Ibihe: One of the few Burundian news outlets raising climate crisis awareness
Originally published on Global Voices
Screenshot of the Ibihe.org homepage.
Burundian news outlet, Ibihe.org, is one of the country’s few local outlets to report the climate crisis challenges impacting Africa and other regions the world over.
With a surface area of 27,834 square kilometers and a moderate climate, Burundi has two major mountains: Mount Heha, which is 2,684 meters high, and Mount Kikizi, which is 2,145 meters high. The country also has three rivers: Ruzizi River, Malagarasi River and Ruvubu River. Burundi shares Lake Tanganyika (the region’s largest lake) with various other East African countries, including Rwanda and Tanzania. Owing to its predominantly rural population, agriculture (agricultural exports and farming) still accounts for a large proportion of the country’s economy.
Just like Vert-togo in Togo and lecologiste in Côte d'Ivoire, Ibihe.org is an environment and science news outlet in Burundi, where Évariste Ndayishimiy has been president since June 2020. Based in the country’s economic capital, Bujumbura, Ibihe undertakes to raise awareness amongst Burundian and African citizens on the environmental risks posed by non-compliance with climate commitments in this continent. Ferdinand Mbonihankuye, environmental advocate and co-founder of Ibihe, is one of several young Burundian journalists hoping for societal changes. Global Voices interviewed Mbonihankuye via WhatsApp to highlight the work this news outlet has accomplished since its creation.
Jean Sovon (JS): How did you become an environmental journalist? What challenges have you faced?
Ferdinand Mbonihankuye (FM) : Je suis Ferdinand Mbonihankuye co-fondateur du journal en ligne Ibihe. Je suis journaliste d'investigation mais aussi scientifique et environnementaliste. Je suis également correspondant pour l'édition francophone de la revue en ligne de vulgarisation scientifique scidev.net. Je suis devenu journaliste écologique par passion car je veux raconter les histoires environnementales et écologiques au Burundi ainsi que de la Communauté Économiques des États de l'Afrique Centrale (CEEAC). L'absence des journaux et la rareté des journalistes spécialisés dans l'écologie au Burundi sont aussi des raisons valables pour mon engagement.
Mais parlant de mes défis ou challenges, j'ai été arrêté en 2017 dans l'exercice de mes fonctions pour raison de complots politique et emprisonné pendant une semaine. En juin 2022, j'ai été également arrêté au Rwanda dans le cadre d'un reportage sur la construction de la Centrale Hydroélectrique Rusumo car je suis Burundais et je n'avais pas l'autorisation de faire ce reportage sur le sol rwandais. Mais j'ai été relâché après de longues discussions.
Ferdinand Mbonihankuye (FM): I’m Ferdinand Mbonihankuye, co-founder of the online newspaper, Ibihe. I’m an investigative, scientific, and environmental journalist. I’m also a correspondent for the French edition of the online science magazine, scidev.net. I became an environmental journalist out of passion for reporting environmental and ecological stories in Burundi and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). The lack of environmental newspapers and journalists in Burundi was another compelling reason for my involvement.
As for my challenges, I was arrested on grounds of political conspiracy in 2017 while working and was subsequently detained for a week. In June 2022, I was also arrested while reporting on the construction of the Rusumo Hydroelectric Power Station in Rwanda. Being Burundian, I had no authorization to write this report on Rwandan soil. However, after lengthy negotiations, I was released.
JS: Why did you start Ibihe? Who is the target audience of your publications?
FM : Depuis quelques années, on observe au Burundi l'impact du changement climatique qui donne lieu à des inondations et de glissements de terrain qui affectent la production des petits exploitants, quand ils n’emportent pas leurs vie ou leurs biens. Maisons, productions agricoles, sources d'économies, bref des années de dur labeur partent sous l'effet de ces inondations. L’État ne mène pas assez d'initiatives pour contrer ces phénomènes et peu de médias parlent de cette situation que vivent pourtant au quotidien les Burundais. C’est dans cette optique que le journal lbihe a vu le jour. Il se donne la noble mission de parler de ces histoires vécues pour contribuer à l'éveil des consciences face aux enjeux climatiques, pour informer et sensibiliser les populations dans le but de les aider à se protéger au maximum. Nous ciblons donc les Burundais en premier lieu.
FM: In recent years, we’ve witnessed the impact of climate change in Burundi, where it causes flooding and landslides that don’t only affect the farmers’ outputs, but also claim their lives and possessions. Homes, crops, savings, or in other words, years of hard work lost to the impact of flooding. The state doesn’t do enough to address this phenomenon and few news outlets cover this situation that Burundian citizens experience every day. It was for this reason lbihe was created. Its mission is to tell these stories and help raise awareness of these climate challenges. By informing the public and making them aware, it aims to help them protect themselves as best as possible. Our main target audience is therefore Burundian citizens.
