Call For Protecting Press And Planet

This year, the theme of Press Freedom Day, celebrated annually on May 3rd, is "Journalism for the Planet." As the climate and biodiversity crises continue to escalate, not only the environment and ecosystems are affected, but also the lives of billions of people worldwide. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has stressed the importance of telling stories about the impact of climate change on people's lives. On World Press Freedom Day, UNESCO launched a campaign titled "This Story Must Be Told," spotlighting the contributions of journalists and photojournalists in uncovering stories that deserve attention. 

While these stories may be unpleasant, they reveal the harsh realities of lives devastated by climate change. Journalists are often at the forefront of covering important stories, whether during wars, pandemics, or natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, and wildfires. In doing so, they sometimes risk their lives, with many journalists and photojournalists being killed in the line of duty. This year, UNESCO has made a special call to recognise and celebrate the work of journalists in shaping a better future, particularly in highlighting the impact of climate change and advocating for improvements.

Attacks on journalists 

According to a report "Press and Planet in Danger," released by UNESCO on World Press Freedom Day in Santiago, Chile, attacks on environmental journalists have risen dramatically worldwide. UNESCO and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) surveyed 905 journalists across 129 countries. Between 2009 and 2023, more than 70 per cent of reporters experienced attacks while working on environmental stories, ranging from mining and deforestation to protests and land grabbing. The report states that there were more than 300 attacks reported over the past five years alone, a 42 per cent increase from the previous five-year period. It also found that attacks had more than doubled in recent years, rising from 85 in the 2014-2018 period to 183 between 2019 and 2023. 

These attacks take various forms, including legal threats, online harassment, physical violence, and death threats. Physical violence appears to be the most common, with the report noting that over the past 15 years, 44 journalists have been killed and another 39 jailed while covering environmental stories. These attacks have been carried out by authoritarian governments, corporations, and criminal groups.

The report also highlights that women journalists report being more exposed than men to online harassment. This trend was also identified in UNESCO's report titled "The Chilling: Global Trends in Online Violence Against Women Journalists." As the risks of environmental reporting increase, media outlets may censor such reporting, and journalists may become more cautious. The recent UNESCO report mentions that a third of journalists said they had been censored, and almost half 45 per cent of interviewees said they self-censored while covering environmental issues due to fear of attacks, concerns about source exposure, or awareness that their stories conflicted with the interests of stakeholders.

During a live press conference on Press Freedom Day, Guilherme Canela, who leads UNESCO's Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists section, stated that out of the 44 killings, there were judicial decisions regarding the killings in only five cases. He stressed the high level of impunity regarding these killings. In 2022, British journalist Dom Phillip, who was investigating environmental devastation in the Amazon, was killed. Brazilian police have arrested several suspects. Environmental reporting often requires journalists to travel to remote locations. As the media sector faces financial challenges, large corporate media outlets may not allocate enough resources to environmental journalism. 

The UNESCO report mentions that small, underfunded media outlets and independent reporters tend to cover environmental stories, making them more vulnerable to attacks and killings. According to Global Witness, an international NGO that investigates and campaigns against environmental and human rights abuses, a report published on September 13, 2021, stated that at least 227 land and environmental activists were murdered in 2020 for defending their land and the planet. While not all of these individuals were journalists, many were activists or community leaders involved in environmental reporting and advocacy.

Climate crisis

As the climate crisis deepens, forest fires ravage vast lands worldwide, droughts destroy farmlands, and floods leave thousands of people homeless, the need to raise awareness about the adverse impacts of environmental degradation and climate change increases. It is crucial for environmental protection groups, human rights defenders, and journalists to continue and, in fact, increase their advocacy and reporting on the adverse impacts of climate change and environmental crimes. However, as attacks on these individuals increase, this work becomes increasingly dangerous, posing a risk of its decline. This would jeopardize the existence of our planet and all living organisms. 

Therefore, a global effort must be made to protect the earth by providing more protection to journalists who uncover the facts behind climate change and the activities of those involved in criminal activities such as forest fires and land grabbing. One positive aspect of Nepal is our remarkable progress in protecting our forests. The country's forest area has increased over the last few decades due to excellent reforestation and conservation policies. However, this year, there has unfortunately been an extraordinary rise in forest fires in Nepal, which is estimated to have destroyed about 2 per cent of our forests.

 It is therefore important to investigate the causes and take appropriate measures to prevent this. Journalism for the planet is crucial for preserving life for future generations. It is essential to recognise the work of journalists who report on the environment, even risking their lives to do so. More resources need to be allocated to such reporting and to the protection of journalists covering the environment.

(Sharma is a senior journalist and currently the coordinator of Mass Communication for the Nepal National Commission for UNESCO. at namrata1964@yahoo.com. Twitter handle: @NamrataSharmaP)