By Gladys Apuweni
In northern Ghana, many communities depend heavily on agriculture. However, prolonged droughts, irregular rainfall and heavy downpours can significantly affect crop production, livestock and household incomes. Climate change is said to exacerbate these issues, and Journalists have been urged to adopt a more proactive and community-focused approach to climate change reporting.
The National Coordinator for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Journalist Network Ghana, Mr. Justice Lee Adoboe, encouraged journalists to investigate the impact of climate change on livestock, particularly how availability or otherwise of pasture and water affect livestock.
According to Mr. Adoboe, the increasing vulnerability of traditional livelihoods to extreme weather conditions should be the focus of climate reportage. By moving beyond routine weather updates, to stories that clearly demonstrate how changing weather patterns affect livelihoods and communities stories about climate change become more meaningful and relevant to people.
Mr. Adoboe made the call at the three day journalism training session on climate change reporting, in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region
“We can build our climate change pitches on climate change especially on the impact it has on livestock, aquatic life, and crop production. Fish stocks, disrupted local businesses and climate-induced migration are important areas for journalistic investigation. These areas are often overlooked but very important.” He stressed.
Mr. Adoboe guided participants on practical approaches to identifying, developing and framing climate change stories that were relevant to their communities. He said, although climate change was a global phenomenon, journalists must make it relevant to connect their audiences to local experiences and developments.
The training, organized by BEWDA, WaterAid Ghana/SIDA CLIMB Project, brought together 30 journalists from Northern Ghana in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector to strengthen their capacity to report effectively on climate change and its impacts.
