Journalism programme launches to support specialist African reporters
Written by Mike Pflanz.
February 14 2022
Journalism programme launches to support specialist African reporters as they increase of wildlife crime and conservation
USAID’s VukaNow Activity (“VukaNow”) today announces the launch of a program to create a network of specialist African journalists in four key countries tackling increasing wildlife crime, to increase conservation coverage and amplify African voices in the international debate about wildlife protection.
The African Conservation Journalism Program will work with 24 reporters in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, with proven track records of reporting on conservation for national print, online, or broadcast media. The program will hold training workshops, connect reporters to new contacts and resources, offer small grants to help with the costs of in-depth reporting and travel, and bring the best of their coverage to international audiences.
Its goal is to increase the number and quality of stories the reporters produce, to better inform their audiences of the threats of the illegal wildlife trade and unsustainable use of natural resources. It will be implemented by Space for Giants, an international conservation organization headquartered in Kenya and working in 11 African countries, and builds on an existing similar conservation journalism project Space for Giants has directed in East Africa since 2017.
Wildlife crime is a multi-billion-dollar illicit business. It decimates Africa’s wildlife, and undermines economic prosperity and sustainable development, including from legal enterprises such as tourism. It also threatens social stability and cohesion, impoverishes people of cultural and natural heritage. Organized criminal networks threaten regional peace and security.
VukaNow supports shared commitments of the U.S. government, the Southern Africa Development Community, the private sector, and civil society to dramatically reduce wildlife crime across southern Africa. Its emphasis is on strengthening enforcement, improving policy frameworks, and promoting collaborative action and learning to address wildlife crime.
Mike Pflanz, African Conservation Journalism Program Director at Space for Giants, said: “Journalists play a crucial role in raising awareness about these global issues. The African Conservation Journalism Program will work with leading specialist conservation reporters in southern Africa to deepen their understanding and passion for covering conservation stories, and to widen the reach of their reporting both in Africa and beyond. Fair, accurate, and compelling media stories about conservation help people across societies make informed decisions. We also believe that stories of African conservation for African audiences are best told by African reporters, and that those stories also deserve global attention to bring more African voices to international discussions about conservation priorities and strategies.”
Journalists’ stories appear first in their newspapers or on their radio or television stations. The best will then be republished by the global U.K.-based news site The Independent, uniquely amplifying African voices in the global debate about conservation, making clearer to the world how the issue is seen in Africa.
The first six reporters to join the program are in Botswana. They are Thobo Motlhoka of Sunday Standard, Solomon Tjinyeka of Ngami Times, Duma FM, and INK, Boniface Keakabetse of The Okavango Express, Keletso Thobega of Botswana Guardian and Midweek Sun, Innocent Tshukudu of The Voice and Dave Baaitse of Weekend Post. See spaceforgiants.org/vukanow-journalism-program for all their stories.
About VukaNow
USAID's VukaNow Activity (“VukaNow”) is a multi-faceted, five-year regional activity, operating in Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with the goal of significantly reducing wildlife crime in southern Africa. The Activity started in March 2018 and will end in March 2023. It currently complements four USAID-funded combating wildlife crime (CWC) landscape projects in three Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) namely the Great Limpopo (GLTFCA), Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA), and Malawi-Zambia TFCAs, and collaborates with landscape partners and stakeholders, including the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, governments, and the private sector. VukaNow’s role is to catalyze learning and share information and best practices to enhance collaborative efforts to combat wildlife crime in southern Africa. VukaNow recognizes that law enforcement alone cannot sufficiently or effectively address wildlife crime. Enforcement actions must be coupled with efforts to incentivize local communities’ participation in and support for combating wildlife crime efforts. VukaNow consolidates and shares lessons with its landscape partners, conservation NGOs, and governments on proven, effective approaches to integrating local communities into combating wildlife crime efforts in the target landscapes.
About Space for Giants
Space for Giants is an international conservation organization that protects Africa’s remaining natural ecosystems and the mega-fauna they contain, whilst bringing major economic and social value to local communities and national governments. Its existing Conservation Journalism Program works with 12 reporters in Kenya and Uganda, reaching more than 30 million East Africans. It is headquartered in Kenya, works in 11 countries in Africa, and is registered as a charity in the UK and a 501c3 non profit in the US.
