Sustainable management of forest in view of media attention to REDDÂ + policy, opportunity and impact in Cambodia

The media plays a vital role in raising public awareness and concerns. This study analyzed media attention to the policy, opportunity and impact of REDD + towards enhancing sustainable forest management and mitigating climate change. Content analysis, case study and e-Delphi methods were employed. We collected 178 news articles from four media outlets in Cambodia and examined the media discourses led by the National REDD + Program Secretariat, TVK and Radio FM102 for the period of 2011-2016. The findings revealed that the media attention led by the Secretariat in collaboration with two media outlets spread the REDD + message nationwide and journalists gained knowledge and jointly set the media agenda with the government institutions. Four other reputable national media outlets published few news articles on REDD +. The e-Delphi survey of experts found that the key challenges limiting media discourses on REDD + were that the responsible institutions did not share information about REDD + events with the general media and that journalists had limited knowledge of REDD + and found the technical issues difficult. The study strongly highlighted that media framing is the most comprehensive choice to gain attention from policy makers and the public on REDD + policy, opportunity and impact.