SESSION
Using scientific data as a starting point for a journalistic investigation on endangered species
Come to discuss how the power of data can be used to spark investigations into endangered species across ecosystems, borders, and criminal networks, and sometimes reaching as far as law enforcement operations. One case investigates the rift over the conservation of Europe’s largest land mammal, the wisent. Starting from data, journalists exposed the clash between traditional conservation models and emerging genetic and ecological insights. This case also considers the resulting tensions among scientists, policymakers, and local communities over how, and where, rewilding should occur. Another case follows the data trails and smuggling routes in the illegal European eel trade, where wildlife science intersects with organised crime: as European exit points were shut down by Europol over the past decade, trafficking shifted south, opening new routes through Morocco, Senegal, and Mauritania. The third speaker will present the Oxpeckers #WildEye digital mapping tool – which maps, tracks and investigates wildlife and environmental crime. It is open source, and contains information about seizures, arrests, court cases and convictions across the globe.
Alexandra TaltySession producer and speaker | Journalismfund Europe | United States
Alexandra Talty is an award-winning journalist, with experience reporting across the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe. She reports on marine environments and climate change, and is a former Knight-Wallace fellow. Her writing appears in The New York Times, The Guardian, Outside Magazine, and elsewhere.
Tadeusz MichrowskiSpeaker | Poland
Tadeusz Michrowski is an award-winning Polish journalist with a focus on the Global South and climate change. His work is featured in publications such as New Lines Magazine, Balkan Insight, and Frontstory.pl. Michrowski is a recipient of a Covering Climate Now Journalism Award and was nominated for multiple other awards.
Roxanne JosephSpeaker | Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism | South Africa
Roxanne Joseph is a South African-based associate of Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism, and heads up the Oxpeckers Academy, training journalists, academics and conservationists from across the globe. She has been working with Oxpeckers since 2018, managing their environmental crime programme and digital tool #WildEye, and the renewable energy programme, #PowerTracker. She has an Honour’s degree in journalism and media studies from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Rob SpaullModerator | Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) | South Africa
Rob Spaull has since 2016 been the Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement for IPBES (the intergovernmental panel that provides the best available science for better decisions and action on biodiversity). He has led innovations in global communication about the uptake and impact of work in environmental science-policy, pioneered new approaches to improve media reach and access for landmark scientific assessments, and helped to raise unprecedented levels of awareness around the world about the global biodiversity crisis. Prior to his work with IPBES, he was the media director in the South African Ministry of the Environment and Tourism, and also served as external relations officer for the most senior United Nations official in Asia and the Pacific. As a global communications manager, spokesperson and speechwriter, he has worked with CEOs, cabinet Ministers, two former Presidents and UN leaders around the world. He holds an MPhil in International Relations from Cambridge University, was a British Chevening Scholar and a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.