New communication campaign for forest protection

In Paraguay, an IKI project has initiated a new communication campaign to raise awareness of forest protection and climate change mitigation by linking these issues with cultural influences.

Un País Detrás de la Lluvia, 'a country after the rain' – this quote from the famous and venerated Paraguayan author Augusto Roa Bastos is the title of a new communication campaign being used by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to promote forest protection in Paraguay. The campaign is linking forest protection and climate change mitigation with cultural content in order to make these issues more accessible to local communities. This should enable them to engage in forest protection and climate change mitigation – both in their private lives and in conjunction with politicians. The three Spanish language TV commercials created for this purpose are being broadcast on national television and are available online. Soon they will also be translated into English and Guarani. More information about the campaign is being disseminated through radio and other local media as well as social media channels.

The clips on YouTube (external, Spanish):
Campaña Un País detrás de la lluvia - Animación
Campaña Un País detrás de la lluvia - Roa Bastos Ambiental
Campaña Un País detrás de la Lluvia - Niño en el bosque

The WWF campaign is part of an International Climate Initiative (IKI) project entitled Developing a National REDD+ System for the Benefit of the Climate, People and Nature. The project is using approaches for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) to support payments for environmental services (PES). This is contributing not only to conserving intact areas of the Atlantic rainforest and areas in the Pantanal region, but also to creating new income opportunities for local people. The campaign is laying the crucial foundations for this process by generating awareness of the importance of forests and their ecosystem services, such as sequestering carbon, regulating watersheds, and providing key resources.

The Atlantic rainforest has already receded dramatically and now only covers 13 per cent of the original forest area. The campaign is an important step towards halting this process. The Government of Paraguay is therefore actively supporting this measure. Many of Paraguay's ministers attended an event marking the launch of the campaign on 15 October 2014. In addition, the country's environment minister, Cristina Morales, delivered a speech in which she emphasised the importance of the IKI project.