Summary

The Coral Triangle, one of the most biodiverse environments in the world and an area with 647 million hectares of land and sea is located within the territories of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. Marine and coastal ecosystems are economically and culturally important, especially for people living near coastlines in the Philippines. These resources are vulnerable to over-harvesting, pollution, coastal development, destructive fishing and the effects of climate change, presenting serious threats to both species and people alike, all of which are exacerbated by high population growth and rural poverty, creating food insecurity concerns. This in turn affects the millions of Filipinos who rely on coastal and marine resources for their livelihoods. Therefore, effective conservation measures, including social marketing, are needed to safeguard ecosystems and the species they contain, and the people dependent on these resources.

The challenges we all must face in adapting to climate variability and change present themselves with increasing urgency. The issuance of Executive Order 533 in 2006 and Executive Order 797 in 2009 are the Philippines’ response and demonstration of commitment to the CTI, and other international commitments of the Philippines that directly relate to Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) and climate change. Information, Education and Communication (IEC) is encompassed in both EO 533 and 797, as well as within the Coastal Resources Management processes. This indicates that engaging local communities is an essential component of any ICM plan and program.

There is an immediate need to raise awareness on climate change in coastal areas and part of the solution must involve the engagement of communities and local decision makers. In response, Social Marketing Lite, or SM Lite, was developed by the GIZ-ACCCoast Project as it was found that many LGUs cannot afford the required counterpart in a full Rare Pride Program. The approach was tested and implemented in 16 barangays of 17 participating municipalities and cities in the Provinces of Leyte, Negros Occidental, Southern Leyte, Samar and Misamis Oriental.

SM Lite provides an approach that both the LGUs and communities themselves can better appreciate because it is more affordable, the basic methodologies to understand and do research on social behaviour are comprehensible and the way to monitor positive changes is manageable. SM Lite is IEC with an attitude, because it takes on a systematic and organize way to understand what the communities think, feel and willingness to change as basis to develop core messages, strategies and campaign materials. It aids communities to undergo a process to weigh the value and benefits of adjusting unsustainable mindsets and living patterns toward a path that is more sustainable.

SM Lite complements other GIZ-supported knowledge products such as the “Sustainable Integrated Management and Planning for Local Government Ecosystems” (SIMPLE) in achieving sustainable natural resource management through a ridge-to-reef approach and the Sustainable Coastal Resources for the Philippines (SCoRe), as well as any other programs which may be in need of an impactful communication intervention.