Climate change in Africa: a guide book for Journalists

Abstract

Climate change poses a clear danger to lives and livelihoods across Africa. Journalists there have critical roles to play in explaining the cause and effects of climate change, in describing what countries and communities can do to adapt to the impacts ahead, and in reporting on what governments and companies do, or do not do, to respond to these threats. Yet research on public understanding of climate change such as the BBC Media Actions’ Africa Talks Climate Project-and surveys of journalists reveal that across Africa the media can and should do more to tell the story of climate change. UNESCO produced this book to help fill this important gap. The authors of this guide represent two organizations that have trained hundreds of journalists around the world to report more effectively on climate change, and have set up the climate change media partnership to increase the quantity and quality of climate change coverage in the media. For this book, they also consulted African journalists and climate change specialists. 44 journalists from 17 countries-Botswana; Cameroon; Democratic Republic of Congo; Ethiopia; Ghana; Kenya; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Nigeria; Senegal; South Africa; South Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia and Zimbabwe-completed a survey to identify their knowledge gaps and explain what they thought this book should contain. 38 African climate change specialists completed a separate survey to provide their insights into what was missing from African media coverage and how this book should help to fill those gaps. In October, 2013, UNESCO gathered a panel of African experts to review the draft text and suggest ways to improve it. The meeting, which took place from 22-23 October, 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya, brought together experts from Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This group and another panel of reviewers validated the text before UNESCO published it.