By Obiabin Onukwugha
A data-driven organisation, Dataphyte Foundation, has trained ten Nigerian journalists on Biodiversity reporting, among them, NatureNews’ Obiabin Onukwugha.
The training qualified them as Biodiversity Reporting Fellows.
The aim of the Fellowship, which is in partnership with the Earth Journalism Network (EJN) according to the Dataphyte Foundation, is to contribute to database for informed policy and decision making in solving Nigeria’s environmental and climate change problems.
During the training, ten Fellows were exposed to the various biodiversity issues in Nigeria and how to move from reporting these issues to telling compelling stories that link communities, and their impacts.
In his welcome address, Dataphyte Foundation Country Director, Oluseyi Olufemi, described biodiversity as one of the eight pillars of the Foundation.
He said the ten Fellows were selected through a rigorous process from over 200 entries.
“We had over two hundred entries and we had to screen to be sure that the people who become fellows are people who can deliver.
“People who know their onions and who can actually bring about the community in practice, on the reportage of biodiversity issues, conservation, climate change and all about our environment,” Olufemi said.
He said the goal is to collate the different stories from Fellows to bring about reports that can inform or contribute to solutions and interventions to climate change, biodiversity and the environment.
While congratulating the Fellows, the Dataphyte Foundation Country Director, tasked them to live up to the expectations of the Fellowship, adding that discussions will be centred around learning from one another and pushing the frontier of nature reporting and environmental issues to the front.
“So, I’m believing that beyond here, we will see something new and there will be more intentionality to write, research and evidence-based commentaries, including agriculture from the fellows,” he stated.
Dr. Mike Shanahan, of the Earth Journalism Network (EJN) in his speech said the body works to improve quality of reporting by providing support for journalists around the world to report issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, amongst others.
He disclosed that since 2004, EJN has provided support to over 70,000 journalists in over 100 countries with production of 16,000 stories.
He added that the Earth Journalism Network was created in 2004 to enable journalists from low-and-middle-income countries to cover the environment more effectively.
“Biodiversity reporting is not just protecting Nigeria but protecting our future,” Shanahan stated.
Earlier, Programs Officer of Dataphyte Foundation, Funmilayo Babatunde informed that the essence of the workshop is to train Fellows on linking the threats that human activities and industrialisation poses to our species, forests and the entire ecosystem.
