Mongabay is calling for applications for the Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship to build the capacity of young and aspiring environmental journalists to cover biodiversity hotspots.

The effects of degradation As environmental issues become ever more apparent, high-quality environmental journalism is more important than ever. But as the journalism Environmental journalism as a whole has been affected by changing business models that have reduced the availability of resources for reporting, reduced press freedom in many countries and a lack of early career opportunities. These problems are particularly acute in places that are under the weight of climate change. climateThese include the loss of biodiversity, the destruction of nature and threats to indigenous peoples and local communities.

In response to this situation, Mongabay has set up the Y. Eva Tan Fellowship Programme for conservation reporting. The programme will offer journalists from biodiversity hotspots in tropical countries the opportunity to report on critical environmental issues, gaining valuable training, experience and credibility that will help them advance their careers in journalism and communications. Ultimately, they aim for the fellows to join the growing global network as regular contributors to Mongabay.

The Y. Eva Tan conservation reporting fellowship programme builds on Mongabay's long-standing internship programme, which has helped to build the capacity of environmental journalists in a field where such experience can be hard to come by.

The Y. Eva Tan Fellowship for Conservation Reporting will support up to 18 fellows per year - six in the English global office, six in the Spanish office, Mongabay-Latam, and six in the French office, Mongabay-Afrique. Each cohort will consist of three fellows per office.

Logistics

• The exchange will take place twice a year: from 1 April to 30 September and from 1 October to 31 March.
• Each fellow will receive USD 500 per month for the duration of the six-month fellowship, for a total of USD 3,000. During this time, fellows will work directly with the fellowship editor to produce six stories. Fellows will have the opportunity to collaborate with several Mongabay editors, including those who specialise in different areas.
• Each fellow must commit 10 hours per week. Each fellow must produce an average of one article per month during the fellowship, which will be published on the Mongabay website.
• The work is remote - Mongabay has no office and cannot handle work visas.

Eligibility criteria

• Applicants must be from a low- or upper-middle-income tropical country, as classified by the World Bank. High-income tropical countries, such as Singapore and Australia, are excluded from the scholarship.
• Applicants must be environmental journalists at the start of their career.
• Candidates must be able to work remotely and commit to working 10 hours a week.
• There are no educational requirements to apply for the programme. The scholarship is not linked to any university.
• All the documents Applications must be submitted in the appropriate language (English for the programme in English and Spanish for the programme in Spanish).
• They are currently only accepting fellows for the English and Spanish-speaking global offices. The ambition is to extend this programme to other Mongabay offices, notably in Indonesia, India, Brazil and French-speaking tropical countries, but they do not yet have a timetable for this expansion.

Desired experience and qualifications/evaluation criteria

• Basic understanding and interest in reporting and news writing ;
• Demonstrated interest in conservation issues ;
• Demonstrated interest in environmental journalism as a career;
• Proven communication skills;
• Ability to meet all grant requirements and reporting plans.

For more information, please visit Mongabay.