The paper explained why biodiversity loss would be an increasingly important story in the years ahead, and suggested ways for journalists to improve their reporting on the subject. So what has changed since then?
Biodiversity loss is still the poor cousin to climate change, in terms of media attention. But at least now there are some media outlets that have dedicated space to this issue.
Mongabay (https://www.mongabay.com) and ChinaDialogue (https://chinadialogue.net/en/nature/) have led the way.
The Guardian has an excellent biodiversity-focused Age of Extinction section https://theguardian.com/environment/series/the-age-of-extinction led by Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston (are they on Mastodon?)
The challenge of balancing human needs with environmental integrity is huge. The media has a role to play in raising awareness of these issues and enabling citizens, policymakers and private companies to debate and implement solutions. However, current media coverage of biodiversity and conservation is limited.
And if you want to know what all the fuss is about, and why negotiators are meeting to hammer out a deal to reverse biodiversity loss and set humanity on a course for living in harmony with nature, check out my #COP15 explainer for
@chinadialogue
Mike Shanahan
