Reporting environmental issues in Bam-e-Dunya

REGISTER    CONCEPT NOTE

Organisers: Hindu Kush Karakoram Pamir Landscape (HKPL) Initiative, ICIMOD, and WWF-Pakistan

About the workshop

This regional workshop aims to build the capacity of journalists from Hindu Kush Karakoram Pamir Landscape (HKPL) member countries – Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, and Tajikistan – on environmental reporting. Prominent environmental experts, climate journalists, and academics from renowned international institutes will share their technical knowledge and expertise to help journalists expand their quality coverage of environmental issues affecting the HKPL (also known as ‘Bam-e-Dunya’ in Persian, meaning ‘roof of the world’).

Expected outputs and outcomes

• Knowledge building around key environmental challenges and issues in both HKPL member countries and at the Hindu Kush Himalaya level
• Improved transboundary collaboration among journalists towards highlighting environmental issues at the regional level
• Enhanced knowledge of the effective use of digital tools and social media platforms to promote news stories, analyses, and messages
• Improved understanding of research and technical reports on environmental issues and how to simplify them for use in news stories
• Opportunities to develop and pitch story ideas and publish stories in reputed international print and broadcast media
• At least one news piece/broadcast package as an outcome of the workshop
• Better understanding of the water–energy–food–ecosystem (WEFE) nexus approach.

Eligible participants

The training will bring together 20–25 journalists from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. The participants are expected to:

• be active journalists from local and national media organisations
• be full-time or freelance journalists or bloggers with a demonstrated interest in the environment in the HKPL
• possess strong knowledge of journalism and journalistic skills
• have knowledge of the HKPL

Background

Loss of biodiversity, climate change, rapid land use change, degrading ecosystem health, uncontrolled tourism, and food and nutrition insecurity are some of the key challenges of the HKPL. Journalists can play an important role in addressing such environmental issues. Their role is important to highlight these environmental challenges to decision makers and the need for collective action for transboundary sustainability. Their stories can have a powerful impact on audiences at different levels, from grassroots communities to the leadership.

For the last two years, ICIMOD through its Hindu Kush Karakoram Pamir Landscape (HKPL) Initiative has collaborated with WWF-Pakistan in organising workshops on environmental journalism (including a media workshop organised in 2021). The workshops primarily focused on environmental journalists from Pakistan. Now, for the first time, both organisations will collaborate with international academic and media institutions from several countries to train journalists from the HKPL for better environmental reporting.

Agenda