By Beryl Bridgit Odhiambo | berylbridgitodhiambo@gmail.com
Conservation news outlet Mongabay will on Tuesday March 10, 2026 launch its Swahili platform; which will serve the more than 200 million Swahili speakers in East and Central Africa, and the others spread across the world.
According to David Akana, the Director Mongabay Africa, Mongabay Swahili aims to increase access to science-based reporting on climate change, biodiversity, land degradation, and all about conservation, and build the capacities of communities that are directly affected by changes in these phenomena.
Mongabay, a non-profit media organization, will make the Swahili content freely accessible for its audiences digitally.
“By reporting environmental stories in Swahili, Mongabay is helping to bring science, conservation knowledge, and climate change discourse closer to communities,” Mr Akana told MESHA during the preparations for the Tuesday event.
The event themed “Truth in the Age of Noise conservation journalism, disinformation and the promise of artificial intelligence” will take place at Fairmont The Norfolk in Nairobi, bringing together media professionals, researchers, diplomats, the academia and civil society organisations.
Mongabay Swahili becomes the third language in the media organization’s Africa bureau (Mongabay Afrique), which has been publishing stories in English and French. The Swahili platform is spearheaded by Dr Joyce Bazira, a veteran journalist based in Tanzania, and Lynet Otieno, a seasoned editor based in Nairobi.
“The platform aims to bridge information gaps by providing fact-based reporting on climate change, biodiversity, pollution and conservation issues directly to local communities,” said Dr Bazira.
The launch will feature keynote addresses from Stephen Isaboke, Kenya’s Broadcasting and Telecommunication Principal Secretary, and Philip Newell from the Global Strategic communications council, who will address how disinformation undermines climate action.
Panel discussions will explore conservation journalism amid growing misinformation and responsible use of AI in newsrooms. Senior Media personnel and Standard Group CEO Chaacha Mwita, former BBC journalists Dorcas Wangira and Ann Ngugi, news anchors Brian George (NTV) and Ali Manzu (KTN), award winning journalists Hellen Shikanda (Daily Nation) and former IJN’s Kiundu Waweru will explore several other issues, including how AI can support verification, translation and ethical reporting while dealing with digital manipulation.
Nancy Githaiga, the Africa Wildlife Foundation Country Director, represents the many wildlife experts and conservation researchers as well as CSOs that will grace the event.
Beyond this launch, Mongabay is looking to give grants to local practising environment journalists to tell Africa’s story in a language that is closer to their target audience. “Mongabay is also seeking to collaborate with research institutions, local media houses, and institutions of higher learning to highlight the best that the continent has in conservation, by encouraging solution journalism,” Lynet told MESHA, adding that they were already in talks with some target institutions.
“Mongabay Swahili represents an important step towards democratizing environmental knowledge and ensuring communities that are most affected by the ecological changes receive accurate science-based information in a language they understand best, to encourage locally-led action where appropriate, as well as push for local and global responses,” said Mr Akana.
Mr Akana is leading this expansion as part of a broader Mongabay strategy to increase access to its multimedia content in more languages, besides the eight it now publishes in.
