Hindu Kush Himalayas media fellowship
17.08.2015
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is inviting interested Pakistani journalists to apply for a small grant toward a media fellowship opportunity, the ICIMOD Media Fellowship 2015 – Pakistan. Considering the crucial role journalists play in their readers’ lives, this seminal Fellowship Programme aims to strengthen the capacity of environmental journalists from Pakistan.
Climate change is a pressing issue in countries around the world, and Pakistan is not an exception. It is among those most vulnerable to climate change, with limited technical and financial capacity to adapt to its adverse impacts.
In recent years, Pakistan, like other countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, has been witnessing extreme weather conditions and climate-related disasters with increasing frequency and intensity. For example, the recent flood in Chitral is another reminder of the increasing impacts of climate change and variability in mountain areas. Such disasters directly and indirectly hamper the nation’s water, food, and energy security, and affect men and women differently. Increasing climate change and variability have had negative impacts on the flow of ecosystem services from various parts of the Upper Indus River. As a result, the livelihoods of rural populations dependent on these ecosystem services are also directly affected. Although there are limited cases studies available on disaster-induced migration, outmigration, particularly of men, is rising, which leads to increased workloads for women, particularly in rural parts of the region. Combining these multiple effects, the vulnerability of local communities has increased.
Sustainable mountain development can be a way forward to deal and cope with these problems. In addition to the critical research done by scientists in the region, media have come to play an equally significant role in spreading awareness related to climate change and other issues to the wider public.
The primary goal of ICIMOD Media Fellowship 2015 is to help strengthen capacity of environmental journalists from Pakistan. The Fellowship aims to facilitate a deeper understanding of issues related to climate change and sustainable mountain development. The Fellowship is linked up with ICIMOD’s regional programmes and initiatives and the Fellows will receive guidance from ICIMOD experts in writing better stories with deeper understanding of the subject matter.
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Photo: Flickr/ Basanta Raj Adhikari
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