By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA
Amasaman (GAR), Aug. 17, GNA – The
Management of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has signed a Memorandum
of Understanding with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to sponsor the
Best Environmental Journalist Award for the next three years.
The implementation of the sponsorship will
commence at this year’s GJA Awards slated for November 23rd and it is subject
to renewal.
This was made known at a day’s training held
for selected editors, producers, presenters and other media personnel.
The training was held under the theme:
“Demystifying Environmental Issues: The Role of the Media Editors.”
And the participants were taken through
various topics like Hazardous Waste Management, Environmental Quality
Standards, Mining, Pesticides Management, Ozone, Climate Change, Natural
Resources and Tree Felling and EPA Acts.
Mr John Pwamang, the Acting Executive
Director of EPA, said the support being provided to the GJA was to motivate
journalists to report more on the environment.
He said the Agency would engage the leaders
of the GJA on the modalities and details of the support for the award.
He said as part of the support, EPA would
also be training about 20 student journalists from the Ghana Institute of
Journalism each year on environmental issues in the country.
Mr Pwamang said the Agency would create an
open week for journalists each year to see at first hand their activities in
terms of implementation and their enforcement activities.
He said over the years, the environmental
issues did not have much attention in the media and this was worrying.
Mr Pwamang said issues like pollution of the
water bodies, forest depletion, waste management and plastic management among
others, did not get enough coverage in the media.
He said currently, the Agency has staffing
challenges and expressed the hope that the situation would improve, adding that
they needed to partner with the media in the effort to create more awareness on
the protection of the environment.
Mr Affail Monney, the GJA President,
commended the Management of EPA for the support to sponsor the Best Environment
Journalist Award.
He said as journalists “we have a great
responsibility to ensure that the environment is protected and
safeguarded.”
He said there were competing demands for
state resources and there was the tendency for other demands like the ‘One
Village One Dam’, ‘One Village One Factory, Free Senior High School and roads
among others to suffer.
“Because of the increasing demand on
the state resources, there is the tendency to relegate the issues of the
environment to the background,” Mr Monney said.
The GJA President said issues of the
environment needed to be brought to the front rows of the discussions to ensure
an enhanced awareness creation effort.
He said the GJA has initiated a project on
sanitation governance in partnership with the government, private sector and
the media.
The Association alone, he said, could not do
it and called on the media houses to support the 24 months campaign to protect
the environment.
He called on journalists and media houses to
use their power and influence to make the right impact on the environment.
Mr Monney said motivation is key to
uplifting the capacity of the media in effectively reporting on issues that
affect the society.
He urged the editors to revitalize their
environmental desks in the various media houses and encourage specialization
adding that “capacity is better placed for qualitative improvement in
environmental reporting”.
GNA
