United States Environmental Protection Agency Administration And Resources Management (PM-221A) SEPA CARIBBEAN CURRENTS HEADQUARTERS LIBRARY Vol.1 No. 4 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. 204® Welcome... —to the fourth edition of Caribbean Currents—the quarterly newsletter for lNFUi£kRA National Focal Points in the English and French-speaking Caribbean. We would like to thank all of the contributors to this edition for their articles. Everyone is welcome to send news items, press releases, announcements,, or other information to the newsletter. Contact your RSCifyou have any questions or contributions. ihe next edition will be published on Decenber 1st Please have your contributions in with plenty of time for inclusion. (Deadline: November10,1992) In this Issue: FEATURE ARTICLE: INFOTERRA Promotion and Outreach: Part Two: Your External Audience...p. 2 Promotional Ideas.... p. 4 United Nations Conference on Information Systems: An overview of the conference held in Puerto Rico. 1 Promotion at the NFPs: Outreach programs in Belize... p. 3 Natural Disaster Reduction in the Caribbean: Two conferences held this Spring p. 5 " m V ' Newsnotes: INFOTERRA visits Agricultural and Trade Show; die Wider Caribbean Initiative p. 6 INFOTERRA NFP Directory.;;; .p. 6 UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS I attended the Conference on Information Systems, the Environment, and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean in San Juan, Puerto Rico earlier this year. The conference was sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme and . the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources. The objectives of the meeting were to encourage the exchange of computerized information on regional programs that store and distribute information and to identify specific regional cooperative activities that facilitate decision-making on environmental management The attendees included delegates from eighteen Latin American and Caribbean nations, representatives from international organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGQs), private industry, and Puerto Rican governmental organizations. Some of the countries represented included Guyana, Barbados, St Kitts, Dominican Republic, Surinam, and Dominica. The agenda consisted of: • Presentations by the countries' delegates on the state of the environmental information in each country, including, in some cases, their experiences with the Geographic Information System (OS) • Overview of international networks and their utilization in Latin America and the Caribbean • TJNEP's Global Resource Information Database (GRID) and its network • A general presentation on QS, components, and applications • Workgroup discussions on databanks and networks and on GIS and resulting recommendations. An ediibit of information sytfems and toob was on display as part of the conference.EPAwas fi represented by INFOTERRA/U5A, ISI Gnfionnation Systems Inventory), STORET, AIRS, and other databases. EPA's Region 2 and Caribbean Held (amtmued em page S) ------- INFOTERRA PROMOTION AND OUTREACH PARTTWO; THE EXTERNAL AUDIENCE Promotion and outreach are the keys to the successful operation of any information organization. In providing information to your clientele, creative outreach and promotion are crucial tools which keep National Focal Point (NFP) information services in the spotlight NFPs serve - both internal and external audiences. The internal audience is composed of decision-makers, information professionals, scientists, and other groups within your organization. All other requestors—inside or outside your country— constitute your external audience. This is the second installment in a two-part series. In part one, we looked in-depth at providing services to the internal audience. In this issue, we will look at ways of identifying your external audience and developing an effective marketing plan to promote your services outside the organization. Who is your External Audience? The services of INFOTERRA can be of interest to a number of groups outside your own organization. Government ministries (besides the one which supports the NFP) may account for the largest group within your external audience. Other probable users of your services include local industrialists, foreign corporations operating in your country, scientific and technical institutions, professional organizations, and environmental and academic groups. It is important to remember that the flow of information can run both ways. Knowing who is most interested in your services may provide you with ideas as to who can help you obtain information. One of the benefits of effective outreach is opening the channels for two-way communication. ; ¦ .