In Tajikistan, radio is the only broadcast medium that can be received in all areas of the country. Few journalists have academic or professional training in the field, and (with some notable exceptions), the quality of information-gathering, reporting and writing is low. Media rights organizations report that, although provided for in the constitution, press freedom is not widely respected. However, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Tajikistan in its 2008 Press Freedom Index as having the highest level of media freedom among the five Central Asian states. Opportunities for journalists for professional training and development are limited; university journalism faculties continue to offer Soviet-style curricula, heavy on theory and literary style, and short on skills courses and practical training. In these circumstances, even the best and most experienced journalists lack the knowledge and skills they need to report in-depth on specialized subjects, including economics and business, health, education and the environment. This proposal seeks to address the need to improve the scope, depth and professionalism of reporting on environmental issues, particularly climate change. Tajikistan faces a range of environmental problems, stemming from global and regional factors. These include: the depletion of water resources caused by the melting of the glaciers, intensive irrigation and domestic water supply wastage; natural disasters such as flooding and mudslides; deforestation; declining soil quality because of erosion, salinity and decades of intensive cotton production; urban pollution; waste management; and the safety of dams and hydro-electric plants. Apart from short news stories and an occasional analytical article by a scientific expert, these issues are rarely reported in the Tajik, Although information and statistics are readily available from government, international agencies and environmental NGOs, most journalists lack the specialized knowledge to gather, critically analyze and report on environmental impacts. Some journalists believe environmental issues are too complex to report, and will not interest their audiences. The lack of serious and analytical reporting on global climate change and local environmental problems was articulated by leading Tajikistan environmental scientists at a July 2009 UNESCO workshop in Dushanbe on communicating research to public audiences; most said that local journalists either simplified the topics or ignored them altogether. This project seeks to address the lack of in-depth reporting on climate change issues in the media of Tajikistan with a five-day workshop where journalists will gain detailed knowledge of key issues, learn to analyze environmental data and reports, and produce in-depth stories that explain the human impacts of global climate change and local environmental problems. Materials will include the Russian version of Media as partners in education for sustainable development: A Training and Resource Kit (UNESCO Series on Journalism Education, 2008) and Russian-language articles and handouts. Expected outputs: trained journalists with knowledge of global/regional climate change and environmental issues, including the depletion of water resources, natural disasters, deforestation, soil quality, urban pollution and waste management; trained journalists with experience in researching and analyzing scientific reports, data and statistics from government ministries, international agencies and environmental NGOs; trained journalists with skills how to relate scientific research to human impacts, putting climate change and environmental issues in their economic, social and political contexts; and trained journalists with skills to research, write and produce in-depth print and broadcast stories on the effects of climate change and local environmental degradation.