Deadline: 8-Dec-21
The Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is offering reporting grants to produce investigative stories that dig deep into the illegal wildlife trade and environmental crime in East Africa and beyond.
Wildlife crime is considered one the largest direct threats to the future of many of the world’s most threatened species, exploiting local communities, destroying fragile ecosystems and putting national and international security at risk. According to the United Nations’, the global illegal wildlife trade, excluding fishing and logging, is valued at up to $23 billion every year.
East Africa is one of the world’s wildlife crime hotspots. The region’s international transport links make it an ideal poaching ground and a key transit route for international wildlife trafficking.
Media exposés of the illegal wildlife trade and other environmental crime are crucial to help inform the public about the risks they pose to biodiversity and conservation. Such attention can also lead to more stringent legal action and the adoption of stricter laws and protections.
They are seeking stories that go beyond news reports of government seizures of contraband. Preference will be given to journalists whose investigations reveal why the trade thrives, the forces driving supply and demand or the syndicates helping sustain it.
While they will prioritize story proposals focused on illegal wildlife trafficking, they are also interested in other investigative pieces looking at environmental crime. These include, but are not limited to, stories on illegal logging, mining or sand harvesting, and the trade in timber, such as sandalwood, dumping of hazardous waste and overfishing. Illuminating reports on court proceedings, laws on environmental crimes and how they help in curtailing these crimes (or not) will also be considered.
- How do syndicates use online platforms and social media to conceal and market their illegal trade?
- What tools do governments and other agencies use to conduct investigations into kingpins of illegal wildlife trade?
Funding Information
EJN is looking to support 10 journalists based in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania with stipends of up to $2,000 each to support in-depth stories on illegal wildlife trade and other environmental crimes.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications are open to journalists (online, print, television, radio) and other expert media practitioners with experience in investigative reporting and covering wildlife and/or environmental issues in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. They encourage applications from freelancers and staff from all types of media organizations—international, national, local and community-based.
- They’ll accept both individual and group applications, but for the latter they ask that the application is made in the name of one lead applicant who will receive the grant on the group’s behalf, if awarded.
- Freelancers with a demonstrable plan for publication and a letter of interest from an editor are encouraged to apply. Similarly, photojournalists and multimedia practitioners with published visual work are also eligible.
- Stories can be produced in English, Kiswahili, or local languages. However, applicants who intend to write or produce stories in their local language need to also include an English translation. Please include the cost for translation in the budget, if necessary.
Please note that all stories produced for this project must be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Judging Criteria
Applicants should consider the following points when devising their story proposals:
- Relevance: Does the proposal meet the criteria and objectives of this call? Why does this story matter and to whom? Is the main idea, context and overall value to the target audience clearly defined?
- Angle: If the story has already been covered by mainstream media, does your proposal bring new insights into the topic or offer a fresh angle?
- Impact: Will the investigative piece trigger debate and urge action?
- Innovative storytelling: The use of creative approaches and data visualization will be considered a plus and should be explained in detail in the proposal.
- Feasibility: Is the budget realistic? Can the story be realistically completed within the stipulated timeframe?
For more information, visit https://earthjournalism.net/opportunities/grants-for-investigative-reporting-on-environmental-crime-in-east-africa-round-two