environmental reporting for african journalists

179 Pages·2006·4.25 MB·English

ENVIRONMENTAL
www.unep.org
United Nations EnvironmentProgramme
P.O. Box 30552 Nairobi, Kenya REPORTING FOR
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone] UNEP
E-mail: [email protected] UNEP UNEP
web: www.unep.org AFRICAN JOURNALISTS
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ISBN: 978-92-807-2767-8
JOB NO.: DPD/0883/NA
Environmental reporting
for African journalists:
Handbook of key
environmental issues and
concepts

Publshed n December 2006. © 2006 UNEP. ISBN: 978-92-807-2767-8.
UNEP Job number: DPD/0833/NA
Produced by the Dvson of Envronmental Polcy Implementaton (DEPI)
Dvsonal Drectors: Dvson of Regonal Cooperaton - Crstna Boelcke;
Dvson of Envronmental Polcy Implementaton - Veerle Vandeeweerd
Project Supervsors: Akpez Ogbugwe, Angele Luh
In House Team: Daves Okoko; Levs Kavag; Tmeyn Uweja; Kwame Ansong-Gymah; Davd Bwakal;
Sarah Dorothy Ateno and Rose Ogot
Desgn and layout: Jennfer Odallo
Cover desgn and layout concept: Celeste Wamru
Illustratons: Celeste Wamru and Amako Obfigbo Chukwunonso
UNEP Revew: Angele Luh; Esther Relnk; Fatou Ndoye; Sylva Bankobeza; Meryem C. Amar; Desta
Mebratu; Verleye Ines; Martn Krebs; Chrs Ambala; Aaban Al Bhutt.
We also acknowledge the extensve revew that was carred out by the Afrca Network of Envronmental
Journalsts (ANEJ), Sylva Wachra and Nkrote Labon. The photographs ncluded n ths handbook are
from the followng sources: Peter Manyara, Celeste Wamru, Davd Bwakal and EET Team.
© 2006 Unted Natons Envronment Programme
ISBN: 978-92-807-2767-8
Job No.: DPD/0883/NA
Disclaimer
The contents and vews expressed n ths publcaton do not necessarly reflect the vews or polces of
UNEP or contrbutory organzatons.

The opnons, figures and estmates set forth n ths publcaton may not necessarly be consdered as
reflectng the vew or carryng the endorsement of UNEP.
The desgnatons employed and the presentatons do not mply the expressons of any opnon
whatsoever on the part of UNEP or contrbutory organzatons concernng the legal status of any
country, terrtory, cty or area or ts authorty, or concernng the delmtaton of ts fronters or
boundares.
Menton of a commercal company or producton n ths publcaton does not mply the endorsement
of UNEP.
Reproduction
Ths publcaton may be reproduced n whole or n part and n any form for educatonal or non-profit
purposes wthout specal permsson from the copyrght holder, provded acknowledgement of the
source s made. The Unted Natons Envronment Programme would apprecate recevng a copy of
any publcaton that uses ths publcaton as a source.
No use of ths publcaton may be made for resale or for any other commercal purpose whatsoever
wthout pror permsson n wrtng from the Unted Natons Envronment Programme.
Unted Natons Envronment Programme
Dvson of Envronmental Polcy Implementaton (DEPI)
P.O. Box 30552, Narob, 00100, Kenya
Tel: [phone]
Faxmle: [phone]
Emal: [email protected]
www.unep.org
Prntng: UNON Prntshop, Unted Natons Office at Narob
Prnted on chlorne free paper wth plant based nk.

