Education
Endvocas, WEP: Working together to raise environmental consciousness in Nigeria – EnviroNews
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As part of their strategic objectives, EnviroNews Advocacy & Campaigns for Sustainability (Endvocas) and Women Environmental Programme (WEP) recently brought together 45 media professionals and climate change influencers in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to discuss the future of environmental reporting and its role in helping the country to achieve its global climate and chemicals targets. This report chronicles the event, highlighting the story of partnerships, their advantages in promoting environmental communication, and how the nation can use them to address its ecological issues
Background
The growing environmental problems that plague human development and peaceful coexistence in general continue to generate concerns about the best ways to confront this deadly monster.
For instance, Nigeria still faces ecological challenges ranging from desertification, flooding, and extreme oil pollution, all of which put millions of its people’s lives at risk. It is also important to note that over 150 million Nigerians still live below the poverty line, and the country is estimated to lose more than $100 billion a year as a result of climate-related issues.
These worrisome figures and their negative impacts on the nation’s growth call for action that incorporates strong environmental journalism into the public conversation. This is because environmental literacy serves as a vital bridge that helps translate complex scientific data into accessible narratives that empower citizens to challenge policymakers and demand environmental accountability. Environmental literacy is what helps to transform abstract climate statistics into the lived realities of those suffering on the front lines, turning the silent cries of the marginalised into a clarion call for systemic change.
Furthermore, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 13) advocates for urgent action that promotes education, public awareness, and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning systems.
However, as alarming as this crisis may appear, it is sad to note that there are still many problems that are hampering the spread of environmental communication, particularly the capacity of the media to motivate the required public action to address the various climatic upheavals bedeviling the country. Other factors like the lack of resources, institutional limitations, and the pervasive influence of corporate interests that prioritise profit over environmental health have all been attributed to the country’s poor ecological reporting.
Essence of the collaboration
In their attempt to resolve some of these setbacks and bridge the knowledge gap affecting science and environmental communication, Endvocas and WEP – two nonprofit and environmental advocacy-oriented organisations – thought it wise to engage with environmental reporters and influencers across the country and build their capacities around how they can collectively work together to save the nation from this threat. As earlier stated, one of the challenging problems that discourages the practice of environmental reporting is the lack of financial resources to mobilise, engage, and ultimately create content that is supposed to raise public sentiments to take the required action and demand ecological transparency.
This is where the power of partnership comes in, to help translate thoughts into actionable results and ensure that impossible things become possible.
Focus of the workshop and some of its highlights
The capacity-building programme focused on the role of climate governance and gender mainstreaming within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The objective is to deepen participants’ knowledge and come up with implementation strategies, as well as promote collaboration between stakeholders, policymakers, environmental experts, and media practitioners on these international agreements and their relevance to Nigeria’s climate action commitments.
Goodwill messages stressing the significance of environmental reporting were delivered by stakeholders from the Federal Ministry of Environment, GreenFaith Nigeria, SRADev Nigeria, Abundance of Hope Initiative (AHI), CSDevNet, and other organisations. The facilitators presented a total of five technical papers, while Sam Onuigbo, a former member of the House of Representatives and champion of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act 2021, who gave a keynote address titled “From Personal Effort to National Action: Reimagining Climate Change Governance in Nigeria”.
The first technical paper, titled “Understanding the Outcomes of the UNFCCC COP30 in Brazil and Exploring the Emerging Dynamics of COP 31 in Turkey”, was presented by Mr. Michael Simire, executive director of Endvocas and publisher of EnviroNews Nigeria. Simire stated that the conversation was important because Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions due to the acceleration of climate change.
His paper also discussed the history of the UNFCCC and COP evolution and what made COP30 in Brazil stand out, as well as developed nations’ over $100 billion climate finance pledge to help vulnerable populations adapt to the effects of climate change. He concluded his presentation with a call to action, urging journalists to inform, investigate, and inspire because COP decisions shape Nigeria’s future.
The second presentation by Nkechi Isaac, publisher of Science Nigeria, looked into “Learning Ways to Report/Cover the COP Physically and Virtually”. She started by helping the participants understand the COP space, what COP coverage actually looks like, and why it is important to prepare a specialist before the conference because good COP coverage begins before the badge is printed.
Isaac explained that venues at the COP are typically fast-paced, noisy, and politicised. As a result, she instructed those covering the conference on what to “do” and what to “avoid” in order to maintain the necessary discipline and clarity in the stories covered. Speaking about virtual event reporting, she stated that it is not second-best coverage, but rather a unique workflow with its discipline. Her paper also discussed verification and the importance of keeping the story credible, as she believes falsehoods spread rapidly and widely.
The Science Nigeria publisher ended her session with a proposed practical formula: “Prepare, verify, and translate.” This, she continued, is because the most valuable reporters at COP31 will be those who can move freely around the room and on the screen.
Nicholas Adeniyi, Research and Project Officer at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), led the third technical session on “Translating Complex Scientific Information into Accessible Media Stories”.
He began the discourse by asking why the public remains indifferent about science and journalism. This prompted him to highlight the characteristics of both good journalism and good science in order to highlight similarities and points of interaction.
The climate expert finalised his presentation by taking the audience through the dark side of science and journalism, providing them with practical tips for better reporting, because the task is not about making science easier; it is about making it meaningful.
A paper titled “An Overview of the Minamata Convention on Mercury” was facilitated by the National Environmental Standards Regulations and Enforcement Agency (NESREA). Another presentation, “Products Containing Mercury that Have Been Banned by the Minamata Convention on Mercury”, was conducted by Dr Leslie Adogame, the Executive Director of SRADev Nigeria. This was followed by a virtual delivery on “Mercury in Skin Care Products: Environmental and Health Implications” by Zainab Bashir from DermaRx Aesthetics & Dermatology.
Additionally, a documentary that highlighted the consequences of mercury in cosmetics and the environment, dubbed “Fairness at a Cost: Unveiling the Truth about Skin Whitening in Nigeria”, was screened by Kenneth Ajio, WEP’s Communications Manager, and “Gender Dimension of the Minamata Convention on Mercury”, by John Baaki, Co-ED, WEP.
Commenting on the significance of the event, Dr Pricilia Achapka, the founder and global president of WEP, described the initiative as a demonstration of leadership and foresight.
According to her, the event is coming at a defining moment in human history – a moment when the planet is sending unmistakable signals that demand urgent action.
“I would like to appreciate our partners, the EnviroNews Advocacy & Campaigns for Sustainability (Endvocas) and Climate & Sustainable Development Network of Nigeria (CSDevNet), and all for bringing together media and communication professionals from across the country to build capacity, strengthen collaboration, and deepen environmental journalism in Nigeria,” Dr Achapka stated.
Recommendations and next steps
Nine suggestions were put up following a brainstorming session on how the media could increase public awareness of mercury-containing items and their effects on human health and the environment. Some are as follows: Create a situation room forum; initiate a yearly COP fellowship programme; formalise a consortium to get grant funding and NGO sponsorship; apply as a lead organisation to spearhead the power dynamics; and directly partner with big technology giants to drive brand visibility.
Others include obtaining formal support and endorsement as a coalition from the Ministry of Environment, MDAs, INGOs, and the private sector; creating an ongoing training programme that covers environmental policies and reforms as well as specialised reporting projects; ensuring mentorship and developmental coaching; securing funding for local storytelling, artistic innovation, and strong intergenerational collaboration; recognising journalists with national awards; and utilising current media initiatives.
By Etta Michael Bisong and Nsikak Ekere