Bicol reporters take up newsroom workshop on climate change

Submitted by Vox Bikol on Mon, 08/10/2015 - 22:55

PIA

LEGAZPI CITY, Aug. 9 (PIA)–-Government communicators and members of the media in Bicol who were interested in agriculture and the science of climate change went to a workshop conducted by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc.(PAJ), the leading group of journalists and information officers in the country who cover agriculture.

The workshop was held last July 31 and Aug. 1 at Ninong’s Hotel in this city and was attended by journalists from print, TV, radio and government information officers.

Dubbed “Climate Change: Gets Mo Na Ba?,” the event provided participants “science-based” information on climate change, agriculture, food security and human safety, the techniques in data interpretation and planning on information dissemination.

The thrust, according to PAJ president Roman F. Floresca, was to help journalists craft better and more science-based stories about the issues of climate change.

The global climate change, described by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as the accelerated warming up of the Earth, has generated low media reportage, according to an online report of one of the workshop organizers, the Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute.

The IRR report said numerous scientists and experts around the world have expressed their concern at media discussions on climate change that “lack accurate information or are too technical for the public.”

“We aim to laymanize climate change processes and terminologies and enable journalists in the Bicol region to write, publish and broadcast better and more stories (about the matter),” said Floresca, also the business editor of Philippine Star.

The discussants underscored the impact of climate change on agriculture and food security and the critical role of journalists in enriching public understanding on the matter.

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) communication head Tony Lambino recommended writing stories that depict the “positive, hopeful and reformist” side to the climate change because they ”can more likely lead to progress.”

Two of Lambino’s examples were rice varieties ready for climate change conditions such as drought, rising sea level, heavy floods and intense heat; and success stories of farmers who were able to propagate and gain increased yield through “climate smart farming strategies.”

“Positive and hopeful news make readers think that they can do something,” he said. “(This thinking) can prompt them to be inspired and take action.”

Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists (PNEJ) president Imelda Abaño tackled the state of climate change reportage. She expressed concern at the low media reportage on science, the communication gap between scientists and journalists, and the lack of resources of the media to report science.

 

For journalists who struggle to report climate, her advice was to understand the science of climate change, go beyond press releases, get the right news sources and report more on the human factor of climate change.

“We need more stories on gender dimension taking into account its impact on men and women, indigenous peoples, the plight of our farmers, following the money such as the people’s survival fund and champions of CCA and DRR,” she said.

By CCA and DRR, she meant climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

At the workshop, the participants tried to prove their enhanced skills in climate change news reporting by crafting articles regarding the higlights of the event.

Some of the participants even shared their personal insights and observations and offered measures to implement climate-related initiatives, programs and advocacies.  

The event was supported by Department of Agriculture, Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Smart Communications, Philex Mining Corp., CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security in Southeast Asia, World Agroforestry Center and IRRI. 

(EAD/SAA/PIA5/Albay)   

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Build up resiliency to climate change – DA

 

August 6, 2015 9:49 pm 

by JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ, REPORTER

Infra investment faces risk from disasters

Every year, the Philippines loses billions of pesos worth of public investment in infrastructure and, more importantly, human lives due to extreme weather patterns brought about by climate change.

At a workshop for journalists called “Climate Change: Gets Mo Na Ba?” held in Legazpi City, Albay, Agriculture Undersecretary Segfredo Serrano said that developing countries, including the Philippines, which have contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions, are the most vulnerable to climate change.

“From the development perspective, climate change is the game changer, as all our efforts and investments will be obliterated if we don’t give attention to doing our jobs and living a life with resiliency to climate change,” Serrano said.

Serrano said the DA is for meaningful adaptation, not mitigation, citing the need to review scientific and technical work program to provide the basis for new agriculture and fishery infrastructure designs, standards and specifications, and climate change resilient technologies, while pursuing agricultural and fishery developmental programs.

“We cannot have climate change adaptation program without integrating and harmonizing it with disaster risk reduction program,” he added.

Serrano represented Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala during the two-day workshop attended by over 70 tri-media journalists, which was sponsored by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc. (PAJ) in partnership with the DA Bicol regional field office, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), Philex Mining Corp., and Smart Communications.