* m*im i- - Assessing Your External Audience Identifying Your Audience: Useful tools for identifying possible target groups are: • the business and professional sections in telephone directories • specialized directories • Chambers of Commerce or business organizations • public libraries. Once you have compiled a listing of groups in your target audience, it should be organized in a form that you can maintain and update easily, such as card files or electronic (computer) files. Knowing Your Audiences Needs and Specializations: There are three levels of priority which can serve as categories for your External Audience: • Primary—the most influential people with whom you are likely to deal • Secondary—people whom you would like to contact that may be unfamiliar with INFOTERRA • Tertiary—the audience at large. Each of these groups have particular interests—and prejudices—which need to be researched before you can develop an effective marketing plan. Oneway to get started is to perform a selective analysis. Select a specific group (or set of groups with similar interests) from your Primary List Analyze the needs, interests, and organization of this group to detennine what they need to know about INFOTERRA and what it can do for them. It is important not to waste people's time with information that is irrelevant to their needs: any *type of promotion should be directed to the specific needs of the audience. •Sending Your Audience a dear Message: You are telling the members of your audience what you can do to support {heir mission. When you receive a clear to satisfy ftheir mfiinmlinn npprft Pairing fa1a» nr nwalidir 2' ------- INFOTERRA PROMOTION AND OUTREACH (continued frontpage!) Choosing the Type of Promotion There are many ways in which you can promote your services. Consider •Radio "Videos and Television •Newspapers •Journals •Conferences "Tours •Brochures and other Hand-outs. •Speeches and Presentations Once you have identified and analyzed your target audience, you can use one or more of these media to promote your services. Two important considerations enter into the selection of a promotional media. First, consider the interests, needs, and capabilities of your audience. Some promotional methods maybe inappropriate or ineffective for reaching some groups. Then consider your own skills, experience, and available tools. Start out with promotional materials with which you are comfortable so thatycu can manage them effectivdy. You are not alone~ When putting together promotional materials, remember, there are others out there doing the same thing. Other NFPs are in the process of designing their promotional materials, as is the RSC. Tap into the resources that are available to you before diving into designing your own promotional services. The RSC is ready to help you—all you have to do is ask. Share information with other members of the INFOTERRA network. There may be an idea that someone else has used which you can adapt to your audience. And some of your ideas may work well for someone else. Share your problems and successes around the network—everyone can benefit from it! 3 For some Metis on how tovscpromotbwl media¦ page 4.^ ia, turn PROMOTION AT THE NFPs Here is an example of some of the promotional activities being conducted at a National Focal Point. If any other focal points have ideas for or questions about promoting their services, Caribbean Currents would be glad to share them in upcoming issues. OUTREACH PROGRAMS TN BFT TZP. \ -W Over the past years, many people have been made aware of the INFOTERRA network by the display of posters and distribution of photocopied promotional leaflets at various functions nationwide. On April 4-5,1992 and later on May 1-3, INFOTERRA posters were displayed at both Agriculture and Trade shows, first at Maskall, then at Belmopan. In September, when the Independence celebrations commence, INFOTERRA will orice again be promoted at the Festival Grand Market which will be held in Belize City. INFOTERRA announcements are aired on the local radio stations to make people aware of the various services offered by the network. This was also done on the local television stations; lack of funding, however, has caused this type of promotion to cease until funding can be provided to continue it Much has been accomplished through the use of the mailsf Photocopied INFOTERRA Bulletins and the Regional Service Centre bulletin—Caribbean Currents—have been sent to both government and non-government organizations nationwide. Personal visits have also been made to some of these organizations and institutions for the purpose of registering new sources. By using these methods of promotion, I have been successful in making many people aware of the existence of the network. In the future, I would like to obtain some posters from the PAC to hang in the different organizations and institutions nationwide. With the formation of the Department of Environment, many Belizeans have become environmentally conscious. At present, the Department of Environment is in the process of establishing legislation relating to environmental impact assessment (EIA). This legislation will require developers to carry out an EIA before