Increasing public awareness

Impacting public consciousness

Description

Increasing public awareness involves systematically informing and educating the general population about specific issues, challenges, or risks to foster understanding and motivate action. This strategy employs targeted communication campaigns, accessible information dissemination, and community engagement to correct misconceptions, highlight consequences, and promote informed decision-making. By raising awareness, it addresses ignorance, apathy, and misinformation, thereby empowering individuals and groups to participate in solutions and support necessary policy or behavioral changes.

Implementation

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities. Agenda 21 recommends this strategy for all environmental issues and particularly mentions it with respect to the multiple roles and functions of forests.