The media play a critical role in shaping public understanding of sustainability challenges, such as climate change
adaptation, natural resource management, and biodiversity conservation. However, in regions undergoing rapid
political transformation, such as Equatorial Africa, the structure and control of media systems themselves are in flux,
raising questions about how environmental issues are communicated to the public. While the decolonization of
media from former metropolitan powers is widely noted, the implications of this shift for sustainability governance
remain underexplored. This article investigates the contemporary media landscapes of Equatorial Africa to analyze
how evolving structures of state control and national sovereignty influence the capacity for environmental
communication. Employing a systematic analysis of recent scholarly publications (2022-2025) from the Russian
academic segment, this study examines the political economy of media in key countries, including the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Niger. The findings indicate that media systems in the region remain
at a nascent stage of development, characterized by strong state influence and a continued reliance on radio as the
primary information channel. A central trend is the deliberate restriction of foreign media outlets as part of a broader
project of asserting national sovereignty. We argue that this pursuit of "media sovereignty" often manifests as
increased state control, which subsequently restricts the plurality of voices and the independence of reporting. This
has direct consequences for sustainability, as it potentially limits critical discourse on environmental degradation,
corporate accountability, and climate policy, framing these issues primarily through a lens of nationalistic and
political expediency rather than ecological necessity. The study concludes that the ongoing "ideologeme" in
Equatorial African media—the process of elevating national languages and narratives—is intrinsically linked to
environmental communication. The move away from colonial linguistic frameworks presents an opportunity for
locally relevant sustainability narratives but is simultaneously constrained by new forms of state-controlled media
environments. Understanding this dynamic is essential for international partners and NGOs seeking to effectively
collaborate on sustainability initiatives in the region.