The IEC Approach

THE IEC APPROACH

by Antonio C. Antonio

September 24, 2014

There are several approaches in popularizing environmental advocacies.  The most basic of which is the IEC Approach.  But what is the IEC Approach?  Is there anything more basic than the simple expediency of talking or evangelizing about the importance of a healthy environment?  I should emphasize that an environmental advocacy cannot be as simple as standing on a street corner and endlessly talking with the use of a public address system.  We would only add to noise pollution and get a lot of people irate by doing this.

Demagoguery and environmentalism cannot mix; and posers can easily be unmasked.  Although environmental information, data and statistics can be researched, the dynamics of ecosystems and environmental science in general can only be fully understood through a formal education.  The guidance of learned professionals and experts in the academe will certainly put more logic and order in the mindset of a genuine environment advocate.  The processing of traditional and new environmental information and knowledge can only be systematically done by a trained mind.  And only a trained mind can effectively gather facts, figures and evidence, analyze raw environmental information, and communicate the same to others.

An environmental advocacy must be approached in a structured way so that the processed information can be transmitted in a manner and language that is easily understood by the public.  The IEC Approach stands for the triadic approach called information-education-communication.  How does the IEC Approach work?  The accompanying image details a simple process flow.

1. An environmental advocate, presumably trained in environmental science, manages a study and research on the environmental information and knowledge he/she intends to popularize;
2. Such environmental knowledge are transmitted to the public using an IEC platform; and,
3. A feedback mechanism to update, reformat and recalibrate knowledge to be re-transmitted again to the public.

This is a never-ending process of information and knowledge transmission and feedback between the environmental advocate and the public.  The success and effectiveness of this approach will depend largely on the presence of three elements/conditions in both the advocate/s and the public --- (1) KNOWLEDGE – Widespread knowledge of the issues involved; (2) BELIEF – Internalizing a firm belief in the cause by which an advocacy exists; and, (3) COMMITMENT – The willingness to tirelessly defend and pursue a cause.  This is the IEC Approach.

Just my little thoughts…

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