JKNT
New Delhi, October 27: With a view to promote accurate reporting of climate change science and adaption measures in the Indian Himalayas, the Indian Himalayas Climate Adaption Programme (IHCAP) of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) have announced a series of media engagement workshops in the Indian Himalayan Region.
The programme will be formally launched with the first workshop at Almora on November 3.
The series includes media workshops in all the Himalayan states over the next two years . Under this media engagement programme, fellowships will also be awarded for journalists from the region to write field-based stories. Best stories written by state-level journalists will be awarded at the end of the programme.
The overall objective of the programme, according to a joint release of IHCAP, SDC ad CMS , is to trigger interest in climate change, its impacts on sustainability, livelihood issues and adaption stories among journalists, editors and media houses in the region and thereby among the masses.
The Indian Himalayan Region is one of the most vulnerable mountain systems in the world . If effective measures are taken in time, experts believe it may be possible to prevent further degradation of the ecosystem, the release said.
Senior thematic experts, scientists and policymakers will participate in these workshops and interact with journalists from different media outlets in the Himalayan states.
“The real challenge of climate change reporting is to connect changes occurring at the local level with climate science and policies. We are trying to build this capacity among interested journalists,” notes P N Vasanti, Director General, CMS, New Delhi.
The media workshops will be held in Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura , Mizoram , Nagaland Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh The first workshop is being held in Almora from November 3 to 5.
Media persons interested in participating in these workshops may contact annuananand@cmsindia.org
