SINGAPORE: Fifteen journalists and media outlets were on Wednesday (Mar 20) recognised for their outstanding reporting on environment-related issues at the Asian Environmental Journalism Awards.
Channel NewsAsia’s correspondents Pichayada Promchertchoo and Jack Board, from the digital desk, won best environment story for their series on damming the Mekong River.
Power struggle: Damming the Mekong explores the underlying politics behind three large-scale and controversial dams, as well as their impact on communities in Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.
READ: Power struggle – damming the Mekong
“It’s an honour to be recognised for the stories we did but what is more rewarding for us is that the series has brought our audience closer to the key environmental issues in the region,” said Pichayada.
Added Board: “People have a love and respect for the river that gives them life. They’re scared about what the future may hold for them. At the same time, progress is inevitable and necessary. That tussle was what we wanted to dig into deeper.”
Mediacorp clinched a merit award in the environmental media organisation category, along with Thomson Reuters.
“Interest has really grown for environmental stories around Asia,” said David Bottomley, deputy chief editor of digital news at Channel NewsAsia. “Certainly in the digital space we see a lot more people clicking on such stories as awareness grows about some of the challenges the region is facing.”
READ: Xayaburi dam: ‘Testing ground for untried technologies’
Channel NewsAsia won best environment story for a series on damming the Mekong River.
The other winning entry from Singapore was a merit award for environmental photograph by The Straits Times’ Lim Yaohui.
India bagged the most number of awards with six of its journalists and media outlets recognised on Wednesday.
The annual award is organised by the Singapore Environment Council, a non-government organisation which promotes and supports sustainability and environmental efforts in Singapore.
With growing environmental problems around the world such as climate change, pollution and waste, the media plays an important role in highlighting such issues, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli.
“There is an urgent need for us to combat these challenges and build a more resilient and sustainable future for our countries. Our media play an important role in inspiring and galvanising collective action and resolve” said Mr Masagos, who presented the awards.
“I urge you to continue on this important mission and to rally society to make an impact for positive change.