Contents
Foreword............................................................................................................................................v
Preface .............................................................................................................................................v
Lst of abbrevatons...........................................................................................................................x
Introducton ......................................................................................................................................1
How to use ths handbook .................................................................................................................3
I. Afrca Envronment Outlook (AEO) ......................................................................................5
II. Key envronmental ssues ........................................................................................................15
A. Poverty and the envronment ........................................................................................15
B. Envronmental law .........................................................................................................16
C. Envronmental partnershps ..........................................................................................21
D. Health and the envronment ..........................................................................................24
E. Gender and the envronment .........................................................................................25
F. Youth and the envronment ..........................................................................................27
G. Envronmental educaton and tranng ........................................................................29
III. Unted Natons and the envronment ....................................................................................33
A. Envronment Management Group (EMG) ...................................................................34
B. Unted Natons Envronment Programme (UNEP) .....................................................34
C. Food and Agrcultural Organzaton of the Unted Natons (FAO) ............................45
D. Unted Natons Development Programme (UNDP) ....................................................47
E. Unted Natons Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habtat) ................................48
F. Unted Natons Educatonal, Scentfic and Cultural Programme (UNESCO) .........51
G. Unted Natons Industral Development Organzaton (UNIDO) ..............................52
H. World Meteorologcal Organzaton (WMO) ...............................................................52
I. World Health Organzaton (WHO) .............................................................................53
J. World Food Programme (WFP) ....................................................................................55
K. Unted Natons campagns and nter-agency networkng ............................................56
IV. Development banks and nsttutons financng envronmental actvtes ............................59
A. World Bank .....................................................................................................................59
v
B. Afrcan Development Bank ............................................................................................60
C. Multlateral Fund for the Implementaton of the Montreal Protocol .........................60
V. Internatonal envronment-focused organzatons ...............................................................63
VI. Afrca Network of Envronmental Journalsts (ANEJ)..........................................................65
VII. Multlateral envronmental agreements ................................................................................67
A. Bodversty conventons ................................................................................................70
B. Atmosphere conventons................................................................................................85
C. Chemcals and hazardous wastes conventons ..............................................................94
D. Land conventons .........................................................................................................101
E. MEAs on seas and nsland water .................................................................................106
VIII. Internatonal envronmental governance .............................................................................115
IX. Key mlestones .......................................................................................................................119
X. Major envronmental nsttutons n Afrca .........................................................................125
A. Afrcan Mnsteral Conference on the Envronment (AMCEN) ..............................125
B. Afrcan Mnsters’ Councl on Water (AMCOW) .......................................................127
C. New Partnershp for Afrca’s Development (NEPAD) ...............................................130
D. Afrcan Roundtable for Sustanable Consumpton and Producton (ARSCP) .........134
XI. Reportng on the envronment .............................................................................................137
X. Concluson .............................................................................................................................143
Appendces .....................................................................................................................................145
I. Informaton resources on Afrca..................................................................................145
II. Unted Natons system .................................................................................................146
III. Envronmental contacts and networks ........................................................................151
A. UNEP ...................................................................................................................151
B. Mnstres of envronment n Afrca...................................................................152
IV. Mllennum Development Goals .................................................................................161
v
Foreword
“
Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the
premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” These
words by Kofi Annan underscore the mmense mportance of
nformaton n our socety. An nformed socety wll be better equpped
and postoned to tackle the challenges of the twenty-first century.
Envronmental nformaton forms the crux of envronmental acton. Thanks to the promnent
role that they play n dssemnatng nformaton, the mass meda can ensure wdespread
dstrbuton of envronmental nformaton and thus catalyse envronmental acton.
In pursuance of ts msson to provde leadershp and encourage partnershps and access
to envronmental nformaton as helpng to contrbute to sustanable development, UNEP
recognzes the need to support journalsts n the dfficult task of nterpretng complex
envronmental ssues. Ths handbook was wrtten n a user-frendly reference style that
wll ensure speedy access to the nformaton needed both n the handbook tself and n the
further readngs suggested. The avalablty of such specfic nformaton and references wll
enable envronmental ssues to be wdely ncorporated nto manstream reportng, thus
ensurng that accurate envronmental nformaton becomes duly and strategcally ntegrated
nto the publc doman sooner, rather than later; systematcally, rather than sporadcally.
Afrca s one of the five prorty areas dentfied by UNEP, accordngly Afrcan journalsts need to
be traned n envronmental reportng. Accurate and balanced envronmental journalsm requres
a firm grasp of global, regonal and local envronmental ssues. Ths handbook s geared towards
provdng the Afrcan journalst wth specfic background nformaton and gudelnes for accurate
envronmental reportng. It hghlghts and outlnes key ssues and the envronmental conventons
related to them, because of ther global sgnficance and the local mpact they have. Envronmental
conventons are partcularly mportant for Afrca because of ts extreme vulnerablty to
envronmental change. Ths handbook wll provde journalsts wth a firm grasp of the essentals
of these vtal conventons and how they play out on the wder envronmental field.
v
The Afrca Envronment Outlook (AEO) process wthn UNEP has produced two hghly
nformatve and comprehensve ntegrated envronmental assessment reports. The second
edton of the AEO report sets out clearly the mmense opportuntes afforded by Afrca’s
natural resources. The report probes more deeply nto the extensve nterplay between
envronmental and economc factors and, n dong so, has set a new benchmark n holstc
assessment that looks at both the past and the future. The handbook provdes an overvew
of ths cuttng-edge AEO process whch wll enable journalsts to apprecate both the bgger
pcture of the Afrcan envronment and the emergng wder context of envronmental acton.
The Bal Strategc Plan for Technology Support and Capacty-buldng has underlned the
need to base the decson-makng process on sound nformaton. Ths vtal prncple of
information for action was also stressed by global envronmental mnsters at ther sxth
specal sesson n Malmö, Sweden, n May 2000. The Malmö mnsteral declaraton states
n part that “the role of cvl socety at all levels should be strengthened through freedom of
access to envronmental nformaton to all.”
The meda contnue to play a strategc role n rasng envronmental awareness, channellng
envronmental nformaton and nsprng envronmental acton and, as such, s crucal to the
work carred out by UNEP. For ths reason Afrcan journalsts, through the Afrca Network of
Envronmental Journalsts, were extensvely consulted n the producton of ths handbook and
ther nput has ensured that the handbook truly reflects ther concerns and needs.
Because of the dynamc nature of envronmental nformaton, envronmental reportng
must be concerted, consstent and nformed. Ths handbook answers that need and provdes
journalsts wth the necessary tools to delver such reportng.

