As climate change begins to affect people across the Pacific, journalists play a key role in informing the public and uplifting stories from the community.

Underfunded newsrooms, staff shortages, and limited resources have played a role in the comprehensive reporting of environmental issues. 

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) brought together journalists and media professionals from print, television, radio, and online media to facilitate a workshop on environmental reporting. 

“We believe that the media is a very important part of amplifying people’s voices and telling our stories,” said Sosikeni Lesa, Media and Public Relations Officer at SPREP. 

“In the Pacific communities, the media can be the voice for the voiceless.” 

In 2022, Pacific Leaders declared a climate emergency and the most existential threat for Pacific communities at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Fiji. Despite contributing the least amount to global climate emissions, the Pacific region will be the most impacted.  

The workshop brought climate change professionals to share their expertise in areas such as climate change and its effects, adaptation to environmental issues, and climate terminology. 

The goal of the workshop was to help journalists bridge scientific information with human experiences and inspire story ideas about how people in the community are impacted by climate change events such as rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and changes in temperatures. 

“The media is the eyes and ears of the public,” Mr. Lesa said. “A lot of the spaces that members of the public cannot get to, the media is there.” 

The Journalist Association of Western Samoa (JAWS) requested the training and while this is not the first media training, it has been a while since the previous one, Mr. Lesa said.