Environmental Journalism Training in the Philippines

The Environmental Education and Reporting Program is a two-month course that provides fundamental education on environmental concepts, laws, and issues as well as reporting training, both print and broadcast.

The MMA Consulting Network gives its latest offering for journalism students and professional media practitioners who want to focus on developing their skills at environmental reporting.

The Environmental Education and Reporting Program is a two-month course that provides fundamental education on environmental concepts, laws, and issues as well as reporting training, both print and broadcast. It also gives trainees a special course on psychology in journalism. The EERP covers eight lecture and workshop sessions (one and a half hours per day, 2 days a week for 8 weeks) for the entire two month period.

It also includes field work hours which will be determined by the specific assignments given to each trainee. The enrollment fee of P7000.00 per trainee covers provision of relevant education materials and snacks. At the end of the course, the trainees will get a certificate of completion as well as copies of their reprinted materials and video features in select newspapers and television station in Cebu.

The lecture and workshop sessions include
*Environmental Laws and Concepts (Ecosystems Input) - 2 sessions
*Environmental Laws (Local, National, International Laws Input) - 2 sessions
*Environmental Reporting - 3 sessions
*Individual Evaluation and Completion - 1 session

The Field Work aspect of the training is essentially investigative in nature, covering stories on air, water, land pollution, community recycling, reforestation, coastal resource management, and conflict management.

The trainees will be coached by lead trainor, Marivir R. Montebon, in the process of data gathering and writing. Montebon is a writer/journalist specializing in environmental and women's issues reporting for the past 15 years of her career in journalism.

She established MMA Consulting in 2002. The lecturers for Environmental Local, National, and International Laws are lawyers Susan Echavez and Edmund Lao who specialize in environmental litigation.

The first training schedule is on February 10 - April 10, 2007. The training is limited to a maximum of 10 participants only. Deadline for registration is January 22, 2007. For details of the EERP, one may contact the lead trainer Marivir Montebon at +63921-6529584 or email her at [email protected].