Interactive radio drama can be used to gain public participation in planning for biodiversity conservation. The major advantage of this tool is that radio breaks the barrier of literacy, and is heard even in remote areas where there is little or no electricity. This tool can be adapted for other specialised subjects, such as wildlife, water, medicinal plants, or other aspects of local culture.
The format described here was developed by the Centre for Ecological Sciences (Bangalore) and All India Radio (Bangalore). A 14-episode series of weekly radio programmes was used to encourage public participation in preparing a biodiversity action plan for the state of Karnataka, India. This was done under the larger process of preparing the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) for India (2000 – 2004).
A summary card of this tool is available to download in four languages in PDF format:
English (40K) | French (40K) | Spanish (41K) | Portuguese (41K)
The complete tool is also available (PDF format):
English (70K, 8pp) | French (67K, 9pp) | Spanish (66K, 9pp) | Portuguese (75K, 7pp)
Please cite this tool as:
Apte, T. 2005. Interactive radio drama. Power tools series. International Institute for Environment and Development, London, UK.
For further information:
- Contact Tejaswini Apte: apte_rahm@hotmail.com
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560 012, Karnataka, India. Tel/Fax: +91-80-23601453. Website: http://ces.iisc.ernet.in
- National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan: http://sdnp.delhi.nic.in/nbsap
