In Togo, environmental reporters face an uphill battle

Deforestation, unregulated mining, industrial pollution, illicit trade in natural resources; there's a long list of environmental issues in Togo. Yet reporting on them remains problematic as journalists who dare to tackle these issues face obstacles.

Investigative zones off-limits to journalists

In the phosphate mine in Kpémé, a coastal town east of the capital, Lomé, the Société nouvelle des phosphates du Togo (SNPT) operates the illegal sand quarries of Aképé in the Avé 2 municipality in the southwest of the country. There are also the quarries of Sanguéra in the Agoè-Nyivé 6 municipality north of Lomé. These are just some of the industrial and natural resource extraction sites in Togo that are known to be off-limits to reporters.

"A few years ago, I wanted to investigate phosphate mining in Kpémé, but I was unable to gain access to the SNPT site. In fact, I was forcibly removed from the premises," recalls Hector Sann'do Nammangue, publisher of Vert-Togo, one of the few Togolese media outlets entirely dedicated to environmental issues.

Adding to these institutional barriers is a security dimension that, in some parts of the country, makes any investigation dangerous-if not impossible. In northern Togo, the terrorist threat has turned entire areas into no-go zones. The country's northeastern region lies close to the W-Arly-Pendjari complex: a vast natural area spanning Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger. This cross-border ecosystem of major environmental significance is officially classified as a "red zone" by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. These security constraints prevent journalists from accessing some of the areas most vulnerable to environmental degradation-precisely the very places where an investigation is most needed.

Sources who refuse to talk

Where physical access is not denied, the sources themselves refuse to talk. "Some sources drop out along the way. At first, they agree to participate, but then change their minds due to the sensitivity of the subject," laments Hector Sann'do Nammangue. Journalist Charles Kolou, who works for the environmental investigative outlet Mongabay, has observed the same pattern. "No one wants to talk, especially when an activity has environmental impacts and public authorities are involved," he explains.

Robert Douti, a journalist with the Togolese news website Laabali, also highlights the difficulties of accessing institutional sources, particularly the authorities responsible for environmental matters. This organised silence places journalists in an impossible situation: they can neither obtain answers from the authorities nor bypass them without risking accusations of bias.

The financial cost of environmental investigative reporting

Beyond security risks, the financial cost of investigations is a significant obstacle. Carrying out a rigorous environmental investigation requires travel, equipment, and time-resources that Togolese newsrooms often lack. "To some extent, if we manage to produce stories on environmental issues, it is because we are able to collaborate with international media outlets," acknowledges Charles Kolou. This dependence on external funding or partnerships weakens editorial independence and shapes the editorial agenda. Deeply local stories, less likely to attract foreign newsrooms, often remain in the shadows: "I have a story idea about vacant lots in Lomé as a source of unsanitary conditions and insecurity, but I keep postponing it because no media outlet is interested," he adds.

The journalist also stresses a practical reality that is often underestimated: "If you don't go to the field, you risk being misled by people who say things that aren't true. And since this is an environmental issue, you also need visual evidence to back it up." Visual documentation (photographs, videos, and satellite data) has indeed become indispensable in this type of journalism. Yet producing and obtaining such material requires financial investments that few local media outlets can afford on their own.

Inadequate training in environmental journalism

Added to all these challenges is another equally critical obstacle: the lack of specialised training in environmental journalism. Covering issues such as deforestation, industrial pollution, or biodiversity requires a combination of journalistic and scientific expertise that traditional journalism training programmes generally do not provide. Without this base, journalists are more vulnerable to misinformation and may unknowingly reproduce inaccurate or biased data. The Togolese branch of the international organisation Young Volunteers for Environment (YVE), which provides training for journalists on environmental issues, notes: "The lack of scientific knowledge among some journalists undermines the reliability of reporting on complex environmental issues. There is a real need for capacity building."