To empower Mediterranean media professionals in fulfilling their role, the second Meeting of Environmental Journalists from News Agencies in the Mediterranean was held in Marrakesh from 11 to 13 November 2016, during the COP22 on Climate Change. More than 50 participants among which journalists from 16 countries from both shores of the Mediterranean convened to discuss with scientists and experts about how to improve climate change reporting in the Mediterranean.

The aim of this second encounter was to steer the debate among scientists and journalists on the real and clear bearings of climate change in the Mediterranean and enhance the capacity of environmental and scientific journalists from Mediterranean countries to cover this type of news by providing them with the right data, sources and tools.

During the inauguration the Secretary General, High Commissariat for Water and Forests and the Fight against Desertification (Morocco), Abderrahim Houmy, highlighted that “it is not possible to implement respectful environmental policies if there is not a good communication between policy makers and media. The change of behavior depends on being able to reach citizens, and journalists are indispensable in that relationship”.

“The Mediterranean is home to 450 million people and another 250 million people visit it as a tourist destination, so a change in behavior is essential to prevent this sea from becoming an environmental and cultural "dead sea" said Arturo Larena, director of EFEverde.

"For media business, the challenge of climate change is also an informational challenge. For our agency, and with the encouragement of the COP22 we launched MAP/ecologie, an online platform to distribute environmental information among our subscribers. There is a before and an after COP22 in Morocco: environmental issues will not be considered in the same way from now on", commented Khalil Hachimi Idrissi, Director, Maghreb Arabe Presse in Morocco.

During the encounter the publication “Environmental information in the Mediterranean - A journalist’s guide to key questions and institutions” (in three languages) and an online platform for networking of environmental journalists in the Mediterranean were presented. These are the two first products resulting from the collaboration over the first year of this network of environmental journalists and communicators from environmental and scientific institutions and NGOs in the Mediterranean.

The Meeting was jointly organized by the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation and the Spanish news agency EFE in collaboration with Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN) and financially supported by MAVA Foundation.

      Photo: IUCN-Med

For more information, please contact: Lourdes Lazaro

      Photo: IUCN-Med