Djibouti, January 24, 2022 - To further involve the media in the fight against climate change and its impacts, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, with the support of UNDP, organized a training for about twenty journalists on environmental concerns as part of the Global Environment Fund (GEF)-funded project on strengthening national capacities to improve decision-making and integration of global environmental obligations.

Given Djibouti's vulnerability to climate change, the media can play a key role in raising citizens' awareness of environmental matters.

Although policy and legal tools have prioritized environmental protection in recent years, its popularization remains crucial to raising awareness and mobilizing the Djiboutian population.

In Djibouti, the government's environmental policy has resulted in recent years in the adoption of laws and institutional tools as well as the ratification of several international conventions including the three major conventions on the environment, namely the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

However, the degradation of the environment concerns everyone and requires the involvement of the entire population. In this context, about twenty journalists participated in a workshop on the media treatment of the environmental question.  Through this training, the print and broadcast media had the opportunity to meet experts on those topics and strengthen their understanding of global issues and their relevance.

Considering the urgency to act against climate change and its impacts, the involvement of the media can be decisive to promote awareness of the importance of environmental conservation among the population but also to sensitize them to the role that each one can play to stop the degradation of the environment.