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TEACHER

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PUBLIC RELATION OFFICER

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PUBLIC RELATIONS IN FOREST MANAGEMENT:EXPERIENCE FROM SRI LANKA

  By

  MANGALA DE ZOYSADepartment of Agricultural Economics

Faculty of AgricultureUniversity of Ruhuna

SRI LANKA 

The Kik-Off-Meeting: "PR Professional for Forest Sciences"

SWITZERLAND 

May 12th ~ 15th, 2002

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INTRODUCTION Forest resources:

85% before 1881 - depleted ~ 44% in 1950 and 24% presently Due to land use, population, settlements, socio-economic change and

illicit felling

60% of forestland (895,000 ha.) degraded land

  PR has gained recognition in Forest Management

PR consider as tool for: Damage Control Crisis Management

PR gives professional status to professional practice

  Con…...

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Forest Authority in Sri Lanka is still:

Consider PR less important

Less understand PR functions

Little understand PR scope and skills of Forester

And, there is no PR division

Important to discuss need for strategy concepts for effective PR

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THE PUBLIC

A group has actual or potential interest in or impact on FA

Facilitate or impede FA to achieve goals

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A.   Media Public

Newspapers, magazines, radio, television station

Facilitate better media coverage for forest related news

Favorable news features on new management strategies

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B. CITIZEN - ACTION PUBLIC

Citizen's organization, Environmental groups, NGOs etc.

Control unforeseeable practices and conditions

Eg: Intensive logging of natural forest according to Forest

Master Plan in 1986 was criticized

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C. LOCAL PUBLIC

Forest neighborhood residents and Community

organizations

Very important to control encroachments and illicit

felling

Main actor in forest resource management

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D. GENERAL PUBLIC

Concern towards environment, forest products & services,

management practices etc.

Eg: Logging ban in natural rain forest in 1990

Need to have strong corporate citizen's image

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PUBLIC RELATIONS

  A broad operation rather than a narrow communication

 Establishes and maintains mutual beneficial relationships between FA and public Highly innovative to establish and manage forest plantations

Review and analysis FA goals, objectives, policies and procedures

Identifying harmony between FA and public & social environment

  About truth that will have to be shared with its publics

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ENVIRONMENT FOR PR

A.   POLICY ISSUES  Should be part and parcel to implement strategies effectively

Give secure title for tenure rights and usufruct rights "Joint forest management" and "leasehold forestry" in Forestry Policy

in 1995

Forestry Master Plan in 1997 public in decision for policies, plans and processes

People-driven, people-centered, and based on "bottom-up" planning and decision making

Extension initiatives shows government commitment

 

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B. ECONOMIC SYSTEM

Opportunity cost of conserving 10,000 ha/yr. Rs. 45 million

Forest prevent environment degradation, promote economic

development and alleviation poverty

Management should change from tree management to

ecosystem management

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C. LEVEL OF ACTIVISM

"Taungya System" / "Co-operative Reforestation Scheme"

Scheme abandoned due to agitation by environmental groups

Modified system implemented by lease holding participants

Community and participatory forestry on a small scale

Incentives: employment in planting and sharing produces

Production capacity expanded with financial assistance

Participatory tree growing in environmentally sensitive areas

Planted trees in non-forest lands

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D.   CULTURE Values expressed in people's relationship to themselves,

others, institutions, society, and nature

Sub-cultures shared values from special experiences or circumstances

Effective conservation is very difficult with pressure by people

Managed under common property regime with complex of norms and conventions to regulate individual rights

Forest management has to thrive on public opinion

Foresters have to broaden concept of forestry and address problems thrown up by a changing society

Integrating PR into forest management should consider: Existing rights to lands and resources; History of people's use Claims and counter-claims on current and future use   

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E.   MEDIA CULTURE

Forest extension envisage PR through media

Media culture discuss: Who own the media Who control the media The outreaches of media Access to media

Mass Media is equally owned by government and private sector

Government has the full control over the media on public issues

Reach public widely through infrastructure network in the small island

92% literacy and social status create high access to media

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Media to bring attention of the public towards