The Legazpi workshop was the first of four PAJ regional workshops aimed at “laymanizing” terminologies and processes to enable journalists to understand climate change and thus write and broadcast more interesting stories for the appreciation of the general public.
The succeeding workshops will be conducted in Tacloban (August 27-29), Siargao (September 17-19), and Tuguegarao (October 27-29). They are also co-sponsored by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Regional Program for Southeast Asia (CCAFS-SEA), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF).

Serving as workshop partners are the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists, Inc. (PNEJ), Philippine Science Journalists, Inc. (PSciJourn) and Philippine Federation of Rural Broadcasters (PFRB).

For his part, former Press Secretary Mike Toledo commended the PAJ workshop, saying, “There is this proper need to share the responsibility of writing and publishing, and broadcasting better and more stories on climate change to inform, educate, and change the mindset of a given populace.”

Toledo represented Manuel Pangilinan, chairman of the MVP group of companies which include MPIC, Philex and Smart, co-sponsor of the climate change workshops.
He said MVP appreciates the threat posed by climate change and thus their group has been implementing respective programs and initiatives to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate.

Toledo said a flagship program of Metro Pacific is “Shore it up!” —a nationwide effort to protect mangroves that serve as habitat for rich marine life. Maynilad is conducting interactive educational drives on water safety and conservation in public elementary schools Manila and Muntinlupa, whilePhilex Mining Corp. continues to undertake massive reforestation program not just in compliance with government requirements but as part of its corporate social responsibility to its host communities.

PLDT-SMART, he added, has its ‘Kabalikat ng Kalikasan’ programs like ‘Smartrees,’ green cell sites, green merchandising and the Marikina watershed initiative, while Meralco has launched an ‘Energy Leadership Award’ to honor energy-efficient and sustainable eco-friendly schools in partnership with the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources.

He said the MVP group has partnered with the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation and is an active member of the Corporate Network for Disaster Response, conducting response and relief work through its ‘Tulong Kapatid’ collective program.
He noted that when natural calamities such as earthquakes and typhoons strike, the Philex rescue team is one of the first on ‘ground zero’ to conduct search-and-rescue and retrieval operations.

 http://www.manilatimes.net/build-up-resiliency-to-climate-change-da/207106/

AgricultureDepartment Bicol  

August 3, 2015

Local media deepen knowledge and insight on climate change in PAJ seminar 

LEGASPI CITY - Over 70 journalists from the tri-media gather here for the seminar-workshop entitled: “Climate Change: Gets Mo na Ba?” conducted by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc. in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA) Bicol; Metro Pacific Investment Corporations and MVP Group of Companies and other sponsors.

     

A battery of speakers and resource persons composed of luminaries from the media and scientific community at the national and local level shared their knowledge,experiences and insights on the topic during the 2-day gathering held in one of the hotels in this city on July 31 to August 1, 2015.

                

 DA Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Segfredo Serrano, who represented Secretary Proceso J. Alcala emphasized that developing countries including the Philippines, which have contributed least to greenhouse gas emission are most vulnerable to climate change. He says that every year we lose millions in agriculture due to extreme events. He added, that from the development perspective “climate change is the game changer, as all our efforts and investments will be obliterated if we don’t give attention to doing our jobs and living a life with resiliency to climate change.” He stated that the DA is for meaningful adaptation not mitigation, citing the need to review scientific and technical work program to provide the basis for new design, standards, specifications and technologies consistent with resiliency while pursuing developmental program. He also underscored that “You cannot have climate change adaptation program without integrating it and harmonizing it with Disaster Risk Reduction Program.”


 
Meanwhile, Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. was represented by Atty. Mike Toledo, Media Bureau Chief and SVP of Philex, Mining Corporation. He stressed that the duty to inform, educate and change mindset of the people about the dangers and threat of climate is a shared responsibility not only of the government, the concerned institutions and the media but also of the private sector. He affirmed that climate change is already here and upon us and it must be addressed. He cited that the MVP group of companies is at the forefront of disaster response, relief and rehabilitation.

