Meet our solutions reporting fellows from across Asia

In collaboration with the Solutions Journalism Network and in support of our alum fellow and current 2022 LEDE Fellow – Mavic Conde – we’ll be working with journalists from across Asia to bring climate solution stories to the forefront. This Solutions Reporting Grant will allow these fellow to place emphasis on stories related to agriculture and farmer-led sustainable agricultural practices, food systems, and land rights.

Read also: Opportunity to report on the Climate and Water Nexus in Southeast Asia

Meet our fellows

Janine Ysabel Peralta, Philippines

Janine is a writer with a love for telling and reading stories and listening to podcasts about science and the environment especially climate change and conservation. On the side, she also loves to hike, pole dance and aerial hoop. If she’s not writing, she’s dancing or singing and you can often find her lost in thought about mountains, anime and BTS (yes, the boy band).

Check out Janine’s previous work:

• Attribution science: How to trace climate change’s impact in extreme weather
• Why more women should lead food security and climate change projects

Climate journalism in the Philippines is mostly focused on covering natural or human-made disasters such as typhoons, which we experience on a yearly basis, with intensities increasing gradually. There are a few stories on climate justice here and there but not every newsroom has a climate-focused reporter or even a climate desk. There is also minimal coverage on climate conferences and the latest research.

Janine Peralta

Sandranathan Rubatheesan, Sri Lanka

A freelance journalist attached to the Sunday Times, Colombo. When not reading, he’s with his camera looking for a ‘decisive moment’ to capture.

He also received the Merit award of Investigative Journalist of the year -2019 (Editors Guild of Sri Lanka & Sri Lanka Press Institute).

Check out Sandranathan’s previous work:

• Sea Cucumber Farming Spells Death to Traditional Coastal Fishing in Northern Sri Lanka
• Displaced Tamil returnees yearn to rebuild lives amid multiple hurdles

There is a lack of reportage on climate change in Sri Lanka’s mainstream media due to various reasons such as less institutional support and shrinking newsrooms as the economic crisis hit the country after the global pandemic. In this context, comprehensive, science-based reportage on climate change is needed to inform the public about its consequences since nearly half of the country’s population resides in low-lying coastal areas.

Sandranathan Rubatheesan

Angeliza Arceno, Philippines

Cultural worker, researcher and writer based in Negros Occidental, Philippines. She only likes art, literature, music, and like, five people.

Check out Angeliza’s previous work:

• Reflecting on your Reflection: Bacolod Artist, Brandon Braza, Shifts the Gaze Back to the Audience
• Megumi Miura’s Corazon del Arte: The Heart of Art District Bacolod

In our region, especially in Negros Occidental, there has been a push for coal-fired power and liquified natural gas plants to be built among shorelines, and continued mining from big corporations. If not for climate journalism and climate activists, these dangerous projects might have been completed years ago but because of continued spread of information, people, especially the youth organize and mobilize themselves to continue fighting for renewable energy.

Angeliza Arceno

Varsha Singh, India

Varsha covers climate, agriculture, environment, health and gender issues from Himalayan region Uttarakhand in India. Her stories have been published in Down to Earth, Newsclick, BBC Hindi, The Third Pole, Mongabay, 101reporters, and more.

She received training from the Centre of Science and Environment on climate change and data journalism and grants from Earth Journalism Network, Internews Europe, WildEye Asia/Oxpeckers, and Thakur Foundation.

Varsha’s been awarded the Laadli Media and Advertisement award for gender sensitivity jury appreciation citation supported by UNFPA in 2021.

Check out Varsha’s previous work:

• Fears of ‘devastation’ from largest dam on Yamuna River in India
• Delays and glitches mar Uttarakhand’s solar self-employment scheme

I live in the Himalayan region where the direct impact of climate change can be felt. It is getting hot in the mountains. Natural calamities like cloudbursts, heavy rains, and landslides are increasing. All this is having an impact on our everyday life and employment. Agriculture and farmers are the most affected by this.

Varsha Singh

Sanjib Kumar Chaudhary, Nepal

An engineer turned communications professional, Sanjib likes to walk, run, cycle, read and write. You can find him on Twitter tweeting about plants and indigenous food.

Sanjib was one of the ‘Language Champions’ for Story Weaver’s Freedom to Read 2020 campaign and he translated more than 50 children’s story books into Kochila/ Eastern Tharu language.

Check out Sanjib’s previous work:

• The grass is greener
• The centrality of nature in indigenous art

Climate journalism not only informs people about the current scenario but also motivates people to take actions individually to help the environment. Because of climate change the Himalayan glaciers, the water towers of Asia, are melting, not to mention the erratic rainfall patterns and the hotter climate.

Sanjib Kumar

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