FIEL PHOTO: Environmental activist, Nyamach Hoth Mai during a talk-show at Eye Radio - CREDIT: Eye Radio/Moses Awan - October 27, 2022

JUBA, South Sudan (Eye Radio) – An environmental specialist is calling on South Sudan’s media to increase pressure on policymakers to pass the long-delayed National Environmental Policy Bill, warning that the country’s lack of a legal framework leaves it vulnerable to climate disasters.

Speaking at the conclusion of a four-day training for journalists in Juba on Thursday, March 12, environmental expert Nyamach Hoth Mai revealed that the critical legislation has stalled in a bureaucratic loop between the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

According to Mai, the bill is essential to regulating waste management and establishing enforceable protections for the country’s natural resources.

Addressing a group of over 20 reporters, Mai urged the media to move beyond basic reporting and embrace their role as advocates for the planet.

“As journalists, you have the power to influence public discourse and policy,” Mai said. “Let us push, let us lobby for the bills that are not there. Go and look around more about our environment. Your desire for more information has been triggered; go and search more so that we can save our country from the adverse effects of climate change.”

She noted that while South Sudan is among the nations most affected by global warming, environmental issues often take a back seat in local newsrooms.

The expert highlighted recent climate extremes—ranging from devastating floods to the record-breaking heatwaves of the last two years—as evidence that the environment is “compromised.”

“Climate change is a critical and pressing global issue, and South Sudan is part of the globe. There is a need for us to shift into this kind of reporting,” Mai added, encouraging journalists to specialise in environmental beats.

Participants spent the four days exploring disaster preparedness and the growing crisis of climate-induced migration and displacement. The goal is to move the narrative from merely describing disasters to highlighting how communities can adapt to and survive climate shocks.

The workshop, organised by the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS), in partnership with the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS), and funded by UNESCO, focused on equipping reporters with investigative and solutions-based journalism skills.