With regards to innovation as ‘doing things differently’, through communication in Guadeloupe a special program has been set up for disease prevention and health promotion with respect to toxic releases in the environment, starting on April 1st, 2009. The program was launched by IREPS (Guadeloupe’s Agency for Health Education and Promotion) and partners (national services, medical and pharmaceutical sectors and associations). It was financed by the RegionalHealth Agency (ARS), as part of a National Chlordecone Action.
Immediate action was required, since farmers were using several pesticides including those with the very toxic chlordecone. As part of the Guadeloupean identity, gardening is a strong cultural element, but it is under strong market pressure. Therefore, often without knowing it, farmers -forced by real estate agencies on allotments- were seduced to use heavy toxic and carcinogenic pesticides. As a result, people with regular consumption of food (bananas, citrus, etc.) from their polluted gardens are suffering from diseases. Chlordecone has been forbidden in France since 1990 but was sold to Guadeloupe and Martinique until 1993. It is very persistent and can still be found in large quantities in soil and groundwater, stretching across the entire food chain, including fish.
The special JAFA action and communication program has been established to reduce the exposure of the population to chlordecone via changing habits of supply and self-consumption of animal and vegetable products from private allotment gardens. Via the program, door-to-door surveys were carried out with all households living in potentially polluted areas, leading to 10,500 household surveys, 2,560 gardens analyzed, with ca. 950 assessed as strongly overexposed.
A strong communication program, aimed at prevention and protecting health and the environment, has since developed successfully. Engaging support from individuals and communities has been a crucial factor to achieve this. As a result, most of the land has been reappropriated, improved management of potential food pollution takes place, alternative farming techniques are emerging, healthy and accessible food is grown, and more shared gardens are in use. From an absolute disaster, the JAFA community approach has shown to be an opportunity for the start of a change -innovation- contributing to the health and well-being of the people of Guadeloupe in multiple areas.
Source: Nestor, 2018
Example of strategy 5C:
Communicate for Acceptance (E = C x A)
In communication practice, the law of Wibier* says: the effect of an innovation project = communication x acceptance. In other words, important project outcomes and lessons should both be communicated very well and in such a way that broad support from island stakeholders will be gained. Of course, this is a message for innovation project stakeholders, but also to local governments who can play a special role in safeguarding this ‘law of practice’ and stimulating its application.
*Based on and adapted from various original sources and practiced by: Jan Wibier, Director of the Province of Fryslan, The Netherlands, 2004 – 2009
