Former Stabroek News journalist, Andrew Richards has won this year’s “Biodiversity Reporting Award” sponsored by Conservation International.
Richard’s article was entitled ‘Damage to Konawaruk River: Mines Commission moving to protect waterways.’ Sharon Natasha Lall of Kaieteur News who wrote “From ‘concrete’ city to rich nature study” came second, and Guyana Chronicle reporter, Shirley Thomas placed third. Stacey Davidson and Linda Rutherford, also of the Guyana Chronicle, received honourable mention. The competition attracted 21 entries including straight news reports, news features and investigative features.
At a presentation ceremony held on Thursday evening at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel, CI Communications Manager, Lennox Cornette said the competition seeks to “increase the quantity [and] improve the quality of environmental reporting through capacity building and training,” and by recognising the outstanding work of key journalists covering environmental issues.
International Consultant, Hugh Cholmondeley, in the feature address said: “the responsibilities of journalists must change.
No longer can they be just passive bystanders and observers of destruction and extinction....all journalists must become activists, promoters and stimulators of change in public attitude in order to serve themselves, ourselves, our families, our communities, our societies and our planet.... I believe that however difficult, the search for excellence by every journalist must be built on exploring, discovering, expanding, refining and acquiring knowledge”.
He urged CI to include the work of the electronic media in its award programme as in many third world countries, radio and television media have an audience far in excess of that of newspapers whose audiences are restricted to those who are literate.”
Communications Consultant, Abraham Poole, said the entries were judged by five highly professional international judges on the basis of “style, content, sources, understandability and adherence to theme.” The judges, one of whom is Guyanese, read each entry and submitted individual score-sheets. This is the third year in a row, a Stabroek News article has won the first prize. Senior Stabroek News reporter, Miranda La Rose won in 2000 and Sunday Stabroek feature writer, Matt Falloon who is now at the Jamaica Gleaner won in 2001.When the competition started in 1999, the first prize went to Robert Bazil of the Guyana Chronicle.
Richards, who placed third in 1999 and second in 2001 before copping the top spot this year, was complimented for his consistency and thanked CI for the opportunity it provided to journalists through the award.
He will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) billed for October 10-13 in Baltimore, USA.
CI first launched its Biodiversity Reporting Award in 1999 through the collaboration of the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ), based in Paris, and the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), from Washington, DC, in Guatemala and Guyana. In 2000, it was expanded to include Colombia and in 2001, Bolivia, Brazil and Ghana were included in the competition. This year, the award was held in all of the aforementioned countries and Peru. (Edlyn Benfield)