Cambodia media calls for joint efforts to strengthen media development and climate resilience

The year 2024 marks a critical juncture in our collaborative efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Yet, as highlighted in the Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2024, at the current pace, the Asia-Pacific region is 32 years behind schedule in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The triple planetary crisis – climate change, biodiversity loss, and air pollution – puts 85 percent of people in the region at risk of greater exposure to multi-hazard climate risks and the recent extreme weather events, and Cambodia is not spared from this pressing global crisis.

In this context, the first session explored the dual role of journalists and media professionals in highlighting both the environmental challenges and the innovative practices and solutions at the community level in addressing environmental issues, ultimately contributing to raise public awareness on the emerging common challenge of climate crisis. With its diverse representation and perspectives from the youth, environmental activists, journalists, and the Ministry of Environment, the panel also discussed the importance of inclusive and diverse reporting, to ensure the voices and concerns of vulnerable communities are heard and their needs are met, leaving no one behind. H.E. Khvay Atitya, Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Environment, also welcomed requests from journalists and media professionals in accessing to information and data related to environment, for inclusive reporting to raise environmental awareness among the public.

The second session was dedicated to discussing and promoting collaborative solutions to promote the safety of journalists and media professionals, towards fostering an enabling environment where journalists can report freely and bring a diversity of issues and insights around environmental issues.

During the event, H.E. Mr. Tep Asnarith, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Information, presented key findings of the Report on the State of Press Freedom in Cambodia launched by the Ministry in April 2024, while Mr. Nop Vy, Executive Director of Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association (CamboJA), and Mr. Houn Phorn, Project Coordinator of Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) presented findings from the Monitoring Reports on the Harassment, Threats and Detention on Journalists in Cambodia. These contributed to the open and constructive discussion on joint efforts to strengthen the safety of journalists and freedom of expression in Cambodia, within the framework of the UN Plan of Action and the Issue of Impunity.

Ms. Camilla Ottosson, Minister Counsellor and Head of Embassy of Sweden Section Office in Phnom Penh, emphasized that “the public needs a media with strong environmental journalism to provide reliable information to help citizens sort facts from fiction and dis-/misinformation on digital platforms and raise their awareness through accurate, timely and comprehensive reporting on environmental issues, their consequences and innovative solutions developed by communities.”