Opinion Author: Nyoman Prayoga, Kaitlin B. Harris Comments
ASIA

Mass media has the power to significantly influence various levels of practice, politics, and public opinion. Media outlets hold the power to shape the public’s perception, awareness, and the discourses and actions related to climate change.  This includes the important role of defining climate change, its negative impacts, and stimulating resilience responses in urban and rural areas alike. Broadly, mass media outlets, including television, newspapers, magazines, radio, and the internet, have the potential to affect change on a vast scale by strengthening advocacy, influencing key decision-makers, and mobilizing aid at both the local and national level.  

In some countries of Asia such as Indonesia, India, and maybe other countries with similar situation, a limited number of mass media outlets consider climate change a “trendy” issue. These include local-level media platforms—those that are essential in reaching vulnerable populations and accessible for local communities. National broadcasting outlets that specialize in political or economic narratives frequently stray away from climate change issues. It’s not that there are zero publications on the issue, but climate change is not a preferable headline for most mass media.

A paradigm shift is required throughout Indonesia’s mass media in the perception of climate change and its implications. Indonesia is facing a multitude of issues such as climatic disasters, devastating forest fires, and sea level rise. BBC’s Climate Asia Report (2015) concluded that only 56% of Indonesians understand of what climate change means. In India, though it’s not entirely responsibility of mass media, 42% of people did not feel well informed about how to cope with the impacts of changes in climate. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, people have a high level of awareness of the term climate change due the exposure from interventions by the government, NGOs and media. More than three-quarters of people felt that climate change was happening there. When some countries in Asia are major emitter of carbon emission and urbanization and susceptibility to natural disaster continue to increase, all stakeholders should consider their action. In this case, mass media is expected to reframe their position on climate change. 

Mass media has the potential to encourage the exploration of climate change, creating a deeper public awareness, but most importantly, contribute feasible options to build resilience. Specifically, they are expected to serve as a primary resource for a diverse audience, conveying clear, comprehensible, and unambiguous information related to climate change. Moreover, media outlets should be responsible for reporting prior, during, and thereafter significant climatic events to enable community members to prepare and follow up with appropriate actions. 

As stated in BBC’s Climate Asia Report, media experts surveyed suggested that in order to reach people, it is important to understand what they want, what media they use, who they talk to and trust and how they would like information delivered to them. Research has shown that countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Indonesia have major population that receives information by watching television. Having an episode of popular TV show or TV ad-campaign providing information on good environmental behaviours and practices could be one of interesting formats to communicate about climate change and its impacts to wider audience. 

Critical climate change information can be easily integrated into engaging narratives. This can trigger societal behaviour changes to be more climate-sensitive. Lessons learned from climate change resilience actions, including those implemented by the ACCCRN (Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network) Program, prove that participation and empowerment of community members is the foundation to building resilience. More informed individuals have more agencies to contribute to the global movement to combat climate change. 

It is essential that the media convey the complex and dense language of development practitioners, climate scientists, governments, and policy-makers, into the language of common people. Therefore, building the capacity of the media must be considered to improve coverage of this issue. For example in Indonesia, The Indonesia Climate Change Trust Fund (ICCTF), The Alliance of Independent Journalists, Mercy Corps Indonesia, and other institutions that have conducted climate change journalism workshop have shown similar concern that journalists need more knowledge on climate change to help them in converting the information to wider audience, including raising the journalist’s interest on the issue. 

The journalists interviewed Arifin, a local community member at a mangrove restoration project site in Semarang, Indonesia.

The journalists interviewed Arifin, a local community member at a mangrove restoration project site in Semarang, Indonesia. Photo credit: Nyoman Prayoga/Mercy Corps Indonesia.

Yosep Suprayogi, member of the Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists (SIEJ), provided an insightful way to frame the issue of climate change—he explained that the media’s coverage on climate change should be associated with humans. As long as a problem is associated with the human existence and its welfare, it will attract public attention. 

By defining their role in addressing climate change and effectively bringing it to the forefront of local, regional, and national mass media in a concise manner, more media outlets have the potential to connect and empower communities, raise awareness and educate, build resilience, and in the long-term, have the potential to save thousands of lives.    

Nyoman Prayoga is the City Partnership Coordinator for the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) Program at Mercy Corps Indonesia.

Kaitlin B. Harris is the Urban Climate Change Resilience and Government Partnerships Intern for the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) Program at Mercy Corps Indonesia.


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