In August 2011, the Journalists’ Roundtable Meeting on Climate Change Reporting was held in Nairobi.
The main focus of the meeting was climate change reporting in Kenya in the run-up to the forthcoming Climate Change Talks – COP 17 to be held in Durban in November 2011. ILEG recognises that in developing countries such as Kenya, where information sources are limited, the media is a critical player in the communication of development information. Consequently, proper communication of such information can help in the creation of awareness, the raising of understanding and the stimulation of debate on climate change and other development issues.
The meeting was held as part of ILEG’s strategy in working with the media to enhance the quality and depth of environmental reporting in Kenya. The purpose was to create a platform for sharing experiences and sharing ideas on climate change reporting. In addition, to find out the state of preparations being made by the media for COP 17 and to start putting together strategies to ensure that journalists participate in the meeting and raise awareness on climate change.
The round-table brought together 38 participants working in the communication sector including among others journalists, climate change professionals and researchers in the field of mass communication.
At the meeting, presentations were made by Dr. Charles Nyambuga from Maseno University on the Trends in Environmental Reporting in Kenya and Maurice Makoloo, ILEG Director on the Status of Climate Change Reporting between 2009-2011. While noting the importance of climate change in international and national policy discourse, participants identified some key challenges to reporting. These included the need for training; lack of resources; lack of links between journalists, editorial biases towards politics; institutions and experts; technical nature of climate change; poor localisation of stories; use of new media; among others.
At the close of the meeting, participants agreed that they would endeavour to raise the standard of climate change and environmental reporting in the media. In addition other strategies included the organisation of meetings for editors; provision of information on climate change for reporters; identification of sponsorship; the increased coverage of local stories and the localisation of COP discussions among others.
