Track 4.3:

Science Journalism as survival hope: Climate disasters coverage in South Asia

The global south has experienced some of the most damaging disasters and changes in climate in recent decades, with alarming consequences for human welfare. This has led to economic challenges, food insecurity, livelihood changes and migration. There have been multiple ways in which people in the global south have adjusted to such changes. In order to cover such disasters and the associated changes, journalists need to overcome several challenges in accessing and disseminating information as well as make a paradigm shift in their approach to coverage. This session will discuss how journalists have overcome such challenges and deliberate on how solutions journalism based on science has been used to empower people to effect positive changes. It will explore the role journalists have played in informing vulnerable communities about impacts and ways to adapt to them as well as about alternative livelihoods in the face of climate-related changes that have destroyed their sources of income.

• Day: March 29
• Time: from 10:00am to 11:15am
• Room: Salon Restrepo Salon 3

Moderator: Jennie Erin Smith
Speakers: Archita Bhatta, Suhail Yusuf, Sahana Ghosh, Sisira Kumara