 
The other speakers who shared their wisdom and expertise were: Dr. Leo Sebastian, Program leader, Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security – for South East Asia; Atty. Rodel Batocabe, AKO Bicol Party list representative and chair of the Congressional Committee on Climate change; Amy Cruz, of World Agro Forestry Center and Senior research fellow of Manila Observatory; Dr. Rosa Perez, consultant, Asian Development Bank; Dr. Eliseo Ponce, DA consultant on Climate Change Program; Louie Tabing, President, Phil. Federation of Rural Broadcasters and host of DZMM program Sa Kabukiran; Angelo Palmones, president, Philippine Science Journalists and DZRH VP for News; Imelda Abaño, president, Phil. Network of Environmental Journalists, Inc. and Tony Lambino, IRRI head of Communication. The local experts/ resource persons were: Eng. Abelardo R. Bragas, DA Bicol regional executive Director, Dr. Cedric Daep, department head, Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office; Eng. Ariel Zamudio of PAGASA Legaspi City; Lorenzo Alvina, DA Regional Focal Person on CCA & DRRM who represented Regional Technical Director Dr. Elena B. de los Santos and Prof. Florito Dapeña who represented Dir. Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV of Office of the Civil defense. Also present during the workshop were the national officers of the PAJ led by its two vice presidents, Noel Reyes and Dr. Matilde Maunahan and some of the board of directors. Bicol PIA regional Director Aida Naz was also present during the duration of the activity.


On the second day the participants went on a field tour to some of the local projects meant to address climate change such as the sanitary landfill in Banquerohan, in Legaspi City; the permanent evacuation center in Camalig, Albay, the Agro-Ethno Village in Daraga, Albay and the Cagsawa Ruins. The seminar was capped by discussions and sharing of ideas of what stories to write about climate change based on the insights, added knowledge and added experience the participants gained.

As a positive response to the call for a more cohesive, responsive and active involvement by the local media in climate change and disaster risk reduction efforts, the participants decided to organize a Bicol PAJ chapter. It was agreed that the mainstream media will be at the frontline of this organization with government agencies providing support. The elected officers are: Juan Escandor, Jr., correspondent, Bicol Mail and Phil. Daily Inquirer - president; Mar Arguelles, correspondent, Phil. Daily Inquirer- vice president; Marlon Loterte, PIA, Albay - secretary; Rhaydz Barcia, correspondent, The Manila Times and Edwin Peralta- treasurer; Ping Peralta, Editor, BU Extension News – auditor; Ana-Liza Macatangay, PIA, Cam. Sur- PRO for print; Jose Caretero, Reporter , ABS-CBN – PRO for TV; Grace Inocentes, RMN-DWNX – PRO for broadcast. The Board of Directors are: Emily B. Bordado of DA; Salvador Cruzana, CBSUA; Nonie Enolva, BFAR; Frank Peñones, editor, Bikol Reporter and Nancy Mediavillo of Radyo ng Bayan .

(Emily B. Bordado)

Atty. Mike Toledo represented Mr. Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of MVP group of companies, of which MPIC, Philex and Smart have co-sponsored the PAJ #ClimateChange workshop for journalists.

Climate change is ‘game changer,’ wipes away investments, efforts

August 5, 2015 at 10:05pm

(By Emily B. Bordado and Noel O. Reyes)

Legazpi City – Every year, the Philippines loses billions of pesos worth of public investments in infrastructure, and more importantly human lives due to extreme events brought about by climate change.

“From the development perspective, climate change is the game changer, as all our efforts and investments will be obliterated, if we don’t give attention to doing our jobs and living a life with resiliency to climate change,” stressed agriculture undersecretary Segfredo Serrano, at a workshop for journalists called “Climate Change: Gets mo na ba?” conducted here by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc. (PAJ).

“Developing countries, including the Philippines, which have contributed least to greenhouse gas emission are most vulnerable to climate change,” said Serrano, who represented agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala, during the two-day workshop attended by over 70 tri-media journalists sponsored by the PAJ in partnership with the DA Bicol regional field office, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), Philex Mining Corp., and Smart Communications.

He said the DA is for meaningful adaptation not mitigation, citing the need to review scientific and technical work program to provide the basis for new agriculture and fishery infrastructure designs, standards and specifications, and climate change resilient technologies, while pursuing agricultural and fishery developmental programs.

“We cannot have climate change adaptation program, without integrating and harmonizing it with disaster risk reduction program,” added Serrano during the Legazpi workshop, the first of the four PAJ regional workshops aimed at ‘laymanizing’ terminologies and processes to enable journalists understand climate change and thus write and broadcast more interesting stories for the appreciation of the general public.

