An Overview Of Our Solution
Pilar Pride Campaign was implemented from August 2012 to September 2014 in Pilar, an island municipality in the Philippines that was heavily damaged by typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Due to rampant illegal fishing and mangrove cutting in the past, the island’s marine resources were significantly reduced, resulting to fish catch decline, which primarily contributed to the local poverty. The objective was to use the Theory of Change in convincing the residents to take ownership and understand the benefits of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and support essential management activities through social marketing and barrier removal strategies. The campaign was effective in strengthening the members of the management committee; enforcement; and local monitoring teams, driving them to perform their duties well and move the local fishers to adopt the desired behavior change.
- Population Impacted: 12,000 people
- Continent: Asia
Last name
Organization type
Context Analysis
Pilar is located in a small island named Ponson in central Philippines with an area of 3.7 km2 and a population of 12,000. Before the campaign, over-fishing and destructive fishing practices including compressor fishing were among the major threats to its marine environment; with 80% of coral reefs in bad condition. Among the reasons for the depletion of natural resources are majority of the poor deriving their income from natural ecosystems; conflicts of interest between long-term environmental concerns and short-term profit considerations; and lack of clearly defined mandates and responsibilities between the various layers of national and local authorities. But the locals are very familiar with the negative effects of a changing climate as the municipality sustained heavy damage when typhoon Haiyan struck the island on November 8, 2013. Despite that painful experience, the residents are still mostly unaware on how to mitigate climate change.
Describe the technical solution you wanted the target audience to adopt
Pilar Pride Campaign used Rare’s version of the Theory of Change (ToC) as a strategic plan to show the anticipated conservation impact and the best education and advocacy activities that will run at the Pilar Municipal Marine Park (PMMP) and its nearby communities. Established in 2005, efficient and effective management of the PMMP remains a challenge. Locals need to take ownership of the 179.21-hectare MPA and support essential management activities through social marketing and barrier removal strategies. The strategic plan documents the biodiversity threat and how the campaign will change behaviors of key groups so that the threat is reduced through the following elements: Conservation Result (CR), Threat Reduction (TR), Behavior Change (BC), Barrier Removal (BR), Interpersonal Communication (IC), Attitude (A), and Knowledge (K).
Type of intervention
Describe your behavioral intervention
Result of a Knowledge-Attitude-Perception (KAP) Survey conducted in early 2013 revealed that 91.2% of respondents were already aware of the benefits of the MPA but only 27.3% agreed that decline of fish abundance in the MPA and surrounding areas is mainly due to intrusion and fishing inside the fish sanctuary (No-Take-Zone) and fish net fishing in the marine reserve by the local fishers. At the same time, coral cover in the PMMP was at 11.6%. Based on these benchmark data, the campaign strategy was to reduce intrusion and illegal fishing in the MPAs by increasing knowledge of local fishers and community members on the rules and regulations inside the fish sanctuary and gears allowed in the marine reserve. It is assumed that when knowledge is increased (K), they will strongly agree to follow the MPA regulations and discuss with their fellow fishers and their neighbors the benefits of abiding with the rules (IC) and eventually, many of them will decide to follow (BR). Once they follow the rules and regulations (A), together they will join hands with the community in the management and 24/7 guarding (BC); the incidence of intrusion and illegal fishing activities is reduced (TR) and increase in fish abundance is achieved (CR).
As needed, please explain the type of intervention in more detail
The strategy was further evaluated in terms of capacity, constituency and conservation. Capacity is the ability of the campaign team to manage the activities despite the conduct of local elections; how they work with creative directors and vendors; and how they cope with the LGU’s bureaucratic policies and lengthy procurement process. Constituency is the commitment of the community to conservation measured by the following indicators: engagement of local leaders; effectiveness of the Community Mobilization Plan; recruitment and training of volunteers or partners outside of the LGU; and collaboration with fishers in terms of key materials and information that will reach the fishers and what they say and what it means to them. Conservation is the actual impact on the environment through a two-phase process: threat reduction and conservation results.
Describe your implementation
Massive social marketing and sustained barrier removal were the key activities of Pilar Pride Campaign. Social marketing included a campaign launch on December 19, 2014 that showcased the campaign brand through the campaign logo and slogan: “Sa saktong panagat, sikat! (If you fish right, you’re a star fisher”); tarpaulins and posters installed in strategic areas; the grand parade that also featured the unveiling of the campaign billboard; t-shirts given to fisher folks; playing of the campaign song; commitment wall; the priest’s homily and the appearance of Hawie the campaign mascot that is a representation of the MPA’s flagship species. The campaign launch although rescheduled due to the typhoon Haiyan, created so much buzz in the community that the event became the talk of the town for a very long time particularly among the fishers. The percentage of material and activity recall was very high as reflected by the result of the KAP Survey and focus group discussions conducted months later.
