DILI, Timor-Leste - The National Press Council of Thailand (NPCT) has urged the media in Southeast Asia to help promote environmental awareness among the public, so that more people realise the need to stop harming the environment and start repairing the damage.
Speaking recently at the Dili Dialogue Forum (DDF) in the capital of Timor-Leste, Anucha Charoenpo, a member of the council’s international affairs committee and news editor of the Bangkok Post, said helping to promote environmental awareness is one way that the media in Southeast Asia can educate the public.
“As the media, our job is not only to provide information but also to explain the significance of that information,” he told about the 300 participants at the event held to mark World Press Freedom Day earlier this month. The DDF was held by the Press Council of Timor-Leste (PCTL).
More environment reporting needed
Media people can help by writing more environmental stories and publicising issues affecting the lives of people, said Mr Anucha. These stories must be told and shared as quickly as possible. Exposing the environmental crisis is a first step for the media to help solve it.
“That’s why the role of journalists is crucial.” he said. “It takes courage to report stories about these environmental effects, as we know what is happening across the globe in our struggle for liveable and happy lives.”
In Thailand, he said, air pollution is a big issue every year, especially during in the dry season due mainly to seasonal burning by farmers clearing their sugarcane, corn and rice fields.
People in several provinces — especially in the North of Thailand such as Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai — are suffering from poor air quality and some develop respiratory system diseases that can even progress to become lung cancer.
Another environmental issue that has recently hit the headlines in Thailand was the seizure of more than 15,000 tonnes of carcinogenic cadmium tailings from a factory in Samut Sakhon province, about 80km from Bangkok. They were found stored there without permission.
“I would also like to emphasise that to play a greater role in addressing environmental crises on the planet, the media themselves must have environmental awareness,” said Mr Anucha.
“We must not ignore a story about an environmental issue even though it might seem like a small issue sometimes, because in long run this story can become bigger, affecting many people.”
Climate change threat
Otelio Ote, the president of the PCTL, said that in the context of Timor-Leste and Southeast Asia in general, the environment has been a major concern. He cited issues such as lack of management of waste disposal, illegal logging, flash floods and erosion affecting the lives of millions of people in recent years.
Mr Ote said climate change is also a major global threat to the lives of the people. Consequently, the government and the media should seek a proper way to help address the issue.
Climate change adaptation and mitigation are the most appropriate solutions to preserving biodiversity, he said.
“Environmental journalism and reporting on climate change are truly necessary to push environmental issues in the country,” he added.
The forum concluded that there are a number of important points that need to be put into action.
Reporting on the environmental crisis, especially climate change, is necessary. It must be a highlight of media reporting. At the same time, a pro-environment editorial policy in promoting sustainable development is important.
As well, participants talked about proper ways to ensure journalists’ safety when they report on environmental issues.
Collaboration between the state, the media community and journalists’ associations is needed because many journalists in the region have faced threats, both online and offline, and some have even been killed when reporting on environmental issues.
A spokesman conveyed the general consensus that the public, media and civil society organisations must continue campaigning, while local wisdom needs to be highlighted in media reporting to protect the environment, fight climate change and save the planet.
Guidelines for environmental journalism should also be promoted. Media members themselves should have environmental awareness, and investigative stories on the environment must be pushed forward to uncover the truth about the destruction of the environment.
Lastly, independence and impartiality of journalism is essential to assure that the public can get access to factual and credible information in the context of ensuring transparency and accountability, forum participants said.