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A poster can serve as advertisement for a publication or organization (e.g., the UNEP centre in Module
South Asia (http://www.rrcap.unep.org/), to highlight key environmental messages (e.g., the poster
on Environment and Security priority areas in the Southern Caucasus http://enrin.grida.no/security. 7
cfm?article=5), or for a one-page presentation of key priority environmental issue as was used in the
on National SoE of Nepal.

? Calendars, such as Central Asia: Environment and Development, including a paper calendar and a
CD-ROM. http://enrin.grida.no/aral/calendar/eng/index.htm.

? A Vital Graphics presentation supported with a short assessment text. A series of vital graphics is Abu Dhabi, UAE
available at http://www.grida.no/.

? Newspapers dedicated to cross-sectoral issues (e.g., Environment and Poverty Times http://www.
environmenttimes.net/).

? Multimedia presentations, documentaries, pictures and other electronic products.

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has developed series of
documentaries (e.g., http://www.iied.org/NR/forestry/projects/water_mm/water_mm1.html), and the
World Resources Institute (WRI) provides material on a wide range of topics (http://multimedia.wri.
org/).

2.5 Consider your channels
People are exposed to environmental information, as they are to other issues, through a vast range

of communication channels. It is therefore important to choose channels based on the audience’s
favoured way of accessing information. Your communication goal should align with the desired changes
recorded as part of the impact strategy (see Module 3) (e.g., to change people’s attitude towards
an environmentally-related problem, to communicate your key findings to a narrow circle, such as
politicians and ministries). Remember that communication is not only about information, but also
about meaning. Meaning is actively constructed, not passively extracted from books or other sources

provided by a sender. Keeping this in mind will assist in choosing outlets because the channels will be
tailored to reach the target groups in large or narrow circles.

When selecting an appropriate channel consider its effectiveness and efficiency.

Communication effectiveness means that your message is:

? Received by the target audiences

? Interpreted by recipients as intended by senders
? Remembered over a sufficient period of time

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