Acceptance Speech by Raphael Mweninguwe

I would like to thank the organisers of the competition, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the City of Bonn and the United Nations Secretariat of the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). I would like to thank the judges for selecting my entry. This shows that in developing world there is talent that the international community can appreciate.

This award is a recognition of my work in particular. And it is my hope that the award has done African environmental journalists pride. I am of the view that many international journalists including those from developed countries participated in the competition. But by selecting me for the award I know that the international community recognises the environmental problems we Africans face. Africa is not only faced with ethnic wars but environmental problems as well. The wars are just making the problems worse. Many people who are being displaced by wars do a lot of damage to our environment. There are problems of deforestations which are a result of population growth, agricultural expansion. These displaced people need food to eat. Majority are poverty striken and poverty is one of the main evils of environment in Africa.

Journalists especially in Africa face a lot of problems. Many work in very bad conditions. They do not have the resources and travelling to places where there is news it becomes a problem.There is, therefore, need for the international community especially the donors to come forward and help the helpless environmental reporters in Africa in particular and the world in general. It is very sad to note that many donors are not willing to come forward and help environmental journalists. I am saying this because of my own personal experience. in February this year Galillee College in Israel accepted my application to study environment management course which begins in September, 2000. I have been offered 60% of the total cost as scholarship by the College and I have been asked to pay 40%. I contacted several donor agencies here at home (Malawi) but all said they could not fund me because I am not employed by government. What a disappointment! Should environmental journalists fail to learn new skills because they are not part of government? If donors are not able to fund private journalists because they work with governments in their environmental programmes, I would like to urge them now to set a side some funds for journalists not employed by government. Donors should also realise that journalists not employed by government, in most cases, are able to report real issues objectively without fearing government.

The other problem faced by many journalists especially in Africa where I come from is that many news editors do not take environmental issues seriously. Majority are politically minded. International TVs, print and radio stations also have problems. They concentrate much on political violence when it comes to reporting about Africa. They do not report on environment degradation that is taking place because of the wars.

Finally, thanks for listening to my short speech.

Thank you.