Environment journalists from Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa connect in Denmark

The African continent faces major environmental challenges linked to energy and climate change, but relatively little space is allocated to these issues in media across Africa. For many editors, environment is a non-topic although media can help raise awareness of the “green tech” solutions that exist and which can contribute to sustainable development

By Matias Nikolas Wulff, IMS

Twelve environment journalists from Ghana, Kenya and South Africa spent a week from 23 February – 2 March looking at Danish expertise within sectors such as renewable energy, green technology and environmental policy. The study-tour to Denmark implemented by IMS with funds from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs aims to increase knowledge about green solutions in areas such as optimising waste management, wind energy and waste water management.

Green Growth has recently been promoted as a key point of public and private agendas globally, and Denmark has taken on a significant role in promoting this concept. According to the OECD Green Growth should be understood as all measuresand initiatives promoting economic growth while reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, minimising waste and inefficient use of natural resources, and maintaining biodiversity.[1]

”Our motivation for implementing this pilot project was based upon an appreciation of the current relevance of the Green Growth debate in the African continent and an opportunity to build the capacity for wider environmental coverage on the African continent”, said Finn Rasmussen, head of IMS’ work with media in Africa.

“Debates about environment and energy occupy a larger space in the African media today, but are still a far cry from being a part of the everyday news agenda of African media. The media can therefore play a significant role in generating public debate about “green” issues and solutions and thereby help to improve the quality of life and raise awareness on environmental policy and Green Growth solutions within their respective countries,” he adds.

Danish solutions to African environmental issues

One of the objectives of the study tour was to offer the widest possible view of the current debates, initiatives and discussions around green growth issues and the environmental agenda in Denmark. Among the activities that the journalists participated in were meetings at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ 3GF initiative, Think-tank CONCITO’s reflections on a transition towards a green economy, presentations and visits to small and medium scale entrepreneurs, such as Acces2Innovation which showcased innovative green solutions for African countries.

One of the participating journalists, Edmund Smith-Asante, an environmental and business reporter for the Daily Graphic and Ghana Business News felt that media coverage on green solutions may indirectly help to influence the actions of policymakers:

“This trip gives me material for my stories which can generate interest and feed into [debates in] Ghana such as renewable energies, a very current issue in my country (…). We realize we don’t produce enough electricity and this is an essential issue for development. If we have this opportunity to report on these alternatives presented to us in Denmark, the policy makers will take these up and I, as a journalist, can attempt to contribute to a national debate to find our own, environmentally sound energy solutions.”

Environment a non-topic for many editors

Janet Otieno, an award-winning Kenyan journalist frequently reports on environmental issues for an online magazine called Africa Review which covers African and regional affairs. Stemming from a human rights journalism background, she began her career specialising in development and women’s issues. Ms. Otieno is well aware of the challenges of reporting for an under-represented field in her home country:

“Most senior editors hold the belief that environment is a non-topic, so they would rather go with stories they believe will sell, such as political stories. As an environmental journalist in Kenya you really have to be aggressive and find the right way to angle your stories in order to make an impact,” she explains.

“In Kenya environmental reporters mainly rely on UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) to call us for a conference on environment in order to get a story through (…) You cannot divorce climate change and environmental issues from other issues, it goes hand in hand with human development, business development and policy making. This is the challenge that we have in Kenya: to put environmental issues at the centre of the media agenda.”

Ghanaian journalist Mr. Smith-Asante said:

“Sanitation is a big issue in Ghana. The figure circulating is that we have only managed to cover the needs of 15 percent of the country in terms of improved sanitation. The MDG target is of 54 percent, so we are way off that target. The One stop shop sanitation example presented to us by EnviClean on Monday was a real eye-opener: A self-sustaining, easily implementable and commercially viable solution to sanitation that is safe clean and where the waste is not only viewed as waste but utilized for generating energy. This is something inspiring coming from a country where many people do not have their own sanitation facilities, and so much pressure is put on public sanitation and shared facilities.”

Consolidating cross-border environmental journalist’s networks

There was a clear sense amongst the participants that participating in a study tour which included representatives from three countries was beneficial to discussions and debates generated by the highly qualified professionals who took part. Ms. Otieno shared her thoughts on the perspectives opened up by the green growth study tour:

“One thing we find as environmental journalists in our home countries is that most editors are not aware of the breadth of environmental issues. For us to be able to make a stance in our home countries, we have to put our efforts and our knowledge together across borders – through our participation to this kind of events, but also through international training courses on environmental issues as a starting point to increase our knowledge and to create linkages between environmental journalists in different countries so as to build a common approach, share our stories and hold a network that goes beyond that of our own countries.”

South Africa, Kenya and Ghana will have to face major challenges with climate change, water, energy and management of natural resources in the coming years. By showcasing and promoting Danish environmental solutions, policies and debates as well as innovations within the green growth sector to the African media and supporting national environmental media networks, IMS can contribute to strengthening both the quality and quantity of coverage in these countries.

“By bringing together journalists across these three countries we hope to contribute to establishing strong cross border journalist networks with a focus on exchanging news on environmental issues,” said Finn Rasmussen, IMS.

“And we hope pursue a continuation of this project by involving more journalists as well as opening these kind of opportunities to other countries in Africa.”