The succeeding workshops will be conducted in Tacloban (August 27-29), Siargao (September 17-19), and Tuguegarao (October 27-29). They are also co-sponsored by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Regional Program for Southeast Asia (CCAFS-SEA), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF). Serving as workshop partners are the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists, Inc. (PNEJ), Philippine Science Journalists, Inc. (PSciJourn) and Philippine Federation of Rural Broadcasters (PFRB).

For his part, former press secretary Mike Toledo commended the PAJ workshop, saying “there is this proper need to share the responsibility of writing and publishing, and broadcasting better and more stories on climate change to inform, educate, and change the mindset of a given populace.”

Toledo represented Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of MVP group of companies, of which MPIC, Philex and Smart have co-sponsored the PAJ climate change workshop for journalists.

He said the MVP appreciates the threat of climate change, and thus their group has been implementing respective programs and initiatives to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate.

Toledo said a flagship program of Metro Pacific is “Shore it up!” which is a nationwide effort to protect mangroves that serve as habitat for rich marine life. Maynilad is conducting interactive educational drives on water safety and conservation in public elementary schools Manila and Muntinlupa. Philex Mining Corp. continues to undertake massive reforestation program not just in compliance with government requirements but as part of its corporate social responsibility to its host communities.

PLDT-SMART, he added, has its ‘Kabalikat ng Kalikasan’ programs like ‘Smartrees, green cell sites, green merchandising and Marikina watershed initiative. Meralco has launched a ‘Energy Leadership Award’ to honor energy-efficient and sustainable eco-friendly schools, in partnership with the DENR.

He said the MVP group has partnered with the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation and an active member of the Corporate Network for Disaster Response, conducting response and relief work through its ‘Tulong Kapatid’ collective program. He noted that when natural calamities strike such as earthquakes and typhoons, the Philex rescue team is one of the first on ‘ground zero’ to conduct search-and-rescue and retrieval operations.

During the PAJ two-day workshop several speakers and resource persons also shared their insight and experiences on climate change, among them were: DA Bicol regional director Abelardo Bragas; Dr. Leo Sebastian, CCAFS-SEA program leader; Dr. Rosa Perez, weather expert research fellow at Manila Observatory; Dr. Eliseo Ponce, DA consultant on climate change; Rep. Rodel Batocabe, chair of HOR committee on climate change; Amy Cruz, of ICRAFF; Louie Tabing, PFRB president; Angelo Palmones, PSciJourn president; Imelda Abaño, PNEJ president; and Tony Lambino, IRRI head of communication.

The local experts included: Dr. Cedric Daep, head of Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office; Eng. Ariel Zamudio of PAGASA Legazpi City; Lorenzo Alvina, DA regional focal person on CCA & DRRM; and Prof. Florito Dapeña, Bicol Region office of civil defense.

 

 A two-day workshop called “Climate Change: Gets mo na ba?” was conducted by the PAJ in Legazpi City on July 31-Aug 1. The workshop is co-sponsored by the Department of Agriculture Bicol regional field office, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), Philex Mining Corp., and Smart Communications. Three similar workshops will be conducted in Tacloban (Aug 27-29), Siargao (Sept 17-19), and Tuguegarao (Oct 27-29).

Climate Change

Communicating climate change: bridging science and society

• by EnviroNewsph (article by Imelda Abano)
• August 5, 2015

inShare

The media plays a critical role in public understanding of climate change as well as influencing policymakers to make potential, urgent climate actions. Yet, many journalists in the Philippines desire an improved understanding of the science of it, its causes and consequences, vulnerable communities, impacts to food security, health, livelihood, environment and especially on how to improve climate change reporting.



From prolonged droughts to heavy flooding, rising seas and erratic, fiercer typhoons, scientists have said in many scientific studies that climate change effects are already hitting the poor and vulnerable the hardest, including millions of people in the Philippines. While it is an overwhelming issue, climate change could well be the story of the century and it is important to bring it to the center of media coverage.

According to Rex Navarro, Director of the Philippine Agricultural Journalists (PAJ), climate change “can no longer be ignored.” Political action, increasing public awareness and policy change are what we need to address, he said.

“ The media can play a crucial role in disseminating useful climate information to effectively guide public discourse and understanding about the weather and climate change, and how to urgently act on climate change. It is just fitting that we assist our colleagues in understanding the issue better,” said Navarro, who is also a consultant of the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).



Noel Reyes, Vice-President of the PAJ, said reporting on climate change poses particular challenges to provincial journalists the reason for involving other media organizations to lead the series of workshop like the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists (PNEJ), the Philippine Federation of Rural Broadcasters and the Philippine Science Journalists.

