Journalists have been urged to extensively report about the dangers of climate change and how to curb its diverse effects in the region. The call was made at a forum of climate change journalists in eastern and southern Africa (FCCJESA) that attracted journalists from different media houses in the region.The forum held in Kigali this week drew participants from Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Zambia.Patrick Luganda, the forum’s chairman said, `` we need your support to communicate to the wider public on issues of climate change that affect our region.” “I encourage Rwanda meteorology agency to train Rwandan journalists on how to write about climate, or environment in different regions. They are also supposed to seek news on small manufacturers and corporations work, because they also create greenhouse pollutants, or reduce the amount of oxygen in the air.”The forum’s five-year strategic plan seeks to have knowledgeable journalists to report on climate change professionally.According to Judith Akolo of Kenya, Africans must not remain silent on the dangers of climate change.“There is need to speak up against activities that accelerate the looming climate crisis, and it must be done loud and clear,”She added that governments should raise awareness about it, prepare their countries for the necessary adaptation and allocate sufficient resources to mitigate climate change.“Immediate action and commitment ought to be directed towards protection of African forests and their biodiversity, and to forestation efforts,” she added.
