Punta Fuego: Entertainment-Education Radio Drama Promotes Sustainable Fisheries in Belize: Abstract

"The community-driven, participatory approach contributed to its large listenership within the fisher community (about 50 percent of survey subjects) and the significant positive change in its audience members."

The focus of this presentation for the International SBCC Summit 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 8-10, is on radio drama for environmental protection in Belize.

From the abstract:
"The first season of Punta Fuego – a serial radio drama, call-in show broadcast and mobilization campaign in Belize - took important steps to promote responsible fishing practices, and to increase respect for marine protected areas and replenishment zones. The script of the drama followed a version of the traditional Entertainment-Education method, innovatively applied to the environmental subject matter. The community-driven, participatory approach contributed to its large listenership within the fisher community (about 50 percent of survey subjects) and the significant positive change in its audience members. Fishers were involved in the formative research and program development processes and connected with the drama based on a feeling that it truly represented them. One fisherman said that with Punta Fuego "finally someone is talking to us, speaking to our issues!" The program was implemented such that environmental conservation issues associated with marine management were humanized and made accessible to relevant audiences.

Key Highlights:
A final evaluation was conducted in four regions of the country (Belize City, Dangriga, Sarteneja and Hopkins) to measure Punta Fuego’s impact. The results from the impact survey indicated listeners of the radio drama were significantly more likely to exhibit correct knowledge, possess positive attitudes, report interpersonal communication and perform positive fishing behaviors (and express intention to perform such behaviors) compared to non-listeners. Analysis for the degree of exposure found that the metric significantly accounted for 12 percent of the change in knowledge and 19.5 percent of the change in attitudes: the more an audience member listened to and engaged with the drama, the more likely they were to exhibit positive knowledge and attitudinal shifts."