Sara Phillips, Deputy Editor of Cosmos, and winner of a 2006 Reuters-IUCN Media Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting.
Credit: Frank Lindner/COSMOS
SYDNEY: COSMOS deputy editor Sara Phillips has been awarded a 2006 Reuters-IUCN Media Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting.
Reuters and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) selected Phillips from among other print entries from North America, Oceania and the Caribbean.
“I was thrilled and delighted,” said Phillips today. “I didn’t really expect it would happen to me.”
Phillips has been invited to attend the regional award ceremony on November 14 in Nairobi, Kenya, which is being co-hosted by Reuters and IUCN. Award winners will receive a trophy for their excellence in environmental reporting.
The six regional winners, one of which is Phillips, will be vying for the global award, which comes with a prize of US$5,000. The regional winners represent Asia, English-speaking Africa and the Middle East, Europe, Francophone Africa, Latin America and North America, Oceania and the Caribbean.
In her award-winning cover story, “The Water Crisis” (Cosmos, Issue 9, p66), Phillips explored Australia’s looming problem of water shortage. With a growing population and a dry climate, Australia is working toward finding solutions, none of which are cheap or simple.
“It’s a story about a topic that I care about a lot,” said Phillips. “At current rates of population growth, we can’t sustain our current water use, so we have to look at alternatives.”
While there are a variety of alternatives, Phillips’ story focuses on the option of recycling water. This option would involve “taking sewage and treating it to a drinking water standard”, explained Phillips. “With the technology that’s been developed over the past 10 to 15 years [this] is highly feasible and in fact, creates water of a better quality than rain water.
“Awards like this are great for helping raise the profile of environmental issues globally. When I look at the other winners in the various global regions, I’m amazed that I’m amongst them.”
When asked what she would do if she won the global prize, Phillips said she’d put the award money towards an eco-friendly project. “I’m renovating my house at the moment to make it more sustainable. I’d like to buy a rainwater tank.”
Read the winning story here.
