In the middle of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, between the Hindu Kush and the Himalayan mountains, the environment is important for agriculture and health. However, climate change threatens this delicate balance, with threats such as retreating glaciers, shrinking rivers and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) and water scarcity. Media voices from the region are calling for urgent action to protect the environment and ensure a sustainable future.
Global Neighborhood for Media Innovation (GNMI) in collaboration with the US State Department organized a 3-day Green Journalism Environmental Journalism Workshop in Peshawar. Led by senior environmental journalist Afia Salam, the training is aimed at empowering mid-level journalists, digital content producers and filmmakers on various media platforms.
The comprehensive program covers topics such as understanding environmental science, differentiating climate and environment, producing data-driven and investigative stories, digital storytelling techniques, and content distribution strategies. Training sessions are integrated to improve participants’ production skills by incorporating an environmental perspective into their daily reports.
During the workshop, participants were quoted the latest report by UNDP Pakistan which highlighted the alarming trends in ice melting and glacial lake formation. The report identified a total of 3,044 glacial lakes in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and assessed 33 of these lakes as vulnerable to glacial lake flooding (GLOF) due to rising temperatures and ice retreat.
Local journalists say that the delicate balance of nature is being disrupted by rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns. Extreme weather events, once rare, are now ravaging communities in Chitral, Lower and Upper Dir and other northern parts of KP and are increasing in frequency. Several journalists from the capital highlighted the multifaceted environmental problems facing communities in urban areas, focusing on the critical issues of noise and air pollution in Peshawar.
Participants also drew attention to a media briefing that showed more than 210 forest fires had destroyed 14,430 hectares of land in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Alarmingly, according to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest Department, 55 of these fires have been deliberately started by locals.
At the end of the session, Afia Salam emphasized the need to amplify environmental stories to encourage public awareness and policy participation. He said, for the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, these changes are not abstract concepts but realities that appear in daily life. From farmers struggling to make ends meet from parched fields to families displaced by floods, the effects of climate change are being felt strongly in the province. He explained again that there is perseverance and determination in the face of adversity. Journalists need to focus on communities coming together to adapt and find innovative solutions to mitigate the effects of a changing climate.
The Green Journalism fellowship program aims to provide journalists with the skills and knowledge necessary to report effectively on environmental issues and promote public awareness and understanding. The program also seeks to promote data-driven and analytical reporting, inclusive economic growth, and sustainable development through the production and dissemination of climate-focused content on digital media platforms.
