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"Covering Population, Environment, and Security"

SEPTEMBER 2005--A Reporters' Backgrounder by Meaghan Parker, Geoffrey Dabelko, and Jennifer Wisnewski Kaczor

Addressing population, environment, and health problems can be a key component in a comprehensive strategy for minimizing international conflicts, according to many experts. With media outlets' shrinking "news hole" for environment, reporters may find that the security connection appeals both to their editors and to their audiences.

A new backgrounder coauthored by ECSP staffers Meaghan Parker, Geoffrey Dabelko, and Jennifer Wisnewski Kaczor summarizes the links between security and population-environment problems in clear, simple terms. It offers story tips and international examples, along with additional resources and contacts, to help reporters pitch and research stories on this powerful relationship.

The backgrounder is available in pdf or HTML from Environment Writer, an online journal edited by Bud Ward and published by the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting. Environment Writer issued the special report as part of its ongoing series of backgrounders, which includes "Population and the Environment," "Population and Deforestation," and "Population and Wildlife." Environment Writer receives financial support from the Population Program of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Three hundred copies of "Covering Population, Environment, and Security" will be distributed at the Society of Environmental Journalists' annual conference in Austin, Texas. Members of the media can request a hard copy.

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Environmental Change and Security Program

The Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP) explores the connections between environmental change, health, and population dynamics and their links to conflict, human insecurity, and foreign policy.  Read more