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Workshop on Media and the Environment

Entertainment that Changes the World

by S. Bari
IN the early eighties. a movte called The Day ^fter changed the way Amen cans thought of nuclear power Thoae couple of hours of ce»u toM had more impact on the speech making and documen latton South Asia Is now searching for a way to make the citterns of Its countries wake up to the slow death of our environment, to shock Its people Into realteatton. the media Is the agent but exactly how to go about It was the subject of dtacuaalon at last months Workshop on Environmental Reporting In South Aata. held In Dhaka
The workshop. organised by the Asian Masa Communication Research and Information Centre (AMIC) and Devfeature. Bangladesh. was supported by the Asia Foundation As report Ing on the environment Is doubly difficult in countries uneducated populations, participants were eager for expert advice and the chance to share their problems.
Environmental studies have become more technical, more global, and certainly more politicised. At the coming Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro this June, optimists hope that the North-South di vlde will disappear, but tn all likelihood, borders will continue to create differences in the way the rich and the poor handle the world around them. Two days ago. Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad accused Ihc developed North of polluting the environment Indiscriminately. At a conference of developing countries on environment. Mahathir said the North should not dictate the conservation policies of the South The earth may know no artlfi rial frontiers, but environmen tailsni Is becoming an increasingly potent political weapon. Poverty and population are only two of the new factors tn protection of the environment Over-industrialisation, too many cars, and a hungry consumer dictated West are also factors
Says Victor Valbuena, of AMIC. Theatre, traditional entertainment media, all these can have enormous impact on the public mind. That s what we have to alm for " In order to reduce pollution, halt defor eslatlon. and clean up our rivers, the media has to play a very active role tn first telling people what their actions can lead to.
Governments can often have different stakes tn the game A recent example in Bangladesh was a minister's visit to a forested area, where he was
presented with a cheetah. The administration mouths a regu lar series of banalities on pro tec-ting animals, but violates Its pronunciations with equal regularity. “In this case," says Nalaka Gunawardene, a sc ience and environment journalist from Sri Lanka, 'the press must expose the misdeeds ol the administration.* He ac knowledges the dangers of such a stance In a region where democracy to often Just another word, but feels. 'It Is our role to cdtfeUe lack of action or Illegal actions on the part of our government* "
The next step for the media. Gunawardene recommends. Is to decide whether It will take up advocacy Journal Ism. It Is one thing to report willful dumping of chemicals or the killing of elephants for their tusks: it to quite another to take a stance. The press tn our part of the world takes stands on politics, economics.
social Issues, but there Is little condemnation of cnvlronmen tai vandals. The majority of the participants in this work shop agree ihat on environment Issues the media should advocate a certain view. The mission is conservation, there is no right or wrong here," adds Gunawardene
TO be effective tn his or her reporting, a journalist needs to network, within the country, and. tn the ease of environ mentahsm. within the region During the workshop, studies of conservation action in cer tain countries were of benefit to others Nepal s waler man agement plans have a direct bearing on India and Bangladesh, for example. Similarly the flood action plan here was an eye-opener for participants from other nations.
Obtaining the information one needs is often the greatest obstacle in Investigative jour nahsm Gunawardene suggests developing alternate sources of
Information. One cannot de pend on government depart ments to tell a Journalist how many tonnes of garbage are choking the sewers or whether the new development on the wetlands to actually a death trap. "Government sources must be consulted, but you will find that other sources will be much more open: try your local university, research groups, and non governmental organizations ."
In some cases, however, the authorities can be compelled to provide information. This is not always r«»y In South AM. but tn the US a government department can be legally bound to reveal Information In Sri Lanka . activists have agitated for years for a Freedom of Information act, which is now In Parliament. We don t yet know the exact contents, but It's a first step.' Gunarwardene encourages. Such legal reforms can be brought about with the active support of the media
Al the suggestion of Devfeaturrs Saleem Samad, the Idea of a South Asian Forum of Environmental Journalists was born. This Is not Io contest the Asian Forum." says Samad, "but per haps the Asian Forum Is just too vast It covers half the gfobe with a smaller unit we could be more effective ' Such a group could well be the moot significant event to emerge from the workshop
Samad is thrilled about the workshop s success The par tlcipants have actually seen Bangladesh they haven t been stuck tn conference rooms They ate traditional food, went to Interior villages, saw our rivers * He believes this expo sure Is essential for participants to get the moot out of a workshop
As the session draw's to a close. Valbuena cautions the journalists "Environmental re porting covers a great deal, from the quality of life to the food we eat and the air we breathe Be careful not to caie gorier and label It * In a world of Increasing Interdependence of disciplines, it Is self-defeat ing to compartmentalise issues. One Issue leads to an other; one cause can not be cut off from other causes