any type of development that may have an adverse effect on the environment (especially the mangrove ecosystem) can occur. I must conclude that much more will be done in the area of promotion of the INFOTERRA network nationwide in the near future. Jaime Villanueva, INFOTERRA/Belize 3 ------- VW/ PROMOTIONAL IDEAS Of the promotM media listed in the feature article, there are three that may be the most accessible to you. \ Here are some ways to approach them: 1) Design BROCHURES describing your services: USES: Hand-outs and brochures are very versatile. You can give them to anyone who wants general information. They can also be tailored to provide detailed information about a specific topic CONTENT: Whatever you want to convey. For example, a hand-out could provide information about the NFP— why it exists, whom it serves, how to access information, and soon. Another could be a fact sheet describing the history of the INFOTERRA Network. DETAILS: When preparing a publication for any audience, you need to consider issues such as color, type face, the use of white space; overall readability, and the layout of text 2) Make a PRESENTATION at a meeting of a professional oiganization: USES: This approach can be used to reach a broad spectrum of patrons within your Primary or Secondary audiences. Each presentation should have a specific focus targeted at its audience. This form of outreach provides effective, personal contact CONTENT: You should have a brief introduction of the topic, a main "body" with examples to illustrate each point, and a concluding summary. Use of hand-outs and of audio- visuals such as overheads, slides, or videos makes a presentation more interesting and involving. DETAILS: Make sure your supporting materials (overheads, etzif are relevant to your topic, otherwise they will distract the audience's attention away from yourpoints. Get your audience involved with the . topic. (Question and answer sessions are a good idea.) . .. Have everything prepared in advance. T."' 3) Publish an article in a local NEWSPAPER: USES: Such an article can reach a very wide audience. This is an excellent way to announce new services, changes of staff, relocation of offices, or the release of a new report CONTENT: Be brief and to the point Newspaper articles should contain as much information as possible in a few words. Be sure to include the name and phone number of a contact person in your oiganization. DETAILS: You are providing information for someone else to publish, so make it as easy as possible for them. Type on only one side of die paper and use wide margins to make editing easier. Double space vtHir article. ------- Caribbean Countries Meet On Natural Disaster Relief • In June, several Caribbean and international agencies attended the Health Disaster Coordinators Meeting in Barbados, which permitted both sides to better understand each other's responsibilities and roles in disaster response activities. Members of the Pan-American Health Organization's (PAHO) Disaster Response Team also attended the meeting and participated in the Tradewinds Exercise, a six- day disaster relief exercise. Tradewinds included a disaster simulation held June 13-14, with participation by both national and international disaster relief and response agencies. The PAHO team reviewed procedures for assessing health sector needs and coordinating response procedures with the Health Disaster Coordinators prior to a disaster. • The Secretariat of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Relief (IDNDR) held a Caribbean Meeting in Kingston, Jamaica May 26-29. Mere than 150 participants from 22 Caribbean countries, departments, and territories, as well as regional Caribbean agencies and international organizations, bilateral donor countries, and the private sector attended. The meeting was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme and the governments of Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The purpose of the meeting was to increase awareness of disaster vulnerability and to formula^ guidelines and recommendations for national "s IDNDR Committees and other entities. Working groups: • made recommendations on national, regional, and international level priority objectives during the IDNDR • specified functions that should be undertaken by national IDNDR Committees • met by sectors and made recommendations on their sector's role in disaster reduction • and began considering activities for 1993 World Disaster Reduction Day. Qts theme will be Disaster Mitigation in Hospitals and Schools^. For more information on these meetings, contact; Dr. Jean Luc Poncelet Emergency Preparedness Adviser, PAHO P.O. Box 508 Bridgetown, Barbados —adapted from the newsletter : Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation #51,July 1992 "¦ Pan-American Health Organization y-T UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS (contmued from page 1) WORKGROUPS RECOMMENDATIONS Delegates from the different