Pacific Journalists Gather in Samoa to Champion Loss and Damage Reporting
“A big part of mainstreaming or bringing it to the attention of our people, our governments or the public, has been the media,” he said.
Wednesday 21 May 2025 | 06:00
In a landmark regional training, more than 20 journalists from across the Pacific have converged in Samoa to strengthen reporting on Loss and Damage — a core issue the region has championed on the global climate stage.
Organized by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the training aims to build the capacity of Pacific media to better cover the growing impacts of climate change and ensure that the voices of vulnerable communities are heard in global forums.
SPREP Director General Sefanaia Nawadra opened the training with a powerful address linking media, leadership, and climate justice.
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“It’s always good to come together as different practitioners of the same work,” Mr Nawadra said.
Mr Nawadra reflected on the long journey of climate negotiations that began with quiet technical discussions and are now led by Pacific leaders as an “existential issue.”
He highlighted the crucial role journalists play in bridging the gap between policy and public understanding.
“A big part of mainstreaming or bringing it to the attention of our people, our governments or the public, has been the media,” he said.
Mr Nawadra acknowledged that Pacific leaders often face criticism for spending time overseas during international climate meetings, despite the strategic importance of their advocacy.
“What our people need to know is that sometimes the most important work needs to be done away from our region,” he explained.
“You will be focusing on Loss and Damage, this is an issue the Pacific and Vanuatu championed globally,” he told the journalists.
“We lead on many of these issues.”
The training aims to equip journalists with tools to report on the complex dynamics of climate finance, non-economic loss, and resilience ensuring that Pacific stories were not sidelined, but lead global narratives.
“We have a role to play… to let the people know the work they [our leaders] do in these spaces. Because we are so small in these global arenas, we need to work together..”
The training continues to today.
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