The Wire Staff. (2020, June 14). Unnao: Journalist Who Reported on ‘Sand Mafia’ Killed. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://thewire.in/media/shubham-mani-tripathi-journalist-killed-unnao-sand-mafia (Links to an external site.)

 

Around the world, journalists expose illegal environmental destruction, and for their efforts are routinely killed and threatened. Recently, in June 2020, an Indian newspaper reporter was shot for exposing illegal sand mining. The reporting he was killed for is similar to other reporting that focuses primarily on indigenous communities and attempts to steal their natural resources. His efforts focused on reporting on the illegal land grabs and he had reported on it on Facebook posts and on online publications. His reporting reportedly exposed the activities of the ‘sand mafia’ and named individuals behind it.

 

Journalism is necessary to reveal the crimes perpetrated primarily against indigenous natives and the destruction of the environment in general. To see that it is suppressed worldwide due to intimidation as well as the refusal to report on it by large media corporations owned by the elite is unsurprising but nonetheless disappointing. In many Latin American and South Asian countries where the majority of crimes are committed, the large media companies are controlled by the political elite and therefore do not cover environmental justice issues, as they are often the perpetrators, meaning independent journalists report on climate justice, and they put themselves at great risk. These reporters are making sure that the principles of climate justice are being followed and for it are being harmed. Not only is it a moral failing that these brave individuals are not being protected but we are also losing valuable information on corruption and illegal activities that threaten the wellbeing of us all, particularly the most vulnerable. The good news is that through new international associations and the internet, journalists are free to report on environmental injustices independently and can broadcast their reporting to a larger audience. Protective organizations and funding have helped benefit independent and local journalists, but they still face monumental opposition from the elite and criminal syndicates. Environmental science tells us not only that we must research our own environmental impact, but that freedom of speech and press is essential to doing so. Ensuring equitable access to and use of environmental resources will only ever be a reality when journalists are free to report freely and safely.