JS: What makes Ibihe different from other Burundian news outlets?
FM : Ibihe a pour ligne éditoriale le changement climatique, l’environnement. Les histoires vécues que raconte notre média tournent autour de ces thématiques phares. Loin de ce que font les autres, nous apportons des touches scientifiques à ces histoires en se basant sur des données recueillies auprès des principaux acteurs, sans oublier les formats vidéos et les podcasts.
FM: The environment and climate change feature on Ibihe’s editorial line. The stories on which our news outlet reports focus on these key issues. Unlike the others, we bring a scientific touch to our stories by focusing on data gathered from primary actors. This includes videos and podcasts.
JS: You decided to publish your articles in French, English and Kiswahili. Why not in Kirundi?
FM : Nous avons fait le choix d'écrire et de publier nos articles en français, en kiswahili et en anglais. Pour le moment, pas encore en kirundi. Mais nous avons en projet la rédaction d'articles en kirundi, langue d'origine bantoue qui est la langue nationale du Burundi et parlée par 97 percent de la population, parce que tous les Burundais peuvent lire et comprendre facilement ces deux langues. Donc notre site est accessible en français, en anglais et en kiswahili (langue bantoue) originaire de la Tanzanie. Ces deux autres langues sont communes à la Communauté d'Afrique de l'Est dont fait partie notre pays.
FM: We decided to write and publish our articles in French, English and Kiswahili, but not in Kirundi for now. However, we do plan to write articles in Kirundi, the Bantu national language of Burundi spoken by 97 percent of the population, since all Burundians can easily read and understand it along with French. Our website is therefore available in French, English and Swahili (a Bantu language), which originates from Tanzania. These two other languages are common in the East African Community, which includes our country.
JS: Where did you find your journalists? Did you train them yourselves?
FM : Nous organisons parfois des formations pratiques en journalisme axées sur l'environnement. Beaucoup de jeunes y participent et c'est dans ces lots de participants que nous trouvons et dénichons les journalistes qui ont la capacité de raconter les histoires conformément à la ligne éditoriale d'Ibihe. D'autres nous sollicitent également pour faire des stages d'approfondissement chez nous.
FM: We sometimes hold practical training sessions on environment-based journalism. A lot of young people participate and it’s amongst these participants that we find journalists capable of reporting stories in accordance with Ibihe’s editorial line. Others also ask to do advanced training courses with us.
JS: How is the Burundian media landscape looking?
FM : L’environnement médiatique au Burundi était relativement bon jusqu'en 2015. Les journalistes se retrouvaient quelquefois en difficultés dans la pratique de leur métier notamment en ce qui concerne l'accès aux sources d'informations et aux données pouvant aider dans la réalisation des enquêtes. Quant à la liberté de presse et la liberté d'expression, la situation aujourd'hui est compliquée, ce qui ne rend pas du tout facile le travail de journaliste. Mais nous essayons de contourner certaines barrières pour donner des informations utiles aux Burundais et pour inciter les décideurs à prendre des solutions le plus rapidement possible.
FM: Until 2015, Burundi’s media landscape was relatively stable. Journalists would sometimes encounter difficulties in their profession, which mainly involved accessing information and data sources to help conduct their investigations. Today’s freedom of speech and press situation is complicated, which doesn't make the journalists’ work any easier. However, we do try to overcome certain obstacles to provide useful information for Burundian citizens and encourage policymakers to adopt solutions as soon as possible.
According to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2023 Index, Burundi ranked 114 out of 180 countries, with a score of 52.14. This is a fall of seven places in relation to 2022, where it ranked 107 with a score of 55.74. On January 3, 2023, Burundian journalist, Floriane Irangabiye, was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison after being accused of “undermining the integrity of the national territory.” She is accused of hosting radio broadcasts that criticized the Burundian authorities while in Burundi’s neighboring country of Rwanda. She is also accused of failing to provide proof of her profession in a country where the authorities are extremely strict about possessing a press card.
#Burundi #UE : Et tandis que nos diplomates discutent dans un “climat ouvert et chaleureux” à #Bujumbura, la journaliste
Floriane Irangabiye croupit en prison https://t.co/6rhODXJkVC Floriane Irangabiye est la « seule journaliste femme en prison dans toute l’#Afrique » ! https://t.co/GEy12fFTUN pic.twitter.com/EHDdCNPW20
— Clément Boursin (@ClementBoursin) June 22, 2023
#Burundi #EU: While our diplomats hold discussions in a “warm and open environment” in #Bujumbura, the journalist,
— Clément Boursin (@ClementBoursin) June 22, 2023
[Quoted Tweet] Image: 5th Political dialogue session #EU Burundi. Several subjects on the agenda: EU – Burundi partnership, the economic situation and business climate, human rights, regional and international cooperation. Warm and open environment.
Originally published in Global Voices.
