Using Indian Languages When Reporting About The Environment

Environmental reporting in Indian languages is improving climate change reportage in the country. By communicating the message to different communities in their own language, journalists are creating a bridge that brings critical environmental issues closer to people’s everyday lives, especially in India’s hinterlands.

Shailesh Shrivastava, Senior Editor at Mongabay India and Mongabay Hindi, and Manish Chandra Mishra, Assistant Editor at Mongabay India, share how reporting in Hindi is not only increasing accessibility but also fostering a unique engagement with readers eager to understand the impact of environmental changes.

Bringing environmental reporting to Hindi audiences

Journalism in any Indian language has a great responsibility and at the same time, a great opportunity to increase the reach of environmental issues and solutions. The reader base of these languages is huge and mostly untapped when it comes to environmental topics, says Shailesh.

“To serve the present situation, we simplify the scientific language as much as possible, yet make sure we don’t trivialise the issue. Unlike English, here we need to explain most of the terms and also keep a tab on the amount of information so we don’t end up confusing the reader,” adds Shailesh.

Today, there is a need to develop specialised environmental content in Indian languages. Even basic topics, such as the definition of a wetland, lack coverage. Yet, there’s a large audience eager for detailed, well-researched information, adds Manish Chandra Mishra, who also oversees operations at Mongabay Hindi.

“At Mongabay Hindi, we work to fill this gap by providing high-quality, accessible content, making environmental issues more understandable and engaging for Hindi readers,” Manish explains.

Navigating language barriers

One of the main challenges for journalists lies in translating globally-used terms for a local audience. Shailesh acknowledges this difficulty, particularly when covering events such as COP conferences.

“Finding suitable words for terms such as carbon footprint, loss and damage, sequestration, etc. becomes difficult and translating them straight into a regional language always comes with a risk of either dramatising or trivialising them,” Shailesh explains.

In such a scenario, the team often retains the English term, explaining it the first time it appears in the story to ensure clarity.

Creating impact through local storytelling

A recent story on Gond art and its connection to nature highlighted how impactful reporting in Hindi can be, explains Manish. Despite the abundance of English content on Gond art, the community lacks familiarity with the language. The decision to publish the story in Hindi, supplemented with a video, garnered a strong response from regions where Gond art is prominently practiced.

“Local residents shared the story across Facebook and WhatsApp groups, helping it reach the very people the article focused on. This engagement showed how Hindi made the story more relatable and accessible, creating real readership within the community,” says Manish.

The distribution of these impactful stories is further supplemented by the penetration of the internet in rural India, where people are accessing news in various forms, adds Manish.

“Many rural readers use voice search to find local news, which brings significant traffic to our content. To engage these audiences, we also leverage Facebook as a marketing tool, as it has strong reach within local communities,” Manish explains.

During his visits to rural areas, Manish has observed a noticeable increase in mobile use, especially among women, which is an encouraging sign.

The concept of ‘relatability’ significantly impacts the performance of stories. English narratives usually garner higher readership. However, when it comes to subjects like agriculture, nature-based solutions, and water pollution, stories communicated in Hindi and other Indian languages tend to outperform those in English, adds Shailesh.

Balancing scientific rigour with reader engagement

Striking the right balance between scientific rigour and readability is critical, says Shailesh.

“Quoting from journals and scientific papers can often confuse the reader; in that case, we use the operating parts from these sources and back them up with our ground reporting or expert comments to avoid confusion,” Shailesh explains.

“I take a balanced approach by simplifying sentences and phrasing but still including key scientific terms to help familiarise our audience with them. If the overall article is easy to follow, I can introduce some scientific terms without overwhelming readers, allowing a learning process to unfold naturally,” Manish adds.

Audience today adapts and is open to learning new vocabulary, says Manish. However, it’s essential to maintain a balance to keep them engaged and avoid losing their interest.

The future

Journalism in Indian languages was at the forefront of environmental awareness and action long ago but its contribution started declining later. However, in the last few years, there is a visible increase in the coverage of environmental issues in Indian languages and the readership is also looking north, explains Shailesh.

“Considering the audience size in Indian languages and the increasing interest in climate topics, regional language journalism will play a pivotal role in environmental awareness and action,” says Shailesh Shrivastava.

Reporting in these languages creates a strong connection with audiences, making issues feel more relevant, says Manish. He notes that readers actively engage on social media, often sharing their local environmental concerns. This reflects a growing community awareness and willingness to tackle these challenges.

(Published under Creative Commons from Mongabay India. Read the original article here)