Forty (40) journalists and 25 final-year Social Communication students from different universities are taking an online "Course on Communication for the Conservation of Biodiversity" in order to strengthen journalism and communication capacity on environmental issues. with emphasis on the Madidi-Pilón Lajas- Cotapata corridor. The online course is part of the project “Building communication capacities for the conservation of biodiversity in the Madidi - Pilón Lajas - Cotapata de Bolivia Conservation Corridor ” that is supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)—comprised of Agence française de développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Fund, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. “CEPF is one of the few funds that focus on hotspots (hot spots), which are the richest places in terms of biodiversity, but also the most threatened. "When we talk about biodiversity, it is not just any biodiversity because when they are lost they no longer return," Jorge Mariaca (CEPF representative in Bolivia) said.
The course will provide “specialized information on topics related to: endemism, threatened species, Protected Areas, biodiversity corridors, valuation of environmental services and climate change, among others that will be articulated with the journalistic approach.” The course “includes specific modules on biodiversity and reinforcement of knowledge about environmental journalism in two large areas: a) conservation of biodiversity and b) environmental journalism.” Course speakers include biologists Daniel Larrea, Luis Arteaga and Gabriela Aguirre, as well as journalists specializing in the environment, Carlos Lara and Jimena Mercado.
Course participants who complete all four modules of the course will be eligible to compete for project funding (ten proposals for journalistic works, and six student scholarships). Material generated by the journalists and university students participating in the course will be published and promoted by the institutions promoting the course on their respective websites, channels and social networks.