A Fall with No Quail Weak and absent supervision over the hunting of migratory birds to Egypt puts them at the risk of extinction

2023

A Fall with No Quail Weak and absent supervision over the hunting of migratory birds to Egypt puts them at the risk of extinction

Entry type: Single project

Country/area: Egypt

Publishing organisation: The Arabic version of Scientific American magazine
Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper
ARIJ Network for Investigative Journalism

Organisation size: Small

Publication date: 2022-10-02

Language: Arabic, English

Authors: Alyaa Abo Shahba and Mohamed Abo Leila

Biography:

Alyaa Abo Shahba
Investigative Journalist,blogger, Trainer & Writer.worked in several newspapers and websites, including Rosal Youssef, El Watan, Al Tahrir, Masrawy, Islam Online, International Journalists Network, Raseef22,Darg popular science and the Arabic copy from Scientific American magazin.
Provided several training courses since 2015 at the Syndicate of Journalists and at the universities of Cairo, Ain Shams, and Al-Azhar, and courses in cooperation with Wan-Ifra and DW Academy.
Has a book names “Death by stigma”, a behind-the-scenes of investigative report and humane stories of people who are living with HIV in Egypt.

Project description:

An investigative report on the hunting of migratory birds that come from Europe and pass through Egypt to South Africa and are caught in large numbers in violation of the law and international agreements that Egypt has signed, which affects biodiversity and the integrity of ecosystems.

Impact reached:

The investigation succeeded in raising awareness about the problem of hunting migratory birds, which was not known before, and its publication in Arabic was in keeping with the preparations for the Climate Conference, which was held in Egypt, and the English version was published in keeping with the early days of the conference.

Techniques/technologies used:

We used text, image, audio, video, infographic and videography

Context about the project:

The work on the investigation had many difficulties, the most important of which was that monitoring the problem should have been monitored in the border areas where hunting operations take place, as well as the fear of dealing with fishermen because their work is illegal and they have weapons and there is no government control over their activity.
We also encountered difficulty in collecting information and statistics on hunting rates. There is no cooperation from the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, and we faced harassment from them, and many sources were afraid to talk to us.

What can other journalists learn from this project?

The work was bilateral, and it was coordinated and divided. It also discusses the issue of hunting migratory birds that pass through Egypt. Therefore, the affected community here is a community other than the Egyptian community, but we clarified how the problem affects biodiversity and ecosystems.