Ayyappan.VThiruvananthapuram: The forest department is planning to introduce a standard operating procedure (SOP) to guide field staff on social media communication, including what can and cannot be posted or said online.The move is aimed at raising awareness about the department and bringing conservation initiatives into mainstream public discourse amid growing negativity towards them.The proposal was discussed at a three-day workshop on social media ideation, where participants stressed the need to institutionalise the department’s social media operations. The proposed framework will include guidelines on content, responses to public comments and the use of humour and satire, said Pramod G Krishnan, additional principal chief conservator of forests (social forestry).He described trolling as a “new-age cultural product” and said social media interactions suggested that public sentiment towards the department may be gradually shifting from extreme negativity to greater tolerance.The department also plans regular training and refresher sessions to ensure staff have basic social media literacy. The training could be extended to officials at the circle and division levels. About 40 field staff attended the workshop, which included sessions on video-making, improving content quality and digital communication.The department’s social media team, formed a couple of years ago, has grown from about 1,000 followers to nearly five lakh. Participants said the department now has one of the strongest social media presences among forest departments.They stressed that content should be unbiased, factual and verified while respecting privacy. Misleading or fear-inducing content and posts that could trigger enmity should be avoided. Participants also proposed division-level ethics committees to screen videos before publication.The workshop called for studying negative comments to identify issues for educational and awareness campaigns. Participants suggested dedicated social media teams in every division and more planned, scripted and long-form content, including videos on wildlife initiatives such as butterfly conservation in Aralam. They also proposed counter-videos to address misleading information, explaining issues such as restrictions on entry into certain areas, curbs on road development and the prohibition on feeding wild animals.
