Environmental journalism is risky business in formerly communist Central Asia. Even reporters who write for Western news organizations often seek safety behind pseudonyms, and many sources prefer—or demand—anonymity.

Even with such partial protection, environmental controversies often don’t get publicized. So does “news” happen if it goes unreported, and do those problems cease to exist if they go unreported? Those questions underscore a dilemma for journalists and the public in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

No doubt, environmental “news” happens, from individual events—a toxic spill or flood—to systemic, often long-term occurrences such as desertification or deterioration of radioactive waste dumpsites. These countries confront some of the world’s most severe ecological public health challenges, including the rapidly dying Aral Sea, diseases associated with the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing area, water shortages, hazardous waste, habitat destruction and over-fishing of the Caspian Sea. These countries lack resources to effectively tackle such problems, and their regimes minimize and marginalize public awareness.

Meanwhile, most media remains government-owned or tightly controlled. Journalists exercise self-censorship and confront serious legal, economic and practical constraints if they explore these issues. Because domestic media outlets are unwilling or unable to cover serious environmental stories, where else do journalists and the public have to tell and hear the “news?”

Independent journalists have Internet forums such as three Western-based news sites: Eurasianet (www.eurasianet.org), IRIN News (www.irrinnews.org) and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) (www.iwpr.net). But while these sites strive to observe Western values of fairness, balance, ethics and accuracy, realities dictate many stories incorporate anonymous sources, and many reporters write under pseudonyms to reduce retaliation.

The Environmental Setting

In this remote region of deserts and mountains—bordering Russia, China, Afghanistan and Iran—most environmental problems are out of the world’s eye. A few, such as the shrinking Aral Sea, are recognized as devastating global ecological problems.
Related health problems are severe. Karakalpakstan in western Uzbekistan has one of the world’s highest rates of respiratory disease, linked to windborne agricultural chemicals.

The Mass Media Setting

Much of the media system remains a legacy of the Soviet era that ended with independence in 1971. All five country's constitutions ostensibly guarantee free speech and expression. Yet media organizations and their employees face prison, assault, assassination, exile, harassment, job loss, tax audits and costly civil and criminal libel litigation. Not surprisingly, investigative reporting is rare, and the public has little confidence or trust in the press.

Prospects for improved professionalism on a large scale remain dim, although some journalists undergo training by Western-based organizations. Reforms in formal journalism education at the university level—where courses exist at all—have been slow.

Convergence of Settings

One result is a lack of substantive reporting about environmental issues. It’s also difficult for journalists—and for environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that may be sources for such stories—to get information about the government. What coverage exists tends to be shallow, said Josh Machleder, the Central Asia regional project director for the media training and support NGO Internews. Using Uzbekistan as an example, he said: “About environmental journalism in the mainstream press, there’s only one journalist in the country who writes about it regularly. A lot of it comes into conflict with government-owned businesses, and local people are not feeling in a strong enough position or having faith in the legal system. There aren’t many journalists willing to take these risks.”

Much environmental reporting that does occur appears through Western media such as the British Broadcasting Corp. or Russia-based news organizations. Western journalists reporting from the region take an arguably valid doom-and-gloom perspective but, as outsiders, may have trouble finding reliable sources. The few independent media outlets have some environmental coverage, but only under the heavy shadow of potential sanctions.

There are many limitations on the scope of Western Web sites. IRIN News—an arm of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs—posts stories in English but not Russian. Eurasianet, an Open Society Institute program, and London-based IWPR post in Russian and English but not national or ethnic languages. Most people can’t read English, and many can’t read Russian.

Internet access remains limited and too expensive for most Central Asians. Even for working journalists, using the Internet isn’t routine. A 2004 survey of journalists at workshops found 41 percent use the Internet less than once a week or never; 54 percent had no access at their office.

Still, these sites have potential impact and influence. Users are generally better educated, more influential and, perhaps community leaders. Local journalists who read stories on the sites sometimes follow up for their own media outlets.

Looking at Coverage

What topics do they cover? In 2003, these three sites posted 64 original environmental stories. More than 60 percent dealt with environmental health (14), such as typhoid and radiation-related illnesses; water issues (13); and natural disasters (13), such as floods and landslides. Stories about hazardous, biological or nuclear wastes ranked fourth in frequency. Next came coverage of the Aral and Caspian seas. The remainder dealt with habitat issues such as endangered species, solar energy, environmental NGOs and climate.

How do their journalists deal with restraints? Western reporters rarely use pseudonyms. Their bylines are regarded as signs of professional accomplishment and success, especially on investigative stories. An article that prompts criminal charges, remedial legislation or political reform may lead to accolades. Not in Central Asia, where environmental issues are politically sensitive and authorities believe “negative” reporting—even accurate—embarrasses them and their regimes. As Machleder observes, “Given the prospect of adverse reactions, it’s understandable that journalists who tackle such stories shield their identities.”

IRIN News policy uses no bylines. On the other two sites, about 20 percent of stories appeared with pseudonyms. Yet pseudonyms don’t ensure protection from retaliation or sanctions, Machleder cautions, because “authorities can figure out who the journalists are.”

Credible sources directly affect public trust and confidence in a news organization. Observing fundamental values such as accuracy, fairness and balance partly depends on cited sources. Journalists in the West who cover controversies seek a variety of sources, and using anonymous sources is discouraged for reasons of ethics and credibility. In contrast, unnamed sources appeared in one-quarter of the Web articles studied, using descriptions like “an official” or with a partial name such as “Nurbek.” Officials and “ordinary” people accounted for three-quarters of them, presumably fearful of retribution.

Eurasianet editor Justin Burke explains why unnamed sources appear on his site: “To protect those wanting to provide information. If the names of sources appeared in print on Eurasianet, which is widely monitored by regional governments, there is a credible fear that the sources would suffer consequences.”

IWPR programme manager Saule Mukhametrakhimova said such decisions involve editors in London, country editors in Central Asia and correspondents: “We tend to go down the way of using pseudonyms rather than exposing our reporters to the unnecessary threat of danger. It’s a hard choice, either a pseudonym or no story. They choose to have a story.”

Collectively, these sites report on important environmental issues that domestic media can’t. That’s certainly not to say that Central Asian journalists lack skills or interest to cover such issues. After all, journalists from the five countries wrote most of these stories.

As the Internet becomes more widely accessible, the potential audience for news Web sites will expand, particularly if stories become available in Russian and ethnic languages. And as that occurs, more environmental news will happen.