ParticipationA lack ofinformation onenvironmentalproblems in thepublic leads to lowpublic participationconcerning climatechange.

The process ofgetting peopleinterested andinvolved in climatechange adaption isa long-termapproach, but it iscertainlysustainable in thelong run with avibrant mediaindustry to do thefollowing:

Play a critical role in amplifying messages andcapturing the general public with significantimpacts.Relay messages can be the primary agent forchange in terms of knowledge and behavioralchange.Supplement messages delivered throughother channels, such as school programmes,adult education programmes, workshop andinformation materials.By virtue of its watchdog role in society , tocompel the public - government, non-government, SMEs and industries to manageand monitor environmental performance.

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Challengesinadequate expertiseInadequate funds tocarry-out targetprojects

Bureaucracy inaccess to informationHostile mediaenvironment

Inadequateinvolvement of themedia

Absence of user-friendly materialsTranslation of thesematerials into local

languages

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Lets address the challenges

Wayforward

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ConclusionIn the wake of natural disastersthat have afflicted us in recentyears, public awareness policiescan be a powerful weapon tocombat climate change,especially if combined with agreater media involvement

With regard to communicationand access to information, theremust be a well-organizedclimate change communicationnetwork that enables an efficientexchange of information amongthe various stakeholders

Public participation can bestrengthened and that thepublic can participate inimplementing climate changemitigation programmes or inassessing climate changeimpacts if an the enabling

environment created for themedia to execute mandatewithout undue restrictions