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As part of the Together for Conservation project, Internews (through the South America team of the Americas Program Unit and Earth Journalism Network), is strengthening journalists' capacities to highlight the impacts of transnational conservation crimes in the western Amazon basin and report on possible solutions to curb these crimes.
We are pleased to announce our first cohort of story grantees, who will be producing stories exposing the threats to biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods due to illegal logging, unsustainable fishing, wildlife trafficking and illegal mining in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.
The journalists will be paired with experienced mentors, who will offer editorial guidance and support to produce solutions-driven stories highlighting the actions of policymakers, civil society organizations, Indigenous peoples and local communities, and business sectors to deter and mitigate the threats posed by conservation crimes in the Amazon.
The 24 journalists selected for story grants are:
- Ana Bottallo de Aguiar Quadros, Brazil
- Bruna Obadowski, Brazil
- Bruno Stankevicius Bassi, Brazil
- Charles Lyons, United States/Brazil
- Cinthya Guaña Córdova, Ecuador
- Esteban Cárdenas, Ecuador
- Franklin Vega, Ecuador
- Isabel Lucía Alarcón Peña with Daniela Quintero Diaz, Ecuador
- Ivan Brehaut, Perú
- Jorge Javier Basilago, Ecuador
- Juan Carlos Cabezas Aguilar, Ecuador
- Juan José Fernández Fernández, Perú
- Juliana Silva Faddul, Brazil
- Leandro Roberto Barbosa, Brazil
- Lidha Iovana Beltrán Valero, Colombia
- Lizbeth Nathalie Quiandría Peláez, Perú
- Manuel Novik, Ecuador
- María Gabriela Verdezoto Landívar, Ecuador
- Monalisa Pereira da Silva Coelho, Brazil
- Olga Cecilia Guerrero Rodríguez, Colombia
- Ovidio González Soler, Colombia
- Sally Jabiel, Perú
- Thomas Aaron-Rogstad Ebner, Perú
“To select the grantees, judges from Internews took into account the geographical focus of the proposals and innovative story angles,” said María Clara Valencia Mosquera, Amazon editor. “We were especially interested in supporting proposals from underrepresented groups (women, youth, indigenous people and local communities).”
Through this project, Internews’ Americas Program Unit and EJN aim to facilitate safe and effective collaboration among journalists, independent media and communicators, and to promote transparency and accountability to combat transnational conservation crimes in the Amazon basin.
Together for Conservation is a project led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). This project is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of Internews, and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
Look out for the journalists’ stories, which will be republished on the EJN website in the coming months.
Banner image: In the Amazon, macaws are among many species of birds that are widely traded and trafficked by bird smuggling syndicates / Credit: Jack Zalium via Flickr.
