HE The disappearance of British reporter Dom Phillips and Brazilian native Bruno Araújo Pereira on the Amazon, which is five days old today, is an example of the risks of environmental journalism in the world – and Latin America is among the most dangerous areas.
Emmanuel Colombié, director of Reporters Without Borders for the region, said media professionals and activists have become “easy targets for powerful economic and political interests, hampered by complaints of disorderly practices in remote areas”.
The organization, which has applied for interim injunction and is among those seeking answers to the disappeared, is waiting for the hearing requested with the Ministers of Justice and Defense three days ago.
RSF says Dom Phillips case is not isolated in environmental journalism
“The news about environmental conflicts in Latin America is getting more and more dangerous, even law enforcement is getting involved in violence against professionals,” the director warned in an interview with MediaTalks.
The Amazon rainforest spans eight countries in the region, which is among the two most dangerous for environmental journalism after Asia.
Journalists and environmentalists, many of whom investigate illegal activities, face occasional consumptive threats.
The Guardian acknowledged the risks, using the following statements: editorial This week, “Brazil is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for environmental advocates and others connected with indigenous communities.”
British Dom Phillips lives in Salvador and reports on environmental issues for The Guardian and many other international media.
Pereira, a former Funai employee, reported to the Federal Ministry of the Public (MPF) in April that he and Phillips were threatened by fishermen and poachers working in the Vale do Javari area of Amazonas, where he and Phillips were last seen.
read it too
The Dom Phillips case: Tower of London becomes a curtain for protest; to watch
“The environment is a sensitive issue that poses serious problems for those who lift the veil over the pollution or degradation of the planet,” Colombié said.
The risks of environmental journalism threaten individual professionals, as well as the fight against the effects of climate change, causing journalists to stop monitoring dangerous areas or fear exposing themselves to crime groups that destroy the environment.
“The more oppression and violence environmental journalists suffer, the further away we are from solutions to the climate crisis,” said the RSF director.
India is the country most at risk for environmental journalism
The last specific survey of risks in environmental journalism was carried out by the organization two years ago and found that between 2010 and 2020, 20 media workers were killed due to reports on the theme.
In addition, from 2016 to 2020, 52 serious attacks on environmental journalism practice, affecting nearly 100 journalists, were documented.
Even European countries cannot escape. British journalist Morgan Large, who studies the agribusiness in France, occupied and looted her home last year.
“Attacks can come from any direction. From criminal groups, big corporations, abusive legal systems and even governments,” Colombié warned.
It highlights two cases of environmental issues in Colombia.
“Two community journalists in Colombia, Maria Efigenia Vásquez Astudillo and Abelardo Liz, have been killed in the last decade for exposing land grabs by large private groups.”
The report shows that Latin America and Asia are the most dangerous regions for environmental journalism: 66% of reported incidents worldwide occurred in these two regions during the period covered by the report.
India is the country with all the records in the Asian continent: journalists killed (4), violent attacks (4) and journalists targeted by threats and prosecution (4). Almost all cases of abuse in the country are linked to the “sand mafia”.
“After water, sand is the most valuable, limited and most demanded natural resource,” explains Indian journalist Sandhya Ravishankar in the RSF report.
“When journalists cover such a valuable commodity and pressure the authorities to stop mining, it poses a threat to many powerful industries and industrialists whose livelihoods depend on sand as a raw material.
That’s why there’s always a lot of violence against journalists covering the illegal extraction of the source.”
The organization highlighted that 9 out of 20 environmental journalism professionals killed between 2010 and 2020 died in extreme violence in five countries: Colombia (2), Mexico (1), Philippines (1), Myanmar (1) and India (4).
Among them is Kampu Mail Hindi reporter Shubham Mani Tripathi, who was shot six times, three in the head, in June 2020.
Shortly before his death, the Indian journalist shared on Facebook his fear of being killed by the “sand mafia” due to their investigation into the illegal mining of the resource.
read it too
India: Reporter investigating illegal alcohol trade killed 2nd in 3 months
“Environmental journalism has become much more dangerous than it was in the past,” journalist Peter Schwartzstein, who specializes in environmental issues in the Middle East and North Africa, told RSF.
He also believes this trend is “closely related to increased awareness of the importance of the environment.”
The increase in pollution and the visible effects of global warming have contributed to increased awareness in the public and in governments of concerns that were once secondary and kept away from media attention.
read it too
AFP reorganizes newsroom in Paris and creates unit specializing in environmental journalism
Environmental information for citizens
Emmanuel Colombié stressed the importance of a free press for the public to have access to reliable information on environmental issues.
“Knowing the facts helps citizens take action,” he said.
In an article on the semi-annual COP26 climate conference, journalist Andrew McCormick, vice-president of the global initiative Covering Climate Now, noted the importance of journalists and media professionals staying alert to government developments on climate change because “countries have made little progress or are backing down on a few key metrics. fell. ”
Read more
source: Noticias
[author_name]