Achim Steiner,
Unted Natons Under-Secretary-General and
Executve Drector,
Unted Natons Envronment Programme
v
Preface
E
nvronmental nformaton s lke a journey. Sometmes you don’t know what’s
around the corner but you must always proceed responsbly towards that corner.
The key envronmental ssues and concepts that ths handbook profiles are meant to
assst Afrcan journalsts and the wder publc to navgate responsbly and consstently along
ths dynamc envronmental journey. An ancent Chnese proverb underscores ths, ‘to get
through the hardest journey, we need to take only one step at a tme, but we must keep on
steppng.’
Snce ts ncepton n 1972, the Unted Natons Envronment Programme has undertaken
several projects and publcatons n lne wth ts msson to provide leadership and encourage
partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and
peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
UNEP recognses that nformaton dssemnaton s crucal for the achevement of
global goals such as the Mllennum Development Goals and the Decade of Educaton
for Sustanable Development. The meda and meda practtoners play a crucal role n
nformaton dssemnaton and awareness rasng about sustanable development and n
promotng acton for socal change.
To help equp Afrcan journalsts wth relevant sklls and tools for rasng the qualty of
envronmental reportng n both electronc and prnt meda, UNEP has been actve n
developng programmes and publcatons for Afrcan Journalsts. UNEP has held several
workshops for Afrcan journalsts between 2002 and 2006. As a result of these meetngs,
the Afrcan Network of Envronmental Journalsts (ANEJ) was formed. A webste has been
created to facltate communcaton and access to resources. A resource kt for Afrcan
journalsts has also been publshed. These actvtes contrbuted towards ths handbook.
v
The ablty to be both factual and nvestgatve s a cornerstone of journalsm. Ths
handbook s desgned to provde ponters to help that practce. It encourages and facltates
the applcaton of ndvdual ntatves. It s based on the premse that the users have a
natural nterest n nature and have the professonal task of reportng on the envronment
and envronmental scence. However, t s desgned to be of general nterest to the average
journalst as well as all envronmental educators and students.
It s our hope that ths handbook wll greatly enhance the work of Afrcan journalsts as
they contnue wth ther sacred duty of keepng the publc nformed. Indeed, we must keep
on walkng ths envronmental road. I wsh you all an enlghtenng journey as you traverse
through ths publcaton.
Crstna Boelcke
Drector, Dvson of Regonal Cooperaton
Unted Natons Envronment Programme
x