Gabo Foundation, WCS and WWF join forces to train journalists in the coverage of wildlife and timber trafficking

Posted on 13 octubre 2020

In order to continue promoting a journalism committed to the environment and conservation, the Gabo Foundation has joined forces with WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to carry out a series of activities aimed at reporters and media in the Andean-Amazon countries.

- They will offer a free talk and workshop for journalists who wish to better investigate this issue and achieve a more informed citizenry around it.

In order to continue promoting a journalism committed to the environment and conservation, the Gabo Foundation has joined forces with WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to carry out a series of activities aimed at reporters and media in the Andean-Amazon countries.

This joint effort will offer, through a free talk and workshop with recognized figures of environmental journalism in the region, useful tools and resources for journalistic coverage of wildlife and timber trafficking. This, in order to develop mechanisms and spaces for collaboration between journalists and media from different countries that allow for better investigation of the problem, and to achieve a more informed citizenry around it, which can contribute to curb its consequences.

These training spaces are part of Alianza por la Fauna Silvestre y los Bosques, a regional action of WCS and WWF, financed by the European Union and implemented in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the tri-border areas with Brazil, which seeks to combat the trafficking of wildlife and wood, through the commitment of civil society. With the support of the Gabo Foundation, they seek to position this problem and its impact on biodiversity, the economic and social spheres, and public health on the information and institutional agenda.
See below for the programming of activities:

Webchat: 'Researching and making visible the wildlife and timber trafficking

Between January and June 2020, the media in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador reported the seizure of more than 900 live wild animals (macaws, turtles, iguanas, monkeys, jaguars, among others). In some tropical countries, it is estimated that between 50 and 90% of the wood traded comes from illegal sources (UNEP, 2014). The Amazon is the world's largest tropical forest, home to almost a quarter of the planet's species and home to more than 34 million people and 420 native peoples. Along with the Andes, it is a territory at high risk of degradation due to deforestation and illegal wildlife trade. To investigate, narrate and make this reality visible, committed and rigorous journalism is needed to mobilize citizens and authorities to act against the trafficking networks that threaten the ecosystem. In this talk, three journalists will talk about the challenges and opportunities of journalism to address the trafficking of wildlife and timber in the Andean-Amazon countries.

Participants: Joseph Zarate (Peru), writer, chronicler and winner of the Gabo Prize in the text category in 2018; Roberto Navia (Bolivia), chronicler and winner of the King of Spain Prize, and María Cristina Castro, general editor of Semana magazine and twice finalist of the Gabo Prize.

Register for the talk free of charge
Date: October 13, 2020
Time: 11 a.m. (COL/ECU/PER), 12 m (BOL)

Virtual workshop on wildlife and timber trafficking
Twenty journalists with at least three years of experience in traditional or native digital media, and preferably covering environmental issues from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia or Brazil, will be chosen for this free workshop, which will be held in Spanish. The workshop will have the following axes:

Introduction to Wildlife and Timber Trafficking Coverage
- Expert sources and the use of open source tools
- Tools of solution journalism for covering the environment
- Collaboration strategies for the development of transnational projects.
Directed by: Antonio Paz, editor in Colombia and Ecuador of Mongabay Latam; Gustavo Faleiros, editor of InfoAmazonia; Noelia Esquivel, journalist of La Voz de Guanacaste; and Nelly Luna, general editor of Ojo Público.

Learn about the requirements and apply for one of the 20 slots
Closing date: October 30, 2020
Workshop dates: November 16, 17, 18 and 19, 2020 (10 a.m. to 12 m)

The Gabo Foundation has joined forces with WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to carry out a series of activities aimed at reporters and media in the Andean-Amazon countries.