Forest products and services

Management organization and management ideas

Extension education programs utilized to reach public

Community forestry project in 1982 attempted to act as catalyst

in creating community awareness

MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES OF PR

A. BUILD AWARENESS

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B. BUILD CREDIBILITY

Add credibility to Foresters by communicating messages

concerning forest management

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C. STIMULATE FORESTERS

Boost enthusiasm by creating public recognition of their

strategic effort

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D. HOLD DOWN COST OF

EXTENSION SERVICES

Cost is less than direct-communication and media

advertising

Not only efficient but also an effective communication

strategy

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FUNCTIONS OF PR

A PR Division has to be established in Forest Authority

Deal with public-stockholders, legislators, community

leaders

All the employees have to involved in PR

The major functions of PR division are:

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A. MEDIA RELATIONS

Place newsworthy information into the news media

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B. PRODUCT OR SERVICE PUBLICITY

Publicize specific benefits and services

Various products and services to various publics

Education is imparted at every level School children and adults Villagers and town dwellers Bureaucrats and technocrats

Variety of environmental problems including deforestation

Extension attention on social repercussions of forest utilization

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C. CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

A two-way system, not just giving or disseminating information

Communication is the base of PR

Communication is influenced by the culture

Promote understanding among staff and publics

Communication for motivation, leadership and productivity National Forestry Extension Service established covering

administrative districts

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D. MANAGEMENT LOBBING

Legislators and officials to promote or defeat legislation and

regulation

Public Action Committee (PAC) lobby government and put

pressure on FA

Study and deal with public interest groups and issues

Focus on the social repercussions

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E. COUNSELING

Advising FA about public issues and position

Image of the PR Division

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A. PROVIDE EXPERT PRESCRIPTIONS

Not merely silviculture but effective management

Collaboration with research organizations to: Develop strategy and institution to involve public Disseminating results and information effectively Establish mechanism for linking research and extension

Technologies for conservation and multiple production systems

Technologies economically feasible, technically sound and benefits of public

Concern agriculture, energy, environment and forestry

Increased awareness about seriousness of forest crisis

BASIC ELEMENTS REQUIRED FOR PR FUNCTIONS

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B.   EVOLVE PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS

Monitor attitude of public and communicate to build goodwill

Act as a trouble-shooter with knowledge and goodwill

Play dynamic role encompassing broad spectrum of social, economical and political aspects

Understanding of land use management with local economy

Assess needs of people which earlier met with forest lands

Develop organizational structure and management mechanism to bring together other institutes and organizations to devise cooperate plan and policies

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C.    FACILITATE COMMUNICATION Finding effective ways and means of communicating public

Established Forest Extension for community development Participatory Forestry Project to strengthen adaptive and on-farm

research, extension & education

People’s forestry based on effective communication through bottom-up planning and decision making

Non-personal communication carry important messages Media, Atmospheres, Events

Arrange news conference, exhibition etc. to convince the policy makers, interest groups, citizens groups and media

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Easiest measure of effectiveness of campaign

Number of exposures to information

Indicate how many people actually read, heard, or recall

the message and what they thought afterward

A. EXPOSURES

EVALUATING RESULTS OF PR

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B. AWARENESS / COMPREHENSION / ATTITUDE CHANGE

Change in awareness, comprehension and attitude resulting

from PR campaign

How many people recall hearing the news item?

How many people told others about it?

How many changed their mind after learning it?

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C. BENEFIT CONTRIBUTION

Public support in forest management to reap environmental,

social and economic benefits through PR campaign

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A.   PR SKILLS

Possess scope of PR and PR skills in forest management

Have a planned and sustained effort to maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between FA and public

Acceptance of research evaluation and dialogue between FA and public

No longer concern of only technical forest specialist

Act as a Community Relation Officer

Become middle level manager, policy maker, community leader and rural folk

Expertise from other disciplines such as ecology, economics, law, community development etc

FORESTERS AS PR OFFICER

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B. PERSONAL QUALITIES

PR practice is discipline, which looks after reputation

Forester is known as a reputation manager

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C. POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Look at forest management and his service favorably

Attitude of Forester, FA and Public should react and

determine mutual relationships to implement strategies

Favorable attitude in terms of productivity, job tenure and

other criteria related to forestry

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MATTERS NEED ANALYSES

How much of the responsibilities in practice do actually fall

within the forest officer?

Whether we have foresters who are capable of performing

these tasks?

How much can a forester do within the prevailing

organizational culture in the FA?

Con…..

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The end results of all these activities are aimed at

maintaining and strengthening reputation of an

organization through utilizing to the maximum, a

carefully selected set of methods based on sound

research

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