“ We aim to empower local journalists to effectively report on climate-related issues, and how can we strengthen their professional capacity to produce greater quality and volume of reporting,” Reyes said, adding that various sectors supported the conduct of the workshops such as the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, CCAFS Southeast Asia, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), World Agro-Forestry Center (ICRAF), the Department of Agriculture, MVP Group of Companies and the Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

Dr Rosa Perez, climate expert and consultant at the Asian Development Bank, said journalists need to understand at least the basic of climate change and the science behind it, adding that scientific facts are also crucial in conveying climate messaging to the public.

The series of workshops focus on food security, agriculture and the human dimension of climate change starting from the disaster-prone Legazpi City held July 30-August 1, to typhoon-hit Tacloban City in August to the threatened coastal island of Siargao in September and to the hottest place in the country, Tuguegarao City in October.

In Legazpi City last week, more than 50 local journalists participated in the workshop hoping to enhance their capacities in reporting climate change and to raise the level of public awareness and discourse, said Imelda Abano, President of the PNEJ.



At the workshop, participants had the opportunity to learn and share good practices on climate-related issues as well as the roles of media in climate communication and public access to information.

“ It is important for journalists to be equipped with some basic knowledge and tools as well as motivation to tackle climate change by providing an overview of issues from science, to policymaking to communicating it effectively,” Abano stressed. ” Another important aspect is the collaboration between and among journalists, climate scientists, researchers and institutions to articulate issues and concerns on climate change mitigation, adaptation and its relation to food security and agriculture.”

Abano suggested the publication of a climate change guidebook for Philippine journalists to enable journalists to understand key concepts, effectively report on climate-related issues and to make climate change reporting appealing to the public.

Former Representative Angelo Palmones of the Philippine Science Journalists, on the other hand, suggested the development of a modular workshop sessions in understanding climate change and communicating it to the public and policymakers.

During the recently conducted first leg of the workshop in Legazpi City in Albay, local journalists learned the basics of climate science from climate scientist Dra. Rosa Perez; the climate change mitigation and adaptation program of the government through Department of Agriculture Secretary Sigfredo Serrano; corporate social responsibility on addressing climate change with Metro Pacific Investments Corp Atty Mike Toledo; zero-casualty program of Albay through Cedric Daep of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office; introducing smart-agriculture and farming techniques from Dr Leo Sebastian, the Porgram Leader of Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (for Southeast Asia); government policy update from Rep. Rodel Batocabe of AKO Bicol Party; forestry concerns from Amy Cruz of the World Agro-Forestry Center; agriculture policies from Eliseo Ponce, DA consultant on climate change; DA Bicol regional executive director Abelardo Bragas on local agriculture situation.

In communicating climate change, resource speakers were: Tony Lambino, head of communication of the International Rice Research Institute; Senior journalists Louie Tabing of the Federation of Rural Broadcasters, former Rep Angelo Palmones of Philippine Science Journalists and Imelda Abano of the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists (PNEJ). Present at the workshop are the officers and board of directors of the Philippine Agricultural Journalists.



photo credit: Dept of Agriculture Bicol

 http://environews.ph/climate-change/communicating-climate-change-bridging-science-and-society/

01 July 2015

Thumbs Up for Climate Change Workshops for Journalists

The Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc. (PAJ)—in partnership with Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), Smart Communications and  Philex Mining Corporation —will conduct four regional seminar-workshops for journalists, called “Climate Change: Gets mo na ba?”  

Commencing in Legazpi City, on July 30, 2015 to Aug. 1, 2015, the workshops aim to “laymanize” climate change processes and terminologies, and enable journalists craft better and more stories. Other venues are in Tacloban (Aug 27-29), Siargao (Sept 17-19), and in Tuguegarao (Oct 29-31). The workshops are also co-sponsored by the Department of Agriculture, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security for Southeast Asia, International Rice Research Institute, and World Agroforestry Center. Shown above at the June 30 MOU signing are (from left): Melody del Rosario, MPIC VP for media and corporate communications; Ramon Isberto, Smart Communications VP and head of public affairs; Jose Ma. K. Lim – MPIC President and CEO; Noel O. Reyes, PAJ VP; and Michael Toledo, Philex VP for corporate affairs and MVP Group media bureau chief.