Historically, media coverage of biodiversity and related issues in Nigeria has been limited, with other environmental topics receiving comparatively greater attention. This perception has largely been based on anecdotal observations, with little in-depth data or evidence to substantiate it. In response, Dataphyte conducted a comprehensive media monitoring study across seven media outlets to assess how biodiversity issues have been reported over the past 10 years. The monitoring covered news platforms such as Econai, Punch, EnviroNews, Nature News, Premium Times, The Cable, and Vanguard.
The analysis examined the volume and nature of biodiversity-related reporting, focusing on the types of stories published, geographic distribution across states, authorship, and the dominant thematic focus of each report. Findings from Dataphyte’s analysis show that biodiversity is largely reported as a breaking or event-driven issue, rather than as one requiring sustained attention or deeper journalistic scrutiny. Most stories are triggered by government announcements, NGO activities, workshops, conferences, or international environmental observance days.
Out of 967 biodiversity-related stories analysed, 722, representing 74.7 per cent, were published as news reports. Feature stories accounted for 146 reports (15.1 per cent), while opinion pieces made up 58 stories (6 per cent). Investigative journalism was notably rare, with only 35 stories, accounting for just 3.6 per cent of total coverage. Other formats, including special reports, interviews, and press releases, were almost entirely absent, together constituting less than one per cent of all biodiversity reporting.
In terms of authorship, the majority of the reports were written by staff journalists, while a smaller proportion were produced by guest writers and news agents. The thematic analysis further reveals a strong concentration of coverage around a narrow set of issues. Stories focused on biodiversity and ecosystem conservation accounted for the largest share of coverage at 23.27 per cent. This was closely followed by reporting on environmental impact and degradation, and wildlife conservation and protection, each representing 18.82 per cent of total stories. Collectively, these three themes accounted for more than 60 per cent of biodiversity-related reporting.
Climate change and environmental sustainability featured in 13.24 per cent of stories, while coverage of anti-wildlife crime and illegal wildlife trade accounted for 12.62 per cent. Policy and legal frameworks received comparatively limited attention, making up 9.41 per cent of coverage. All other themes combined accounted for just over 3 per cent, with issues such as infrastructure and heritage-site development, human–wildlife conflict, cultural heritage preservation, and livestock or small-scale farming receiving minimal media attention.
Overall, this report reveals how Nigerian media perceive, frame, and narrate biodiversity issues, offering critical insights into prevailing styles, patterns, and conceptual approaches to biodiversity reporting in the country.
