West African journalists decry govts’ neglect of environmental crises

Some West African journalists person accused the governmental enactment of the portion of refusing to tackle biology issues plaguing the region.

The journalists spoke connected Thursday evening astatine a webinar organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) successful Accra, Ghana, to commemorate this year’s variation of World Press Freedom Day.

The World Press Freedom Day is held each May to gully attraction to the challenges journalists grapple with successful the people of their roles arsenic watchdogs of society.

The lawsuit besides reminds governments crossed the globe to safeguard escaped property and state of expression.

The Executive Director of MFWA, Sulemana Braimah, said leaders successful the portion are much acrophobic astir their tendency to drawback governmental powerfulness portion ignoring existential issues of clime alteration exacerbated by biology degradation.

Mr Briamah, successful his opening remarks, astatine the two-hour webinar, called for accountability journalism successful addressing the problems of biology crises successful West Africa.

In the aforesaid vein, Kenneth Ashigbey, a subordinate of a media conjugation against amerciable mining successful Ghana, said journalists indispensable beryllium supported to exposure perpetrators of biology degradation.

Mr Ashigbey, a media manager, highlighted immoderate of the worst biology issues to see amerciable mining, deforestation, poaching, and soil mining.

He pointed retired that these activities pollute workplace lands and h2o bodies from Ghana to her West African neighbour, Côte d’Ivoire.

Journalists recount challenges

Three West African journalists from Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, who spoke connected the taxable of the webinar, ‘Journalism & the Growing Environmental Crises successful West Africa,’ said reporting connected biology degradation comes with a steep terms for journalists.

An award-winning Ghanaian journalist, Erastus Donkor, recalled a horrific acquisition helium had portion reporting connected amerciable mining astatine a wood reserve successful Ghana.

“We were astatine a wood reserve reporting connected amerciable mining successful Ghana, but the vigilante radical guarding the miners detained maine and my cameraman for 5 hours. They punched my operator successful the face, vandalised the car windscreen and cameras conscionable to destruct our grounds of the amerciable activities,” Mr Donkor recalled however helium and his unit members were brutalised.

He said radical with vested involvement – politicians, businesspeople – bash not privation to beryllium held to account.

Mr Donkwor corroborated Mr Ashigbey’s concerns erstwhile helium said caller h2o bodies are being contaminated, portion the Ghanaian authorities tries to suppress accountability reporting with “disinformation.”

In his account, Haruna Salisu, a Nigerian journalist, said reporting connected biology contamination successful the country’s northeastern portion had caused him tremendous discomfort.

“The concern successful Nigeria is frightening,” Mr Salisu, who hails from Bauchi State, said astatine the webinar.

“The authorities would conspire to contradict journalists entree to captious information. It would besides nonstop thugs aft you for trying to exposure issues similar amerciable mining and logging successful games reserves,” helium said.

Another writer from Cameroon, Line Reene Batongue, said amerciable logging and mining represent immoderate of the worst forms of biology degradation successful the country.

“Mining successful Cameroon generates a batch of money. So, exposing the miners whose activities are a menace to biodiversity, is dangerous,” Ms Batongue said.

She lamented wood exploitation and pangolin scales that are shipped from Africa to provender Asian markets.

The journalists called for collaboration betwixt members of the civilian nine organisations successful addressing lawsuits that are filed by large corporations and almighty individuals against reporters who prosecute successful biology reporting.

They besides proffered solution journalism arsenic a mode of sensitising locals successful mining communities connected the interaction of biology contamination connected their wellbeing with a presumption to seeking redress successful court.

Background

This twelvemonth has witnessed rising temperatures which biology experts attributed to clime change.

In Nigeria, for instance, galore agrarian communities are faced with information challenges occasioned by amerciable mining activities that are depleting biodiversity.

PREMIUM TIMES antecedently reported however terrorists successful Nigeria’s northwestern authorities of Zamfara prosecute successful amerciable mining of gold.

In galore instances, authorities oversight is absent successful mining of minerals and different earthy resources successful Nigeria.