Latin America

Amazon community journalists prepare for the UN climate summit

A project from DW Akademie and the Brazilian NGO Saúde e Alegria prepares communicators from the Brazilian Amazon to cover the COP28. Ten of the participants are heading to the negotiations in Dubai.

Climate journalism for climate action

Journalism has a responsibility to cover the climate crisis, its causes and its consequences in different parts of the planet, especially in vulnerable areas such as the Amazon. Yet it also has the opportunity to show real instances of successful action to reduce the severity of the impacts.
Learning to communicate from the Amazon

DW Akademie and the Brazilian NGO Saúde e Alegria have launched a project to prepare Brazilian journalists and communicators to cover the climate crisis, both locally, from the Amazon, and globally, from the climate negotiations in the United Arab Emirates. This project offers a virtual and an in-person course and concludes at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
Expressing the complexity of climate change

The training was attended by media and science professionals who exchanged tools to learn about and transmit the climatic and environmental reality of the Amazon and the measures available to reduce the impacts. Lucas Vaz Peres, professor of meteorology at the Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará in Santarém, gave an introduction to the complexity of climate in the Amazon.
Amazon region experiences water scarcity

Santarém is a city located at the confluence of the great Amazon and Tapajós rivers, which hundreds of thousands of people depend on to transport basic commodities such as food and medicine. However, the Brazilian Amazon is experiencing a historic drought that is pushing its inhabitants to the limit. In 2023, water levels in the Tapajós River were the lowest ever recorded.
Global production, local impact

Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter of soybeans, but the expansion of soybean plantations is the second biggest direct cause of deforestation in the country, increasing the environmental and climate crisis. The photo shows the cargo terminal at the river port of Santarém, from where the grain is exported. Soybeans are mainly exported to produce animal feed.
A destructive combination of factors

Hundreds of forest fires on the banks of the Amazon River can be seen from the above. October 2023 saw the largest fires in the region in 15 years, according to Infoamazonia. These fires spread more easily due to increased temperature and drought, yet are often intentionally set to make way for cattle or soybean plantations.
Transforming production to safeguard Amazonia

The Agroforestry Experimentation Center, managed by Saúde e Alegria, explores economic alternatives that are less damaging to the Amazon region. For example, they improve the viability of small-scale production of indigenous crops. This farmer washes the fruit of the bacaba palm to make juice, an agroforestry initiative that takes advantage of Amazonian biodiversity without overexploiting it.
Learning to use data and tell stories

Environmental journalist Gustavo Faleiros (left), founder of the InfoAmazonia portal, is part of the group of media professionals who have supported the participants of "Get Ready for the COP!" on their way to COP28. He is accompanied by journalist Tayna Silva, who investigates ancestral strategies used by Amazonian communities to cope with changes in the climate.
Preparing to cover the COP28

Luiza Cilente, DW Akademie's project officer in Brazil, talks with students such as Ray Baniwa, an indigenous communicator from the Baniwa people. During the course in Santarém, Cilente accompanied the training of the group of Amazonian communicators and laid the necessary groundwork for their participation in the COP28 climate summit, the culmination of the "Get Ready for COP!" project.

Climate journalism for climate action

Journalism has a responsibility to cover the climate crisis, its causes and its consequences in different parts of the planet, especially in vulnerable areas such as the Amazon. Yet it also has the opportunity to show real instances of successful action to reduce the severity of the impacts.
Learning to communicate from the Amazon

DW Akademie and the Brazilian NGO Saúde e Alegria have launched a project to prepare Brazilian journalists and communicators to cover the climate crisis, both locally, from the Amazon, and globally, from the climate negotiations in the United Arab Emirates. This project offers a virtual and an in-person course and concludes at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
Expressing the complexity of climate change

The training was attended by media and science professionals who exchanged tools to learn about and transmit the climatic and environmental reality of the Amazon and the measures available to reduce the impacts. Lucas Vaz Peres, professor of meteorology at the Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará in Santarém, gave an introduction to the complexity of climate in the Amazon.
Amazon region experiences water scarcity

Santarém is a city located at the confluence of the great Amazon and Tapajós rivers, which hundreds of thousands of people depend on to transport basic commodities such as food and medicine. However, the Brazilian Amazon is experiencing a historic drought that is pushing its inhabitants to the limit. In 2023, water levels in the Tapajós River were the lowest ever recorded.
Global production, local impact

Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter of soybeans, but the expansion of soybean plantations is the second biggest direct cause of deforestation in the country, increasing the environmental and climate crisis. The photo shows the cargo terminal at the river port of Santarém, from where the grain is exported. Soybeans are mainly exported to produce animal feed.
A destructive combination of factors

Hundreds of forest fires on the banks of the Amazon River can be seen from the above. October 2023 saw the largest fires in the region in 15 years, according to Infoamazonia. These fires spread more easily due to increased temperature and drought, yet are often intentionally set to make way for cattle or soybean plantations.
Transforming production to safeguard Amazonia

The Agroforestry Experimentation Center, managed by Saúde e Alegria, explores economic alternatives that are less damaging to the Amazon region. For example, they improve the viability of small-scale production of indigenous crops. This farmer washes the fruit of the bacaba palm to make juice, an agroforestry initiative that takes advantage of Amazonian biodiversity without overexploiting it.
Learning to use data and tell stories

Environmental journalist Gustavo Faleiros (left), founder of the InfoAmazonia portal, is part of the group of media professionals who have supported the participants of "Get Ready for the COP!" on their way to COP28. He is accompanied by journalist Tayna Silva, who investigates ancestral strategies used by Amazonian communities to cope with changes in the climate.
Preparing to cover the COP28

Luiza Cilente, DW Akademie's project officer in Brazil, talks with students such as Ray Baniwa, an indigenous communicator from the Baniwa people. During the course in Santarém, Cilente accompanied the training of the group of Amazonian communicators and laid the necessary groundwork for their participation in the COP28 climate summit, the culmination of the "Get Ready for COP!" project.

Date 30.11.2023
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SPECIAL

Latin America

Amazon community journalists prepare for the UN climate summit

Climate journalism for climate action

Learning to communicate from the Amazon

Expressing the complexity of climate change

Amazon region experiences water scarcity

Global production, local impact

A destructive combination of factors

Transforming production to safeguard Amazonia

Learning to use data and tell stories

Preparing to cover the COP28

Climate journalism for climate action

Learning to communicate from the Amazon

Expressing the complexity of climate change

Amazon region experiences water scarcity

Global production, local impact

A destructive combination of factors

Transforming production to safeguard Amazonia

Learning to use data and tell stories

Preparing to cover the COP28