Environment: more than 70% of journalists who work on the subject have been threatened, according to UNESCO

More than 70% of journalists from 129 countries who cover environmental issues have claimed to have been victims of threats, pressure or attacks, warns UNESCO in a survey unveiled on Friday, May 3, on the occasion of World Environmental Protection Day. freedom of press.

In its new report “Press and planet in danger”, UNESCO announces that it conducted a survey of 905 journalists in March and that more than 70% of them said they had been the target of “attacks, threats or pressures” in relation to their investigations into environmental issues. Among them, two in five say they have suffered physical violence.

Some 85% of affected journalists say they have been subjected to threats or psychological pressure, 60% have been victims of online harassment, 41% of physical attacks and 24% said they have been attacked legally.

Nearly half (45%) say they self-censor for fear of retaliation, of having their sources exposed, or because they are aware that their articles conflict with the interests of affected stakeholders. Data also shows that female journalists are more exposed to online harassment than men.

Growing risks

As part of the publication of this investigation, UNESCO also revealed that at least 749 journalists and media outlets reporting on environmental issues have been “targets of murder, physical violence, detention and arrest, online harassment or legal attacks” during the period 2009-2023. A 42% increase in cases was noted between 2019 and 2023 compared to the previous period (2014-2018).

UNESCO recalls that at least 44 journalists covering environmental issues have been killed since 2009 in 15 countries, including 30 in Asia-Pacific and 11 in Latin America or the Caribbean.

Some 24 survived murder attempts and only five assassinations resulted in convictions, representing “a shocking impunity rate of almost 90%”, underlines UNESCO.

Environmental journalists face increasing risks because their work “often intersects with highly profitable economic activities, such as illegal logging, poaching or illegal waste dumping,” notes UNESCO.

The UN agency calls for increased support for journalists specializing in environmental issues because “without reliable scientific information on the ongoing environmental crisis, we can never hope to overcome it”, says the director-general of Unesco , Audrey Azoulay, cited in the report. She points out that “climate-related misinformation is pervasive on social media.”

The survey, revealed at the World Press Freedom Day Global Conference in Santiago, Chile, highlights that the problem is global, with attacks taking place in 89 countries in all regions of the world .