Kohima, December 8 (MExN): With a view that media can play a critical role in creating awareness and sensitization on climate change, a media workshop on climate change reporting is being organized in Kohima from December 11 to 13. The workshop aims to engage media persons in the dialogue on climate change adaptation.
The Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP) of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Department of Science and Technology and Centre for Media Studies (CMS) have joined hands together in this programme to encourage accurate reporting of climate change science and adaptation measures in the Indian Himalayas.
“Climate change directly affects vital economic sectors and livelihoods of the communities in the Himalayas. We believe that an informed media has an important role to play for spreading awareness and stimulating action on climate change adaptation and mitigation. We hope that the media workshops will trigger more reporting on climate change issues in the Himalayan region by journalists,” said Marie Laure Crettaz, Head and Counsellor, Swiss Cooperation Office India. The organisers stressed that the impact of climate change in the Himalayan region is more pronounced than in other regions, particularly on agriculture, livelihoods and biodiversity. These impacts can be minimized if people adapt to climate changes through awareness and sensitization, they added.
During the three days, senior thematic experts, scientists and policymakers will interact with state-level journalists from different media outlets in the Himalayan state.
The workshop will include presentations by scientists on the issue of climate change, field visits to expose participants to community-level impacts and work related to climate change adaptation, and discussion on media-related issues.
Five such workshops have been held before in Almora (Uttarakhand), Imphal (Manipur), Gangtok (Sikkim), Shillong (Meghalaya) and Aizawl (Mizoram). The objective of these workshops is to improve qualitative reporting on climate change in the media.
“The real challenge of climate change reporting is to connect changes occurring at the local level with climate science and policies. We are trying to build this capacity among interested journalists,” stated PN Vasanti, Director General, CMS, New Delhi.
It is expected that these workshops would enhance the capacity of environmental journalists and highlight climate change adaptation issues in local and regional context.
