Deadline: 29-Apr-25
The Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is offering reporting grants to journalists to support the production of in-depth stories on biodiversity.
To ensure that local audiences have access to trusted, timely and accurate information on the current critical state of biodiversity, EJN’s Biodiversity Media Initiative is offering 5-10 story grants to increase the quality and quantity of biodiversity coverage, and to highlight the overwhelming threats to the natural world as well as promising or proven solutions.
Story Themes
- For this grant opportunity, they are interested in pitches for ambitious stories that make use of innovative multimedia, collaborative, cross-border or investigative approaches to deepen coverage of biodiversity or conservation topics. Proposals that use data journalism and geojournalism are also encouraged.
- This year, themes they are interested in supporting include (but are not limited to):
- Under-reported stories of trade and trafficking of endangered flora and fauna and its impacts
- New methods to track environmental crimes such as illegal mining and logging, and other drivers of biodiversity loss
- New or little-known threats to species diversity, e.g. cryptocurrency mining, seabed mining
- Biodiversity credits or biodiversity offsets
- Biodiversity and conservation in urban areas
- OECMs (other effective area-based conservation measures)
- Innovative, potentially scalable conservation solutions led by communities, governments or corporations
- Efforts to boost “green” and “blue” economies to enable development that conserves rather than exploits the environment
- New or proposed policies which could be either harmful or beneficial to biodiversity
- Benefit-sharing from digital sequence information and its possibilities and risks
- Misinformation or misunderstandings around certain species
Funding Information
- They expect to award up to 10 grants with an average budget of 1,000-2,000 EUR each.
- They plan to issue grants in May 2025 with the expectation that all stories will be published by December 1, 2025, though longer timelines may be considered for more in-depth reporting approaches. Applicants should consider this when drafting their workplan.
Eligibility Criteria
- For the purposes of this grant call, they are only accepting applications for stories focused on countries listed though journalists from any country can apply.
- They would like to hear from applicants based in countries in which they have not offered grants to previously. They encourage applications in particular from West Africa, Central America, the Caribbean, and specifically from the following countries: Dominican Republic, Honduras and Kyrgyzstan.
- They are especially interested in supporting projects in biodiversity-rich regions of the world, or projects in countries facing unprecedented biodiversity loss.
- Groups of journalists are eligible. However, the application must be made in the name of one lead applicant. Lead applicants are responsible for communicating with EJN and receiving funds on the group’s behalf, if awarded.
- For the purposes of this grant opportunity, they will only be accepting applications in English. Unfortunately, they do not have the capacity to consider applications in other languages at this time. Applicants must either have a working understanding of English or have a translator available to assist with communication with Internews staff.
- Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio) and other expert media practitioners with professional reporting experience. They welcome applications from early-career journalists and experienced reporters with a track record of covering biodiversity issues. They encourage applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations—international, national, local and community-based.
For more information, visit EJN.