Propostas estratégicas à comunicação ambiental assertiva para o saneamento: percepções de especialistas brasileiros e portugueses

Abstract

Basic sanitation is an essential system for healthy people's quality of life and respect for the environment, consisting of four aspects: 1. collection, treatment and distribution of drinking water; 2. sewage collection, treatment and disposal; 3. collection, treatment and environmentally appropriate destination of solid waste; and 4. rainwater management and drainage. However, despite being institutionalized, this system is not homogeneously distributed in Brazil, and this critical situation requires knowledge and participation of people in all components of the aspects of sanitation, both for proper posture in favor of their systems involved, as well as for the universalization of its services. Through research in scientific initiation, it can be seen that the population interviewed in São Carlos-SP does not have knowledge about basic sanitation and its aspects, also verifying that it does not have adequate means for communicating about the system. Thus, interviews were conducted with organizations and institutions involved with basic sanitation in the city of study, to verify which methods were used for the existing communicative actions. It was possible to observe some flaws in the adopted processes, mainly in the lack of planning and frequency of the activities carried out. So, we sought suggestions from specialists in social communication in the city of São Carlos, through conversations and interviews, and, also, suggestions from scholars and specialists in themes involved in basic sanitation and the environment in Portugal. This latest investigation (in Portugal) was carried out remotely, through: 1. the realization of an online focus group; 2. the application of questionnaires via e-mail; and 3. interviews via virtual meetings. The suggestions obtained by the conversations and interviews (with Brazilian experts) emphasize the importance of providing protagonism to the people who will participate in the communicative action, inviting them to artistic interventions and storytelling, which involve through awareness. The suggestions obtained through research with Portuguese scholars and specialists elucidate how environmental communication can be more assertive, providing the possibility of dialogue for people who are participating in the action, making it a mutual learning effect. It became evident that personal and targeted contacts are essential to guarantee the success of communicative actions, bringing people together, bringing the human vision for the provision of sanitation services, as well as positive feelings for participation in its aspects. Successful actions are carried out with close communications between the interlocutors, in a consistent and constant manner, so that they are always remembered and incorporated into the daily lives of people using sanitation systems and the institutions that provide these services.