WWF Brazil

Challenge

Throughout 2019, Brazil witnessed a deepening of environmental setbacks and the criminalization of social movements and organized civil society. 

From a political point of view, in 2019 we had an aggravation of environmental dismantling, with projects and measures aimed at relaxing environmental protection measures. In addition, we have identified a detachment between people and the environmental conservation agenda – people say they are in favor of this agenda, but not necessarily know how to act in its defense or understand the connection between, for example, the protection of biomes and the challenges that they directly affect. 

Approach 

Given the analyzed challenges, and based on message testing that helped us to identify audiences and strategic appeals, our work with WWF-Brasil had two main fronts: creating political coverage in order to prevent environmental setbacks, with quick-response campaigns; and campaigns aimed at changing public narratives, so as to also ensure favorable public conditions for the socio-environmental protection agenda. 

Since President Bolsonaro’s election, the Brazilian environmental agenda had already been facing financial resources cuts and a ruining of its environmental protection and inspection mechanisms. Bolsonaro administration’s Provisional Measure (MP) no. 910, issued in December 2019, is part of this process. The Provisional Measure characterized a risk of granting land grabbers immunity and serious dangers both to the Amazon and the Cerrado. 

Given the pandemic context, the campaign took advantage of the engagement of the public in social networks in order to mobilize people and generate political coverage, creating a favorable scenario so that strategic decision-makers could be influenced.

Purpose was responsible for conceiving the strategy and executing the campaign, advising WWF and other organizations on the different engagement and mobilization stages. At this point, some factors were central in building the activations: the definition of the campaign’s message and wording and the co-creation with the organizations.

The campaign was designed in such a way as to create a scenario in which, by influencing the public agenda, decision-makers would feel compelled to support the agenda defended by the involved organizations. The central idea was to pressure the Representatives to take a stand against MP no. 910 and to influence the agenda so that it would not be voted on. For that, the campaign had three main stages:

1. Awareness

Stage in which we explained what land grabbing is and what the risks associated with MP no. 910 were. 

[Fig. 2] Public Lands For Sale · How to Grab Public Lands in Four Steps · (1) Identify and surround the public area · (2) Kick the occupants out · (3) Deforest and set fire to get rid of the entire forest · (4) Now, just declare yourself the land’s owner

[Fig. 3] The Amazon For Sale · Secure your piece of land today; Some are trying to reward criminals; Provisional Measure no. 910 is an endowment for those grabbing public land; And it damages honest producers; Don’t let them fool you! The Criminal Award Provisional Measure · #NoToPM910

2. Incidence

Process of direct and indirect pressuring key Representatives

[Fig. 4] (Rep.) Jandira Feghali, WE COUNT ON YOU! · SAY #NoToPM910! 

[Fig. 5] (Rep.) RODRIGO MAIA, REWARD CRIMINALS OR PROTECT THE AMAZON AND THE CERRADO? · WHAT’S RIGHT ONLY HAS ONE SIDE: · SAY #NoToPM910!

3. Mobilization

Stage for expanding the political coverage. This was the moment in which the mobilization grew bigger, with citizens starting to demand some of their Representatives about the Provisional Measure, demanding them to say #NoToPM910!

[Fig. 6] (NEWS HEADLINE) Gold Miners Hunt Police Agents Down in Sao Paulo Park · Illegal Gold Mining Leads to Shooting and Killing in Vale do Ribeira Environmental Reserve · Park ranger murdered by illicit miners? · This is MP910

[Fig. 7] MP910 IS A CRIME · #NOTOPM910

Partnerships / Influencers / Key Collaborations 

Brazilian influencers and celebrities with large audiences, such as singer Anitta, and actors Leandra Leal, Taís Araújo and Mateus Solano, echoed the campaign, posting #NoToPM910.

Partner Organizations

Press Coverage / Media

The #MP910Não (#NoToPM910) hashtag was featured on Twitter’s Trending Topics for two days in a row, with more than 120,000 publications.

Impact

The campaign successfully prevented Provisional Measure no. 910 from being voted on. In addition:

Despite its relevance for Brazil and the entire world, the Cerrado, Brazil’s tropical savanna biome, is targeted by irregular and uncontrolled occupation. While roughly 70% of the Amazon are public areas, with much of its territory protected by Conservation Units and Indigenous Lands, the Cerrado is mostly in the private sector hands. It is common ground among environmentalists that governmental policies and rural producers and agribusiness initiatives both fall short when it comes to the preservation of the Brazilian savanna.

In addition to this, as from the Brazilian national public agenda point of view, there is a lack of knowledge by citizens in Brazil about this specific biome, its relevance and the dangers to which it is subject. 

The Cerrados campaign arises from the need to tell the biome’s stories from the perspective of those helping to protect it. While the environmental agenda has been under constant attack, the Cerrados campaign appears with desiring to awaken, in citizens across the country, their responsibility to protect the biome.

All narratives and tools were developed out of an intense process of listening to various organizations and local leaders, in particular, the Cerrado Network entities and partners. Based on those narratives, the campaign’s main products were defined as a podcast telling stories of local mobilization, a chatbot with tips for engagement tools and a website aggregating the campaign’s main contents.

Podcast

Chatbot

Website

Impact