No local Conservation International reporting awards this year

Sep 24, 2008 News

…limited submission very disappointing – GPA President

Conservation International will not be hosting its reporting biodiversity awards this year in Guyana.

Coordinator of the activity, Ajay Baksh, told Kaieteur News that because of the limited submission of articles by local journalists, the organisation will not be able to host a successful competition this year.

Baksh said that the monies allocated for the prizes will now be assigned towards a reporting workshop for local journalists.

He also expressed his disappointment at the interest by local journalists in conducting research pieces.
According to Baksh, only two journalists, Tusika Martin of Kaieteur News and Gaulbert Sutherland of Stabroek News, submitted entries for this year’s competition.

This year the first prize winner would have been awarded a cash prize of $160,000, and given the unique opportunity to visit the home of the Wai Wai peoples in the pristine rainforest of the Konashen District, in southern Guyana.

In addition, the winner would have also received a trophy and one-year free membership with the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ).

The second prize would have been $80,000 and free one-year membership with the IFEJ while the third prize would have $40,000 and a free one-year membership with the IFEJ.

Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, President of the Guyana Press Association, Denis Chabrol, said that the limited submissions is very disappointing, given the fact that Guyana is rich in biodiversity.

The country, he noted, is supposed to be playing a lead role on the international environmental agenda.
This, Chabrol said, shows that journalists themselves have not recognised the importance of educating and informing the public in this area.

The goal of the Award is to increase the quantity and quality of environmental reporting by recognizing the outstanding work of Guyana’s environmental journalists, building capacity and providing training.
The Biodiversity Reporting Award was first launched in Guyana and Guatemala in 1999.

Colombia joined in 2000 and the following year, Bolivia, Brazil and Ghana were included. The award has since been held in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, Mexico’s Gulf of California and Madagascar.
In 2007, new awards were launched in Belize and the four Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia.

Since the launching of awards in Guyana, journalists Tusika Martin, Johann Earle, Neil Marks, Linda Pamela Rutherford, Nicosia Smith and Miranda La Rose have been awarded by Conservation International.

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