Conclusion Networking, information and capacity-building This survey showed that environmental journalists from South Eastern Europe are generally aware of the need to enhance their professional skills, to build up an information exchange network and to promote and extend cooperation between them. Therefore, the survey results clearly justify the need to proceed with the REPC project and similar initiatives, aimed at improving environmental reporting quality in the region. The survey identified three specific areas in which concrete activities and services are needed to improve the quality of environmental journalism in SEE. These are the three pillars upon which the further development of the Regional Environmental Press Centre should be built: building up a system of information exchange among environmental journalists from the region; raising the professional capacity of environmental journalists; and establishing a system of contacts among journalists and environment-oriented NGOs in the countries of South Eastern Europe. The first pillar concerns the need to provide new, adequate and reliable information sources on the environment. It points at two main areas where the REPC should be instrumental. Gathering, collecting, searching for information, and providing it to journalists is one. Identifying independent and reliable sources and making them available to the media is a second one. To meet the media demands in this area successfully, the REPC needs to rely strongly on its country resource points. The need for professional training and capacity-building among environmental journalists seems to be the most clearly articulated result from the survey, contained under the second pillar above. The findings point at the list of particular topics that the journalists in each SEE country need training in. Following upon these, the REPC needs to arrange professional training and other capacity-building activities. Pillar number three defines the networking nature of the REPC. Strengthening contacts and communication among environmental journalists from the region emerges as a primary objective. This predefines interactivity as a main feature of the REPC’s services. The Internet is an obvious choice for the REPC as a most accessible and democratic means of communication. Interactivity needs to be taken into consideration while developing the online services and other features of the REPC. The Regional Environmental Press Centre and the current project of the REC can only make a first step in meeting the needs of environmental journalists in the SEE region, defined by this survey. Based on the findings, new services and activities are necessary within the areas of the three REPC pillars listed above. Such services need to be conceptualised during the current project and further implemented after its conclusion. The Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe with its network of country offices is committed to assist further in the improvement of environmental reporting, as it directly contributes to the centre’s mission in the region. The REPC as a functioning network will be a natural resource and instrument for such work in future.

Home The Authors Introduction Background Methodology Technical Implementation Survey Results Conclusion Appendix 1: Questionnaire Appendix 2: Results Tables