Involving fishers in the pre-testing of materials was an important aspect of the social marketing strategy. It allowed the implementers to connect the materials with the emotions of the fishers, thus building a sense of pride and ownership of the materials. The naming of the mascot is the best example to this observation. The fishers knew more than the implementers the specific species of parrotfish representing the flagship species of the PMMP. So it did happen that the campaign implementers had to change the name of the mascot in favor of the fishers’ preference “Hawie”, a contraction of the local name of the “Uhawon” fish. Every time the mascot is shown in the community, she is welcome by the fishers and the rest of the people in the community. School and barangay visits with Hawie the mascot; is another win for the Pilar Pride Campaign. These activities are mostly participated by women and children who were the best channels of the campaign messages for the fishers.
External connections
A key partner in developing and implementing Pilar Pride Campaign is Rare with funding from USAID. Rare is a leader in behavior change marketing for global biodiversity conservation with a successful track record of 267 community-based campaigns in 57 countries with over 200 partners. Many of the world’s largest conservation groups, as well as nations in the developing world have partnered with Rare to help build stronger local community support for their work. Rare’s campaigns have influenced more than 6.8 million people living in over 2,400 remote communities. Professors from the University of Texas El Paso also helped in training Susana Cataylo, the local conservation fellow who was recruited to lead the campaign development and implementation.
The Department of Education (DepEd)-Pilar District through the participation of teachers and school children; and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) by training the local fish wardens; also contributed to the successful run of Pilar Pride Campaign. Lessons learned and materials developed by the campaign were later used in implementing the Municipal Solid Waste Management Program with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); and Municipal Nutrition Program with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Agriculture (DA); as key partners. Both programs are extremely relevant in achieving the objectives of the Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (LCCAP).
Who adopted the desired behaviors and to what degree?
Members of the MPA Management Team and nearby communities are the primary adopters of the desired behavior. Prior to campaign implementation, PMMP management was rated Pre-Level 1 using MPA Management Effectiveness Assessment Tool. In the post-Campaign assessment, the rating is raised to Level 3. Management of the park has improved due to the implementation of the Governance, Enforcement and Monitoring (GEM) Plan. The Coastal Law Enforcement (CLE) Team are regularly conducting meetings; 24/7 guarding and patrolling was religiously implemented; and guards strictly observed the “logbook system”. Members of the Local Monitoring Team, after undergoing training, regularly conducted biophysical assessment in the MPA on their own even when funds are insufficient. Fisher’s registration also increased by 70% after calendars, posters, stickers, brochures and comics were given as incentives for the fishers who came to the Municipal Agriculture Office for the registration.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
MPAs like the PMMP reduce human vulnerability from the negative effects of climate change by providing protection from strong typhoons and storm surges as shown in Pilar during the landfall of typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Conservation and protection of mangrove forests and sea grass beds also ensure that no new emissions arise from the biodiversity loss in these areas. At the same time, they stimulate new carbon sequestration through the restoration of the degraded coastal habitats. Although not resistant to all climate change impacts, MPAs provide areas of reduced stress thereby improving the ability of marine organisms to adapt to climate change. Well managed MPA networks can also increase species survival by allowing them to move around and escape certain pressures and in MPAs where stressors are controlled, these can be used as research sites to help track the effects of climate change.
What were some of the resulting co-benefits?
Some of the resulting co-benefits include capability building, social cohesion, and availability of social marketing materials that can be used in other programs of the local government. Even during the preparations for the campaign launch, community members became more participative to the activities as a result of the consultations conducted. Since the original schedule was postponed due to typhoon Haiyan, the people became more active after the typhoon since they have seen how important MPAs are in the Haiyan aftermath. At present the campaign mascot has become a regular participant in social marketing activities of the municipal solid waste management program. An example was the launch of the Clean Pilar Campaign wherein Hawie, the Pilar Pride Campaign mascot; toured the villages for the information caravan.
Sustainability
Pilar Pride Campaign was funded by the local government and by USAID through Rare, making it reliant on government subsidy and grant funding.
Return on investment
Total cost of campaign development and implementation was US$ 20,000.00. A big bulk of this expense was paid for the training of the conservation fellow and the barrier removal activities/projects. Despite the size of the investment, the gain is long term because the effects of capacity building and behavior change have multiple benefits. Selection of the conservation fellow is therefore crucial and he or she must be organic to the organization so that the fellow’s contribution is maximized.
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
Pride Campaigns have been implemented by Rare with partners in many countries where a local organization and a conservation fellow are interested. Total campaign cost may vary depending on key partners, which may include the local government; non-government organizations; religious groups; farmers and fisher folk associations; and many others. Academic institutions are also vital in the conduct of assessments at the project sites and in training the conservation fellow who will lead the development and implementation of the social marketing campaign. In the case of Pilar Pride Campaign, University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UPMSI) conducted the MEAT and biophysical assessments in the MPAs; while University of Texas in El Paso helped in the social marketing training of the conservation fellows wherein they graduated with a Masters Degree in Social Communications after the run of the campaign.