## 3 Media-Based Communication Strategies
### Visual Media
For example, the WOM Flickr account ([[https://www.flickr.com/mekongwonders](https://www.flickr.com/mekongwonders)]([https://www.flickr.com/mekongwonders](https://www.flickr.com/mekongwonders)), Accessed on: 28 June 2021) includes nearly 4000 images taken by project staff and partners that are frequently used for outreach materials and social media. The project has also partnered with Thai photographer Suthep Kritsanavarin (paper co-author) to produce high-quality photography and videos documenting the daily lives of people connected to the Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake, and to lead photography training workshops for students, academics, conservation practitioners, and media personnel. Kritsanavarin'sphotographs and videos have been used in exhibitions, television broadcasts, and social media campaigns, and to illustrate books about the Mekong. By depicting the lives and livelihoods of people such as fishers and farmers who depend on the Mekong ecosystem, these photographs evoke the connection between people and nature, often conveying the elements of a story without the need for captions. Such work requires developing trust with the subjects before documenting them to elicit their personalities on film. The resulting visuals effectively use stunning contrast to capture dramatic environmental changes in the Mekong Basin, as well as the nature of the threats it faces. Kritsanavarin produced a series of paired photographs taken in different seasons at the same location on the Tonle Sap Lake to document the remarkable seasonal fluctuations in the lake's water level, and the resulting changes to the lakeside communities that live in floating houses or still houses. The photos communicated the natural rhythms of the river that are part of daily life for those that depend on it. One such pair of aerial drone photos was among the most popular WOM Facebook posts (Figure 4, Table 4) and documents how the Kampong Luong floating village in Pursat Province moves as far as three kilometers with rising floodwaters in Tonle Sap Lake). Kritsanavarin's imagery documents the tenuousness of Cambodia's natural resources, such as verdant flooded forest being converted into agricultural fields, landscapes parched by drought, or fishers catching some of the world's largest freshwater fishes that are approaching extinction. WOM has also worked to produce and share 69 videos, including 53 short videos under 5 min, and 16 longer videos and mini-documentaries. While short films that highlight a single event or idea can grab the attention of viewers on social media, longer documentaries allow for a more in-depth exploration of a topic. Visual storytelling through video can convey the serious challenges posed by drought or wildlife trafficking, and also show hopeful stories, such as the connection between an animal keeper and a rescued elephant, or fishers releasing large endangered fish. While project videos are uploaded to YouTube, Facebook has been the most popular dissemination platform for project content, including videos (see Social Media section below). Videos were disproportionately popular on Facebook--although they represented just 12% of total posts, videos made up 60% of the 2 Facebook posts with the highest nonpaid (organic) reach (Table 4). The most popular video featured project lead Zeb Hogan narrating a visit to a Fish Conservation Area in Tonle Sap Lake (Table 4), which may reflect the benefit of a charismatic, well-known narrator on camera, as well as a positive conservation story showing the large numbers of fish in the protected area. Figure 4: Two pictures of the Kampong Luong floating village in Pursat Province on Tonle Sap Lake by photographer Suthep Kritsanavarin shared on WOM social media. (**a**) Photo taken in June at the beginning of the rainy season; (**b**) photo taken in September. On average, the village moves back as far as three kilometers during the rainy season.