The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have agreed to work together to shape public discourse on issues that affect the environment.
The two institutions expressed concern about the rate of destruction to the environment and the need for environmental issues to dominate discussions in the media to inform attitudinal change and policy decisions.
The agreement was reached when the leadership of the GJA, led by Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, paid a courtesy call on Dr John Kingsley Krugu, the new Executive Director of the EPA at his office in Accra on Thursday.
The purpose of the visit was to congratulate Dr Krugu on his appointment as Executive Director of the EPA, deepen ties, and explore possible areas of partnership to combat environmental issues such as climate change, illegal mining, air pollution, land degradation, among others.
The meeting was also to solicit for support and formally invite the EPA’s Executive Director to the commemoration of the 2024 World Press Freedom Day to be held in Koforidua in the Eastern Region on May 3, 2024.
This year’s global theme is on, “A press for the planet: journalism in the face of the Environmental Crises” with a national theme: “Leveraging journalism for sustainable environment and future.”
Mr Dwumfour said the theme aligned with the GJA’s resolve to make environmental issues top on the agenda of the media and collaborate with institutions to address critical issues that threatened the sustainability of the environment.
He said the event would assemble media personnel, experts, and policy makers to discuss measures to protect the environment.
Mr Dwumfour said the GJA was ready to build long-term partnership with the EPA and identify areas of collaboration in the national interest.
“We are very much concerned about the issues of climate change and the environmental crisis that is looming. Our platforms are open to see how we can fight environmental menace and work together to conquer environmental challenges,” he said.
He said the GJA would also explore training opportunities for journalists to deepen their understanding on environment issues to inform quality reportage.
Mr Krugu welcomed the partnership proposal between the EPA and the GJA and asked for further engagements to fashion out key areas of collaboration in the interest of safeguarding the environment.
He said journalists played crucial role in affecting positive change and appealed to the media to dedicate time to discuss environment issues to drive attitudinal change and influence policy decisions.
“We need to take environmental issues much more seriously than we are doing. Every little thing we do has implication on the environment.
“We need to make noise to educate the public and political parties to incorporate environment matters into their manifestos,” Mr Krugu said.
