Tanzania’s journalists to benefit from biodiversity reporting training

Dar es Salaam. Journalists from local media in Tanzania are set to benefit from the biodiversity conservation training and mentorship as part of the efforts to improve their skills in wildlife conservation, corridors management and natural resources management reporting.
The training program, which will also provide skills in data journalism, investigative, multimedia storytelling and fact-checking, will be provided by Nukta Africa with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the USAID Tuhifadhi Maliasili Activity.

USAID Tuhifadhi Maliasili (“Preserve Natural Resources”) is a five-year activity that addresses threats to animal movement and biodiversity in Tanzania which started in June 2021. The Activity aims to build institutional capacities of both public and private stakeholders, increase private sector engagement in biodiversity conservation and natural resources management and improve the policy, regulatory, and enabling environment for biodiversity conservation and natural resource management.
The biodiversity reporting program is specifically designed for journalists, producers and editors working with local or regional media near or along Kwakuchinja, Nyerere Selous — Udzungwa and Amani-Nilo corridors.
The one-year project aims to empower journalists from local and regional media found near or along these corridors to produce high-quality content that promotes sustainable conservation of natural resources.
The training and mentorship program for local media is a continuation of the efforts by the USAID Tuhifadhi Maliasili Activity to educate media practitioners on biodiversity conservation in the East African nation.
Nukta Africa will join another environmental conservation organisation, Journalists’ Environmental Association of Tanzania (JET), that has been training national media journalists and editors on biodiversity reporting under the same project for two years now.

More learning opportunities for journalists from local media

In this training program, only journalists, producers and editors from six regions of Tanzania Mainland: Arusha, Manyara, Morogoro, Lindi, Tanga, and Pwani will be eligible to apply.
Activities under this project will involve reporting on wildlife, biodiversity, tourism, environment, and the use of digital technology and data to produce impactful news for the community.
Additionally, journalists selected for this project dubbed “Habari Bora kwa Uhifadhi Endelevu (Improved News Reporting for Sustainable Conservation) will have the opportunity to visit three corridors to enhance their understanding of conservation issues and meet various experts and stakeholders including locals.
Nukta Africa’s Chief Learning Officer, Daniel Samson said journalists who will excel during these training sessions will have further learning opportunities and will give their local media a competitive advantage of receiving digital transformation support including upgrading or developing their news websites.
“We will prioritize young journalists, women, people with disabilities, and all those passionate about or specialized in reporting environmental conservation, wildlife conservation and natural resource management,” Samson said

60 media practitioners to benefit from the project

Upon completion of the project, Samson said 45 journalists and producers and 15 editors from 15 local media in the six selected regions will be trained and mentored, making it one of the most comprehensive learning programs on biodiversity reporting in Tanzania.
The training program is a continuation of Nukta Africa’s initiative to reskill and upskill media workers in Tanzania for sustainability, following its successful involvement as a key partner in the implementation of the “USAID Boresha Habari Project” coordinated by Internews.
Since its establishment six years ago, Nukta Africa has provided training and mentorship to around 2,000 journalists, editors, content producers, and communication experts in various fields, particularly in technology and data use, environmental conservation, and clean energy.

How to apply
Journalists interested in this opportunity will need to submit applications by filling out this form >> https://forms.gle/65ynyPvRB6N12Wo77. The deadline for applications is September 10, 2023. Only selected journalists will be notified.