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Every day's story - Radio Programme

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Radio station: Youth and sport (elshabab wal ryaddah), 108FM.

Time: the month of Ramadan (May 6 - June 5, 2019), 10:30 - 11:00 am.

Target audience: the general public.

Structure:

-        Section one (the recording) - 5 min.: this part includes facts about the animal or plant; a mix of scientific facts, cultural, historical and sometimes mythical connections to the creature. The material was presented in Arabic, in an easy, clear and attractive way.

-        Section two (receiving calls) - 20 min. : the presenter receives live calls from listeners who give an answer and may share their knowledge about the plant or animal.

-        Section three (wrap up): this 5 minute section was presented by the Executive Director of Nature and Science Foundation, (Salma Zalat), through a phone call. It is considered the main part, where the intended message about a key conservation issue related to the plant or animal is delivered. This in addition to answering questions and announcing the correct answer and the winner.

Aim: raising awareness about the fauna and flora of Egypt, and communicating key conservation issues to the public. 30 species were chosen to highlight specific conservation issues that relate to those species and similar ones.

Key conservation issues and related species presented in the live programme:

-        Overhunting & extinction: ostrich, quail, ghazal, dabb.

-        Illegal trade in endangered species: tortoise and turtle.

-        Folk medicine and traditional use: colocynth, mentha, dabb, bat and hennah.

-        International conventions and environmental laws: turtles, dabb and fox. 

-        Plastic pollution: whale and turtle.

-        Urban expansion, change in land use and habitat loss: earthworm, scarab and tortoise.

-        Phobia and wrong believes: Scorpion, bat, fox and owl.

-        Ecosystem services and biodiversity economics: solitary bees (pollination), silkworm and hennah.

-        Ecotourism: dolphin, mangrove, coral reef and others.

-        Invasive species: water hyacinth.

-        Endemic species: weasel.

-        Global warming: coral reef.

-        Protected areas and conservation: mangrove and tortoise.

-        Wild vs. domesticated: ostrich, donkey, mentha, tortoise, turtle and silkworm.

-        Ethics of treating domesticated animals: donkey.

-        Biological control: chameleon and hedgehog.

-        Adaptation: chameleon, hedgehog, frog and others.

 

Result: an average of 20 calls were received per episode. All governorates (except South Sinai) were represented by listeners and callers, also represented in the winners who were selected from 26 different governorates. This variation in geographical distribution gave some useful impressions about some cultural connections, wrong beliefs or even ignorance about some species. Some remarks from the programme are:

-        General ignorance about what an “animal” is (birds were generally considered not to be animals by the presenter and audience).

-        Audience seemed to be less familiar with marine wildlife (dolphins and coral reef)

-        Some beliefs and folk uses of some animals were revealed, such as using bat blood to prevent hair growth.