This archive report was first published on 14 June 2020.
As the world grapples with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has underscored the need for good practices to boost biodiversity.
At a recent meeting between editors and UNEP, the parties agreed to promote efforts in conservation of biodiversity through storytelling that inspires people to adopt habits that protect biodiversity.
Dr. Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director of UN Environment, emphasized the importance of adopting good practices, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic.
"There is a direct link between nature, biodiversity, water, lakes, and the well-being of Africans. When we cut trees, we also have a choice to plant more trees or to keep on cutting," she said.
Msuya shared her personal story of the link between biodiversity and prosperity while growing up in Tanzania.
"My own grandmother's livelihood in the mountains of Kilimanjaro in Usangi area depended on soil, trees, coffee to feed my father's generation. My father would go to school, and that provided enormous opportunity for us to be educated," she said.
She added that the Covid-19 crisis has reminded us of the close interlink between human health and the environment.
Editors present urged UNEP to make their scientists more available to journalists to enable them to synthesize the science for mass consumption.
UNEP is currently taking a scientific study on the connection between zoonotic diseases and the environment.
Msuya said UNEP has always valued the partnership with key stakeholders and urged journalists to play their role in citizen empowerment, as biodiversity is at the core of poverty reduction and human well-being.
"As we look ahead to the UN Environment Assembly next year, the focus on nature at the global, regional, and county level is prominent," she said.
She added that UNEP wants to build the biodiversity momentum the way climate change was a few years ago, which led to the Paris Agreement.
Dorothy Kweyu, a consulting editor and member of the Kenya Editors' Guild, called for the need to tap into indigenous knowledge for better coverage of the environment.
"Indigenous knowledge is at the core of biodiversity," she said.
Samuel Maina, the Editor-in-Chief of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and Vice President of the Kenya Editors' Guild, said better reportage of stories on the environment will help them compete in the editorial agenda.
He called on journalists to go beyond the ordinary to add value to their stories through humanizing and expert views.
The forum was held to interrogate the place of the media in communicating biodiversity and to answer key questions, including how to strengthen the partnership between UNEP and journalists.
Among the resolutions include capacity building through training journalists on specialized reporting of environmental stories, humanizing the reporting of environmental stories to resonate with local audiences, and collaboration between journalists and scientists in sharing scientific research to aid in reporting.