countries, officials of the international organizations represented at the meeting, and officials of the Puerto Rican and US governments were asked to split up into two workgroups. Here is a summary of the recommendations formulated by these workgroups. DATABANKS AND NETWORKS The major problem identified by this workgroup was the underntilization of the various networks and databases that already exist in the region. This lack of use was attributed, in part, to the problems of communication and information exchange between national and regional institutions. The group recognized the need to improve the linkages between the systems, increase and improve user access, and increase the number of users. Some of the recommendations included the compilation of an international directory of environmental databases, the establishment of regional nodes to facilitate access to information, and the development of training programs for users of networks and databases. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS Some of the problems identified by this group - . "Included the limited use of GIS by the environmental sector of government, lack of information m the QS-selection process, lack of trained personnel, and insufficient funding. r ; -r. Tlie group made several recommendations including developing pilot programs that address major regional problems, improving training v ' opportunities* exploring new sources of financing, * and strengtharing communication and information access on aiyGISkdatecl 5 ------- NEWSNQTES INFOTERRA GOES TO AGRICULTURE AND TRADE SHOW: INFOTERRA posters were once again displayed at the Fisheries Department booth at the National Agriculture and Trade Show held on lst-3rd May 1992 at the Show Grounds in Belmopan. This event is held annually and many Belizeans look forward to attending it-this year it was attended by twenty-three thousand people. Earlier this year, on 4th-5th April, INFOTERRA posters woe also displayed and leaflets given out at an Agricultural show held in MaskaD Village in the Belize District Posters were constructed showing how INFOTERRA works, who the users are, and how one can utilize the network. Some were made using promotional leaflets. One poster featured a photo of PAC director Dr. Wo Yen Lee. Photocopied leaflets were issued to attendees who showed an interest in the network. Various questions concerning the operation of the network were answered. The attendees who visited the booth showed great interest in the network, and many promised to use it when the situation arises. As Belizeans grow more environmentally aware, there will be mote dependency on the INFOTERRA network. —Jaime Villanueva, INFOTERRA/Belize WIDER CARIBBEAN INITIATIVE: EPA is planning to establish a Caribbean Environmental Information Center (CfciC) in Puerto Rico based on a recent Information Resource Needs Analysis. The purpose of the CEIC is to facilitate the effective exchange and use of environmental information to serve public, private, academic, and government agencies in Puerto Rico in support of efforts to reduce land-based sources of pollution and promote sustainable development The plan calls for • the development of an archive of environment-related information • the creation of an environmental information newsletter highlighting the availability of information resources in Puerto Rico • the design and planning of a computer-based environmental information network. ^ For more information contact Andrew Battin at (202) 260-5109. . . NFP DIRECTORY (Please notify the RSC of any changes.) Olrp— Ar-^cr Department of Environmental Health Services P.O. BoocN-3729 Nassau. THE BAHAMAS Phone: (809) 322-4908 Fex: (809) 426-8959 Vernese Inniss Administrative Officer (Environment) Ministry of Labour. Consumer Affairs and the Environment „ Marine House. Hastings St Michael. 29 BARBADOS Phone: (809)427-2326 Fax: (809)426-8959 Jaime Villanueva Fisheries Department Princess Margaret Drive P.O.Box 148 Belize City. BELIZE Telephone: 501-2-44552 FAX 501-2-32983 ?. Mavis TayiorK3%^ Insti tute of Applied Science and Technology: University Campus - ' iP.O. Bcoc 101050 * Georgetown. GUYANA.... Tefcphone: 539^2or53829^*Fax: 592-2-53042 Marguerite Blemur Minlstere de (Agriculture et des Resources Natunefles et du Developpement Rural P.O. Box 1441 Port-au-Prince, HAITI Telephone: 509-22-1867 FAX: 509-22-3599 Sharon O'Connor Natural Resources Conservation DMson Ministry of Tourism & the Environment 531/2 Moines Road. P.O. Box 305 Kingston. JAMAICA Telephone: (809) 923-5155 FAX: (809) 923-5070 John Husbands Health Planner Ministry of Health. Labour. Information :: Broadcasting. and the Environment C-hausec Road Castries. SHLUCIA ... .. _ Telephone: $09) 453-1960 FAX: ~(809) 453-1080 Emma J. McKamara INPOTERRA/USA U.S. Environmental ProtecaonAgency i Headquarters Library .^ " Room 2904^ PM-211A r 401 M Street. S. W. I #' Washington. DC C. 20460. USA'' Telephone: (202)260-5917 ^;:FAX: (202)260-3923 ------- |