Africa-Press – Lesotho. In a bid to impart a broader knowledge on climate change to people, World Food Program (WFP), through its project called Improving Adaptive Capacity of Vulnerable and
Food-insecure populations in Lesotho (IACOV), facilitated a sensitization workshop for journalists. The core aim was to equip them with techniques on writing appealing stories on climate change.
IACOV is a four year project executed by Lesotho Meteorological Services (LMS) and the Ministry of Forestry, Range and Conservations (MFRSC) while WFP operates as the
implementing entity. The project is intended to address the barriers to climate change adaption by strengthening utilization of climate information tailored for
community needs. Also through this project, communities will be empowered to plan and implement appropriate resilience building activities that will transform lives and diversify livelihoods.
LMS Acting Director Mokoena France said in the previous times, they held workshops for journalists but they learnt that the information on climate change does not reach people as
expected. He said that was when they decided to include media houses’ editors since they are the ones who approve stories. WFP had thus hosted a workshop for
editors earlier last week. “After these workshops, we really hope we will see a great change in news reporting about climate change,” he said. France further said
the training workshop is for journalists to have a clear understanding on climate change so that they can be able to pass the knowledge down to people.
He said for so many years, Lesotho has experienced climate change which dictates how people live or will live and also allows break-out of certain diseases while it also protects
them from certain diseases. He noted that it also determines the kind of food people eat or how they cook them. France said climate change has affected the
lives of Basotho at different locations and their livelihoods. He said for information on climate change to reach every Mosotho, they need to work in collaboration with media houses.
IACOV project Coordinator Nkopo Matsepe said IACOV focuses on climate change adaptation especially on issues of drought. He added that this project was officially
launched by the government on October 8th 2020. Matsepe further said the project was organized in 2017 and the aim was to conduct surveys. He said the
survey revealed the core boundaries to adaptation to climate change. Matsepe said discoveries revealed that there is lack of knowledge among people about climate
change. He said they found out that Basotho, especially women and girls do not have means to sustain their lives due to climate change. Ministry of Energy
and Meteorology Principal Secretary Themba Sopeng said climate change has become the greatest thread which faces the entire world, humans, animals and
plants. He said the planet earth now faces frequent droughts, storms, heat waves, and floods as a result of climate change. Sopeng said the impacts related to climate change are evident across the region in many sectors such as
human health, water supply, agriculture and food security and they are expected to be disruptive through-out this century and beyond. “Lesotho is not immune
from the negative effects of climate change,” he highlighted. He indicated that evidence shows that Lesotho has experienced an increasing frequency of natural
disasters, erotic weather conditions such as drought, snowfall, floods and strong winds in recent years. He said the government then realized a need to
urgently put in place, effective mechanisms and programs towards strengthening technical capacities and systems which create awareness that fosters social
behavioral change among communities in the country. He said the media training is one of such interventions and the training will involve topics that include
‘why the media matters in the warming world, a guide to policy makers’.
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