The National Climate Change Office in the Ministry of Sustainable Development is launching their communications strategy to increase and improve the level of awareness of climate change in Belize.
After a Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices survey that was done with almost 1,000 Belizeans, the National Climate Change Office learnt that only half of the target group really knew what climate change was, and most of them either didn't know if they contributed or outright believed they didn't.
But this survey was only the first part of crafting the strategy, which also aims to inspire behavioral and lifestyle changes in not only the general public, but in stakeholders and other partners as well.
The communications officer, Courtney Weatherburne, spoke more about the message they're trying to drive home, and what various sectors can do to help.
Voice of: Courtney Weatherburne, Comm. Officer, Nat'l Climate Change Office
"If there is nothing else that people take away whether its from a presentation, whether it's from a climate change event, communication products from anything or from any event, we want people to take away that climate change is real, it is happening and it is an existential threat. That is a key foundational message that we always want to get out there through whatever means possible. Once that key message is established, we can have supplementary messages."
"During the COP survey, like you said we notice that some people were not sure if human activity contributed to climate change. Well, the message we are driving home is there is a relationship between human activity and climate change. This is just a snippet of the different sectors and some of the climate change messages that they can incorporate in whatever activities or events that host or communication products that they produce. Under agriculture for instance, of course climate change is and will continue to significantly impact the productivity stability and prosperity of the agricultural sector. For land use, change and forestry and biodiversity, increase deforestation and promotion of sustainable forest management to reduce the impacts of climate change. When we're looking at coastal and marine resources, protecting coastal communities and marine resources is key to mitigating the impacts of climate change."
Weatherburne also explained what the National Climate Change Office has embarked on in order to educate more Belizeans about climate change:
