In December 2022, the GIZ SPACES project produced a radio drama series called “Love and Greed in the Valley of Cashmere Goats” that is related to protected areas (PAs) and the environment. One of the reasons why the radio drama initiative had a promising start is its co-creation with environmental stakeholder organizations that are partners in the My Green Mongolia campaign. Based on this commitment, the SPACES project in August 2022 organized a co-creation workshop in which the mentioned partners interacted with national and international media consultants – among them the Head of IUCN-CEC, Sean Southey – to develop the general plot and the character profiles for the series. A Mongolian production company was then commissioned to turn the initial ideas into a radio drama series.

The drama’s 26 episodes of 13-15 min each are broadcast weekly on the popular nationwide radio station FM 98,5 in the context of the MGM national campaign. Other radio stations will join in later. The drama is meant to target urban and rural youth as well as herder families. Its major goal is to raise awareness on environmental issues and to foster environmental education and communication (EEC) in the country. The first episode was broadcast in early January, and the first season of the drama’s story arch will conclude in June 2023. When a new episode has been broadcast it will also be shared via Facebook, and YouTube. Some of the radio drama’s story lines and characters have also been transferred to short animated videos and comics with forest-related messages that reflect objectives of the SPACES project and are disseminated through social media. 

The innovative environmental education format combines information with attractive entertainment. This edutainment approach fosters 3H (head-heart-hand) learning by relying more on emotions than scientific facts and technical concepts. Intriguing story plots and creative dialogues address a variety of environmental challenges such as forest fires, illegal hunting and logging, wildlife protection, water scarcity and soil erosion – and most of all pasture degradation and overgrazing, for which the cashmere goats are a driver. Scripts are written in a simple language and in a socio-cultural context that is understood by all Mongolian citizens.

The initial response by the target audiences is encouraging. The radio drama’s Facebook page has reached more than 750 followers within less than month. FM 98.5 received a lot of calls from listeners asking when Garid – a protected area ranger and one of the good guys who has been jailed by corrupt business people in Episode 2 – will be released from prison in order to stop the illegal hunting schemes going on (attention: spoiler – in Episode 6). These are clear indications that the radio drama series catches people’s attention and interest and, hopefully, leads to better informed citizens and positive environmental attitudes and practices.