UNESCO Report Warns of Escalating Threats to Journalists Covering Environmental Issues

A new UNESCO report titled Press and Planet in Danger reveals a disturbing rise in violence, harassment, and repression targeting journalists who cover environmental issues worldwide. The report, released in 2024, documents how reporters investigating climate change, pollution, illegal mining, deforestation, and land disputes are increasingly threatened, censored, or even killed for their work.

Between 2009 and 2023, at least 749 attacks were recorded against environmental journalists, including murders, arbitrary detentions, legal harassment, and digital surveillance. Alarmingly, 44 journalists were killed during this period in connection with their ecological reporting, often in regions rich in natural resources but plagued by corruption, weak governance, or organized crime.

UNESCO notes that environmental journalism intersects with powerful political and economic interests, making it especially dangerous. Journalists exposing environmental crimes or defending Indigenous rights often face retaliation not only from state actors but also from private companies, militias, and criminal networks. Many of these crimes go unpunished, fostering a culture of impunity.

The report also highlights the gendered dimension of threats, with women journalists facing online harassment, smear campaigns, and gender-based violence that often discourage them from covering sensitive topics. Digital threats — including hacking and doxxing — have grown more sophisticated, posing new risks to press freedom and journalist safety.

Despite these dangers, environmental journalism plays a crucial role in raising public awareness, holding governments accountable, and supporting the global effort to combat climate change. UNESCO urges governments to strengthen protections for environmental reporters through legal reforms, ensuring safe reporting conditions, and conducting effective investigations into attacks.

The report urges international bodies, media organizations, and civil society to prioritize journalist safety, invest in training, and ensure digital security tools are accessible. UNESCO also advocates for more cross-border collaboration in investigative environmental journalism.

As the climate crisis intensifies, so too do the threats to those who report on it. UNESCO’s report serves as a stark reminder: protecting journalists is essential not only for press freedom but for the future of the planet itself.

Reference –

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000389501?mc_cid=38ae28d93c&mc_eid=5e00c70474