A Radio Show for Apes? Supporting Ape Conservation through an Integrated Human Behavior, Health and Environment Serial Drama

This presentation describes Population Media Center (PMC)'s entertainment-education (EE)-based work in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), specifically related to environmental conservation in eastern Congo. It also shares data on the impact of this work, which included a 156-episode Swahili-language radio serial drama titled Pambazuko ("New Dawn"), which aired from February 2016 to August 2017 (see Related Summaries, below, for details).

As PMC's Kriss Barker explains, the drama sought to raise public awareness on many issues, including family planning, reproductive health, gender-based violence, and nature conservation - in particular, conservation of the habitats of the great apes and chimpanzees and prevention of poaching of these endangered animals. "Nature conservation is the business of all" was the tagline in epilogues for episodes that featured specific scenes related to nature conservation. In this way, Pambazuko was designed to support the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI)'s 2012-2022 Conservation Action Plan (CAP) for the Eastern DRC. While, CAPs have been used for decades, this partnership between JGI and PMC highlights a growing recognition within the conservation community that 1) affecting human behaviour is essential to success and 2) mass-media-based social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) is an important tool in shifting human behaviours - at scale - in support of conservation efforts.

The story of Jaribu, one of the transitional characters in Pambazuko, illustrates the strategy. Twenty-year-old Jaribu transforms from being a person who engages in harmful and illegal activities to a nature conservation champion. Jaribu lives in poverty and is under the influence of Pili Pili, his friend (and negative character). Jaribu has been a poacher and illegal trafficker of natural resources and prohibited species. After many setbacks in his life, and thanks to the good advice and influence of his sister Feza, Jaribu gives up his evil ways and not only finds work as a ranger but becomes involved with an organisation involved with the protection of nature.

A national multi-stage cluster cross-sectional survey, representative of the intended population, stratified by rural/urban residence and province, was conducted with a sample of 2,545 reproductive aged individuals (52% women [n=1,319], 48% men [n=1,226]) between September and December 2017. Selected findings:

• It is estimated that more than 680,000 Congolese heard of Pambazuko and that more than 350,000 listened regularly (at least weekly for the 1.5 years of broadcast, more than half of the 156 episodes).
• When asked, "Do you think that most people in your community use family planning to delay or avoid pregnancy?" 48% of listeners vs. 32% of non-listeners responded "Yes" (differences are statistically significant, p<.001). Listeners were 1.8 times more likely than non-listeners to respond "Yes" (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.774 [confidence interval (CI)=1.420-2.217], p<.001, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion).
• 22% of listeners vs. 13% of non-listeners said that their ideal family size is three children or fewer (differences are statistically significant, p<.001). Listeners were 1.8 times more likely than non-listeners to say this (AOR = 1.762 [CI=1.274-2.438], p<.001, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion).
• 51% of listeners vs. 41% of non-listeners said they were currently doing something to delay or avoid a pregnancy (differences are statistically significant, p<.003). Listeners were 1.4 times more likely than non-listeners to say this (AOR = 1.354 [CI=1.0111-1.811], p<.042, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion).
• When asked, "Do you think you will use a contraceptive method to delay or avoid pregnancy in the next six months?" 58% of listeners vs. 38% of non-listeners responded "Yes" (differences are statistically significant, p<.001). Listeners were 2 times more likely than non-listeners to respond "Yes" (AOR = 2.030 [CI=1.617-2.548], p<.001, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion).
• When asked, "What do you think are the causes of environmental degradation?" 74% vs. 62% of non-listeners responded, "deforestation" (differences are statistically significant, p<.001). Listeners were 1.8 times more likely than non-listeners to respond in this way (AOR = 1.751 [CI=1.361-2.253], p<.001, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion).
• 69% of listeners vs. 52 % of non-listeners stated they strongly agree with the statement "Someone who kills, sells, buys, transports or detains a chimpanzee or gorilla can be imprisoned" (differences are statistically significant, p<.001). Listeners were 1.9 times more likely than non-listeners to say this (AOR = 1.895 [CI=1.497-2.400], p<.001, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion).
• 56% of listeners vs. 45% of non-listeners stated they strongly agree with the statement "Having a small family size will have less impact on the environment" (differences are statistically significant, p<.001). Listeners were 1.4 times more likely than non-listeners to say this (AOR = 1.385 [CI=1.109-1.729], p<.004, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion).
• 66% of listeners vs. 59% of non-listeners stated they strongly agree with the statement "Protecting the habitat of gorillas and chimpanzees is good for my community" (differences are statistically significant, p<.004). Listeners were 1.3 times more likely than non-listeners to say this (AOR = 1.311 [CI=1.038-1.657], p<.023, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion).
• When asked, "Have you been involved in protecting animal species such as gorillas and other species in danger of extermination during the past year?" 9% of listeners vs. 3% of non-listeners responded "Yes" (differences are statistically significant, p<.001). Listeners were 2.9 times more likely than non-listeners to respond "Yes" (AOR = 2.860 [CI=1.847-4.430], p<.001, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion).
• When asked, "Have you been involved in protecting the forest in your community during the past year?" 19% vs. 10% of non-listeners responded "Yes" (differences are statistically significant, p<.001). Listeners were 2 times more likely than non-listeners to respond "Yes" (AOR = 1.964 [CI=1.460-2.642], p<.001, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion).

Barker concludes that these results that EE programming can effectively support conservation and environmental health interventions.

Editor's note: The above is a summary of a presentation delivered at Shifting Norms, Changing Behaviour, Amplifying Voice: What Works? The 2018 International Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Summit featuring Entertainment Education, held April 16-20 2018 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia. To request a copy, please contact Kriss Barker through the link at the upper lefthand side of this page.