With the easing of COVID-19-related restrictions, the implementation of social marketing (SM) in various ProCoast areas is now going at full throttle. In fact, the activity is implemented in different stages (audience research through focus group discussions, campaign planning, and behaviour change campaigns) in 22 project sites.
Early this year, the ProCoast Centers of Learning (CoLs) in Region VI launched their social marketing campaigns. This preceded the launched of the same in six replication sites in Bohol in May 2022 in time of the Month of the Ocean celebration. The campaign in Bohol, which included coastal clean-ups, caused 62 crown-of-thorns starfishes to be removed from the Suba Marine Sanctuary in Barangay Suba, Anda, Bohol by divers from the government and a private resort. Sacks of thrash were also gathered by the local communities, police and coast guard personnel, and members of the academe.
Crown-of-thorn starfish collected from Suba MPA in Anda, Bohol
The implementation of behaviour change campaigns, which are based on the Social Marketing for Conservation Manual, is one of the good practices for coastal protection. This concept is adopted and practiced in ProCoast CoLs. In 2020, six batches of virtual SM training were conducted for local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs), and academe.
GIZ ProCoast Project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The IKI is one of the key instruments of the German Federal Government to support international climate action and biodiversity. (ProCoast/ Franca Sprong, Raquel Capio)
