Swedish Support to a Regional Environmental Journalism and Communication Programme in Eastern Africa for the Period 2002-2006

This 104-page report is part of Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) Evaluations, a series comprising evaluations of Swedish development assistance. The development objectives of the Regional Training Programme in Environment Journalism, supported by Sida, were to improve the quality of environmental reporting in the media in the Eastern Africa region through training (postgraduate diploma and mid-career certificate), networking, community outreach, and developing positive attitudes toward sustainable management of natural resources. The programme's focus on the environment also included relevant areas such as conflict management, gender, and HIV/AIDS. The objective of this study and evaluation was to assess whether the support to strengthen environmental journalism capacity worked in the two major components of the project: to establish institutional capacity for mid-career training of journalists in the five Eastern African countries, and to develop and run effective journalism training courses there. Furthermore, the study presents a needs assessment and recommendations for Sweden's possible continued support to the area and the sector.

The evaluation found both programme design and implementation to be centrally in line with development priorities of both Sweden and the five participating countries in relation to poverty reduction strategies, environmental legislation, environmental implementation priorities, and the goal of further enhancing the development of a free, professional, and responsible media.

According to the report, the programme has been effective in its aim to strengthen national education and training capacity and to implement relevant capacitating programmes. There was general satisfaction with the courses, an increased coverage in the media, and real-life impact of the community outreach activities in terms of local environmental management capacity and changes in the near environment. Representatives of government and government agencies, environmental organisations, and the media expressed an appreciation of the programme and its effects. All of these aspects were, however, still found to be at early stages of development, and need to be continued and consolidated.

The community outreach component, partly stopped because of a mid-term review, was assessed. It was recommended that this component be immediately revitalised in its present form as well as in new ways, which could include the training of community communicators and regional environmental officers.

Attention to gender was found to have been effectively addressed in terms of representation of women in activities and a continued focus on gender-related content. Poverty reduction was seen to be a clear target and a tangible result of the work. Furthermore, the programme was found to be relevant in all aspects and the research showed that it had been efficiently managed. In the new phase further emphasis on strategic planning and coordination is encouraged, especially in view of the maturing structures and institutions within the programme. In terms of budgets, financial management and cost effectiveness of the project were - in view of programme activities - found to be good, as was the risk control environment.

Sustainability was assessed in relation to the social, institutional, and financial aspects, and important advances were noted in the training institutions, in the environmental management institutions, and in the media. According to the report, such changes take time and efforts need to be continued and strengthened.

The report states that, while the results of the programme evaluated are consistently good, a strategic planning exercise in preparation for the second phase is encouraged to include the new national and institutional capacities emerging, and to have a consistent focus on sustainability and anchoring of activities in national and regional settings. According to the report, a detailed action plan for this process was set to be developed to be ready for launch on July 1 2007.