Engaging communities in environmental communication

Abstract

This article makes a case for alternative communication models as a means of strengthening networks both for dialogue and social action in environmental communication. It first charts the emergence of the environmental movement in the Pacific region as a consequence of 50 years of nuclear testing. This is followed by a discussion of contemporary environmental concerns facing Pacific communities and the networks of solidarity that have emerged. Participatory media provides an important platform for local communities through which they can share knowledge, create awareness and provide their own perspectives on environmental issues.

Bearing Witness: A Pacific Climate Crisis Documentary and Journalism Development Project

“…Climate change, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development planning need to be better linked and journalism, journalists and documentary makers are well-placed to explore these links through mindful communication in this era of climate crisis (Harris, 2019; Seneviratne, 2018; Hackett et al, 2017). Harris (2019, p. 168) argues for participatory environmental communication to underpin journalism of diversity, engaging a range of ‘voices, values and beliefs, as well as cultural perspectives’. She believes journalists should develop a closer bond with Pacific grassroots communities and deploy a variety of media forms and communication channels such as face-to-face communication, folk media, traditional and new media.…”

“…Before turning to a discussion of the future of this project, we would like to return to the idea of ‘bearing witness’ and discuss the roots of this concept and how they might apply in pedagogical principles. Climate justice expresses the notion of the ‘moral and/or ethical consideration of addressing climate change’ (Harris, 2019, p. 101) and bearing witness provides the opportunity for the reporters or filmmakers to experience the injustice and share this with a wider audience (Robie & Chand, 2017, p. 192). The experience can be both strengthening for the community sharing their story and transformative for the students.…”

“…In her 2019 book, Participatory Environmental Communication , Usha Sundar Harris advocates a participatory model of communication that is able to better meet the needs of diverse communities and stakeholders because ‘interrelated human actions on the environment converge to produce devastating results’ (Harris, 2019, p. 31). She presents a model that enables journalists and community practitioners to ‘share knowledge, create awareness and take action on environmental issues.…”

Community Voices, Practices, and Memories in Environmental Communication: Iliamna Lake Yup’ik Place Names, Alaska

“…In contrast, the Southern Paiute people have passed down their cultural ethics to communicate with plants, animals, crystals, and minerals to maintain a healthful environment (Stoffle et al, 2016). While environmental activists use communication power in furtherance of their environmental values, as they challenge government plans for creating dams, pipelines, and other land development for national economic growth (Harris, 2017), Indigenous communities, such as the Southern Paiute and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Yupiit, communicate with the environment in fulfillment of their responsibility to maintain the relationships between animals, plants, land, spiritual beings, and people (Fienup-Riordan, 1990;Kawagley 2006;Stoffle et al, 2016). Environmental movements have emerged to protect the Earth's ecological system from human activity and global economy, but these movements typically reflect Western, rather than Indigenous orientations to the land.…”