Every year, on 3rd May, World Press Freedom Day is celebrated to recognise the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate and to defend the media from attacks on their independence. This day is observed to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
As we celebrate World Press Freedom Day, it is also important to recognise the role of the media in informing, discussing and narrating policies and action plans on climate change and related subjects. However, at times scrolling through the contemporary climate news feeds, one is led to feel despondent reading apocalyptic content.
A research paper titled The Climate Change Research That Makes The Front Page: Is It Fit To Engage Societal Action? (2023), says that media coverage on climate research does not make a person likely to engage in societal actions. Instead, people may “avoid disconfirming information.”
The report suggests a “transformative mediatization model” which involves a “decision-oriented solutions” that “takes into account knowledge from the social and human sciences.”
On 22 May 2023, as we observe the International Day for Biological Diversity, it is significant to preserve, create and enrich ecosystems. Biodiversity plays a vital role in human survival. The growing population is creating pressure on natural resources to meet daily needs. However, at times, we forget to strike a balance between subjective project designs and nature.
For instance, The 2,880-megawatt Dibang Hydro power plant project in Arunachal Pradesh can produce green energy. However it will be built over 5,000 hectares (12,360 acres)plus of forest land and will displace the Idu Mishmi tribe and their unique habitat. At threat are the hoolock gibbon, elephants, Mishmi Takin, clouded snow leopard, fishing cat and mithun.
Moreover, the Dibang project lies in a seismically active zone with a record of 34 earthquakes in the past century. In the coming decades, seismology models predict the occurrence of powerful earthquakes hitting the Himalayas. The proposed site faces the risk of glacial hazards, extreme precipitation events, floods and landslide risks. In such a scenario construction of dams in such regions has to be assessed for socio-economic and ecological viability.
During The 2023 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held between Monday, April 10 to Sunday, April 16 at Washington DC, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a mass movement to fight against climate change in an event organised by the World Bank.
We, at The Ecopreneur, form a part of this media movement to catalyse the actions for our climate secure future.
Featured Photo: Photo by brotiN biswaS:
