Forest-Climate Politics in Bangladesh's Media Discourse In
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Open Journal of Forestry 2013. Vol.3, No.1, 1-7 Published Online January 2013 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojf) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojf.2013.31001 Forest-Climate Politics in Bangladesh’s Media Discourse in Comparison to Global Media Discourse Md. Nazmus Sadath1,2, Max Krott1, Carsten Schusser1 1Chair of Forest and Nature Conservation Policy, Georg August University Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany 2Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh Email: [email protected], [email protected] Received September 7th, 2012; revised November 3rd, 2012; accepted November 19th, 2012 Forest and climate issues are prominent within the policies and media in Bangladesh, as well as on the global level. In this study, media discourses from 1989 to 2010 from the “International Herald Tribune” and “The Daily Ittefaq” of Bangladesh are analyzed. Quantitative content analysis classifies 16 frames of the forest and climate issue and 17 political actors. Substantial differences between the forest and climate discourses of the national and international media have been discovered. The national print media reports that the forest is in a crisis due to climate change, whereas the international print media describes the for- est as a solution opportunity to climate change. The hypothesis that the international media drives the na- tional media discourse is rejected. The national media forest and climate discourse in Bangladesh began five years earlier than in the international media, and the different framing of the forest and climate issues can be explained by the influence of strong actors on both the national and international level. Journalists and politicians are the strongest influences in the national print media (The Daily Ittefaq) and primarily frame the discussion around the adverse impact of climate change on the forest in Bangladesh, a country that faces potentially severe effects from climate change. By stressing that climate change has caused a forest crisis, the national media brings attention to a threat that they are not responsible for. Scientists, Non-Governmental Organizations and international organizations are the major voices in the international print media (International Herald Tribune). They shape the global forest and climate media discourse around the wider scope of forests’ role in climate change. International scientists and NGOs present themselves as problem solvers of climate change by framing the discussion around the mitigating role of the forests. These strategic arguments explain the differences in media discourse. Keywords: Climate Change; Forest-Climate Discourse; Political Actor; Media Framing Introduction: The Dynamic Media Discourse climate issue, even though the problem exists beyond the na- about Climate Change and the Forest tional state boundary, in part because there are countries such as Bangladesh that will be affected by this global problem more In the last century, deforestation, desertification and forest than others. Bangladesh is located on a delta and faces various degradation have been major environmental problems that have adverse impacts from climate change, including on the cur- diminished sustainable forest use and caused a significant loss rently stressed forest sector. A major portion of forested land in of biodiversity, including the extinction of both flora and faunal Bangladesh is situated within the coastal region. The world’s species. This loss of biodiversity is the sixth largest species loss largest single mangrove area, identified as “the Sundarbans”, is in the earth’s history (Leakey & Lewin, 1995; Pimm & Brooks, a biodiversity hot spot with one of the richest gene pools in the 2000). Additionally, global warming is magnifying these envi- world, but it is directly under threat from sea level rise under ronmental threats for the forest. Now that it has become a various scenarios of climate change (Ali, 1999). Climate chan- global issue in political discourse, forest issues are no longer a ge’s impact on agriculture and the hydrological system will also concern of individual nations. Despite several global initiatives pose an indirect anthropogenic threat to the existing natural such as FSC, IPF and UNFF, the forest sector did not reach its forest of Bangladesh (Huq et al., 1999). Because of the issue’s goal of a united global forest regime or policy. However, in immense scope, it involves a diverse group of stakeholders at 2008, the forestry sector did find a niche within the already different political levels both nationally and globally. These di- existent climate change regime, and a significant step was made verse stakeholders utilize the media as a platform to spread for establishing a global forest regime within the climate their viewpoints with the purpose of exerting influence on en- change regime (Levin et al., 2008). This new global forest and vironmental politics and public opinion; simultaneously, the climate regime (Levin et al., 2008) has contributed to the emer- media assists in the aggregation of interests within the political gence of a forest and climate discourse in the scientific and process, providing a channel for communication and facilitating political arenas at both the global and national levels. the revision of shared goals and policies (Curran, 2002). To There has been rigorous discussion at the international level some extent, the media performs these functions for the public on creating global initiative to tackle forest climate issue but sphere because it provides more open access to various actors there has also long been a national perspective to the forest and (Kleinschmit, 2012). The mass media also plays a crucial role Copyright © 2013 SciRes. 1 MD. N. SADATH ET AL. in mediating the process of public deliberation and in the diffu- and every media outlet is very careful to satisfy their audience sion concerns and opinions (Hardt, 2004). In today’s modern or readership; thus, the framing of similar issues (Gerhards, complex democratic society, the media is one of the most im- 1994; Boykoff & Boykoff, 2004) may be different in the print portant sources of information for individuals other than elec- media at the international level when compared to the national tions and opinion polls; thus, the media reflects the public print media. Therefore, this study’s first hypothesis as follows: opinion (Kleinschmit & Krott, 2008). The media has an impor- “The media actively frames forest and climate change issues. tant place in both the national and international political level, Therefore, how the issue is presented depends on the media; as it provides the place where different actors build on their hence, the framing of national media is different than that of arguments with the interest of legitimizing their policies or international media.” decisions. By keeping in mind the accelerating political issue of climate change and forests in Bangladesh and the active politi- National and International Media cal role of the media in forest policy, the study investigates how the media has reported on climate change and the forest issue This study’s objective is to analyse the difference in media since its first mention in the late 80s and early 90s. The com- discourse at both the international and national levels; therefore, parison between the national and international levels of media it is imperative to explain the globalization of the media. Al- is of special interest. Finally, if we find differences between the though the media is highly recognized as a driving force of media, we will look for explanations. Given this background, globalization (Kleinschmit & Krott, 2008), the literature on the international or global media lacks a common definition. Many the following section will organize the research question into scholars refer to the international media within a technical con- three hypotheses guiding the empirical media analysis. text, e.g., new communications technologies or multi-national media industries (Held et al., 1999). In regard to the topics on Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses which international media reports, the definitions become more Media Discourse and the Framing of the Forest and abstract, referring to the scope and composition of the audience Climate Issue (McQuail, 2010). We follow the definition of Reese (2010), stating that trans- or international media are those who can ob- Discourse is a social construction of reality; that is, discourse tain news from transnational boundary sources and can address produces a specific picture of the issue of forest and climate a wider audience beyond national boundaries, such as the “In- change (Fairclough, 1995). Keller (1997) approaches discourse ternational Herald Tribune” or the “Financial Times” (Reese, as a specific content that is a thematically institutionalized form 2010). In contrast, national media such as “The Daily Ittefaq” of text production, comprising public discussions on certain of Bangladesh is characterized by content with respect to lan- political and/or environmental issues delivered through the me- guage and substance, which provides the public sphere with a dia where the conversation and exchange of opinion between national perspective on Bangladesh (Rahman, 2010). In recent relevant actors has occurred. In this study, the forest and cli- years, he international and national media have shifted their mate media discourse is understood as the communication focus from more local and regional environmental issues to about