In recent weeks, the story of the fox «Run» has captured the attention of all Peruvians. The news is just one of thousands of cases in the country related to illegal wildlife trafficking, an activity that threatens more than 300 different species in Peru, according to the National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR).

This and other environmental crimes, such as illegal logging and mining, are complex issues that need to be understood and brought to the attention of society.

USAID’s Prevenir project commissioned communications consultancy Lec & Hunter to create a free integrated communications platform called «toolbox», This is aimed at journalists and communicators, with the aim of promoting an informed society with reliable sources for solving environmental crimes.

The initiative was born to strengthen the investigative capacity of journalists and communicators at the national level, providing them with the resources to develop effective content on cases related to environmental crime, thereby gaining greater visibility on the national public agenda.

Although the scope of the Toolbox web platform is national, it must be emphasized that its work focuses on the Peruvian Amazon, particularly the regions of Loreto, Ucayali and Madre de Dios, where degradation rates and loss of forest And owns 50% of the country’s forests.

The Toolbox contains four types of downloadable content:

• Specific information on different environmental crimes to date.
• Case study analysis from journalistic investigations.
• Audio-visual recommendations from famous Peruvian journalists.
• You can get different tools for information, data, images, financing options, training and more.

The tool is aimed at journalists as well as different Indigenous communicators who play a leadership role in their communities, which is why the portal includes Asháninka and Awajún video tutorials.

Given the economic fallout of the pandemic, Toolbox also provides a list of platforms and hubs to fund journalism projects.

On the other hand, it includes a playlist of more than 30 short clips with practical advice from eight well-known journalists with experience in local investigative journalism, such as Daniel Yovera, Milagros Salazar and others.

This group of well-known journalists also joins the ranks of environmental authorities who participate in the construction and verification process of the platform’s content, such as Lucía Ruiz, the former environment minister of Peru: “Now is the time for accurate information to reach Accessibility is critical to the work of communicators. It is great to have the opportunity to be involved in building a tool to speed up the work of journalists, but most importantly of being vigilant citizens, committed and mindful of the negative impacts that affect our natural heritage every day.»

In short, every part of the web is designed to facilitate the process of creating reports, providing input, references, sources and platforms to make news coverage of our nation easier and more useful. Access to this platform is free.

E.g:

How do I know where a photo is from?

There are millions of photos circulating on the internet. Before using any image, you should search Tin Eye or Google Images, these platforms can confirm the source of the image, and should also show any pages where the image was used.

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