Theatre and environmental communication intervention in South-South Nigeria.

D. Tech. DramaEnvironmental degradation and climate change are issues of significant global interest in the twenty first century. Though there is widespread acknowledgment that natural disasters often stem from causes and foundations which may be difficult to explain, scientific evidence is beginning to emerge of human influence on global climate change and ecosystem destabilization. Development and environmental studies researchers are of the opinion that solutions to environmental problems also require input from social science and the humanities because the environment itself is naturally subject to sociological variables, especially in the interaction between people and the environment. A multi-disciplinary approach for engaging environmental issues has given rise to environmental humanities and other applied disciplinary perspectives. There is global concern about environmental issues and their impact on development, however in the field of communication and applied media there is inadequate amplification of how the environmental problems hamper the development of many societies, especially in developing countries. The mainstream media is the established communication network for environmental and other education campaigns, such as radio, television, and newspapers, yet its impact appears stifled by the absence of cultural relatability and participatory requirements. Development communication researchers have determined there is an opportunity to use alternative media channels and a participatory form of communication which is effective at sensitisation and conscientisation of the populace, especially indigenous peoples in rural locations, towards environmental issues. The dramatic arts have been identified as a creative and strategic communication field capable of addressing this problem in environmental communication and development advocacy. This research explores the role of theatre and performance in integrating cultural resources through communal interaction, education and social change. The accessing of the catalytic role of cultural resources in development communication using theatre is tested in a local context involving people-led participatory activities for creating awareness about the environment. This research is therefore an assessment of a practical applied theatre exercise for mitigating environmental problems