Biodiversity Media Grants 2025

At both COP16 held in Cali, Colombia and COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan last year, biodiversity and climate experts urged accelerated action to protect biodiversity and halt the climate crisis.

Even as the science and negotiations at these global summits recognized that biodiversity loss and climate change are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, climate action receives more funding and media coverage, while conservation, and biodiversity stories are pushed to the sidelines.

The window to achieve the 30×30 target, and other goals listed in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is fast closing.

Overlooking the importance of biodiversity is of dire consequence for humankind—it provides important resources and also enhances the planet’s resilience, including disaster-risk reduction and mitigation.

To ensure the public has a clearer understanding of what’s at stake—and the solutions that policymakers and the private sector could implement to curb this crisis, EJN’s Biodiversity Media Initiative is offering 3-4 media grants to increase the quality and quantity of biodiversity stories and build the capacity of journalists to improve their coverage of biodiversity issues, and draw attention to their linkages with climate and health.

Themes and Objectives 

• Projects funded by this grant should build public awareness of the threats to biodiversity and highlight conservation solutions by spreading quality news and information, with a focus on audiences in lower- and middle-income countries. Projects can, but are not required to, also build the capacity of journalists and communicators to report on threats to biodiversity and on conservation solutions, by building their skills, knowledge and networks. For organizations proposing content production only, these activities must result in robust and in-depth outputs (for example, a series of podcasts, or a multi-part investigation). Applications that propose less than 10 stories will not be considered competitive, unless they also propose to include capacity-building activities as part of the project.
• They are particularly interested in proposals that focus on one or more of the following themes:
  • OECMs and other alternatives to protected areas that contribute to the Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30×30 target;
  • Nature-based solutions that support biodiversity as well as other goals (climate change mitigation, food security, sustainable livelihoods, health, etc);
  • Digital Sequence Information (DSI) and benefit sharing of genetic resources;
  • Unintended harmful effects of conservation measures.

Funding Information

• They anticipate supporting 3-4 organizations with grants of 10,000-12,000 EUR each. In general, proposals with smaller budgets will be more competitive. Larger grant amounts will be considered for projects that use innovative approaches and may be more resource- and time-consuming.
• They expect to notify successful applicants in April 2025, with work starting in May 2025. Projects should be completed within 12 months, by the end of April 2026.

Outputs

• Examples of project outputs include, but are not limited to:
  • In-depth stories to expand the breadth and depth of coverage of biodiversity and conservation issues;
  • Transboundary, collaborative, investigative and/or data-led reporting projects that facilitate peer-to-peer learning and content sharing among media outlets based in different regions or countries
  • Biodiversity and/or conservation training activities such as workshops and field trips for journalists and/or media organizations and/or content creators
  • The development of reporters’ resources and/or e-learning tools to benefit environmental reporters and their audiences;
  • The development of innovative mapping, data visualization and/or fact-checking tools to support reporting and/or the distribution of environmental stories;
  • The establishment of new storytelling platforms;
  • The creation or strengthening of journalist networks focused on these issues, enabling them to invest in strategic opportunities, build the capacities of their members and respond to communities’ needs;
  • Cross-sectoral collaborations and knowledge exchange between journalists, information providers, researchers and policymakers.

Eligibility Criteria

• Media organizations in countries classified as either low- or middle-income by the World Bank are eligible to apply for this opportunity.
• They are especially interested in supporting projects in biodiversity-rich regions of the world, or projects in countries facing unprecedented biodiversity loss.
• This opportunity is open to journalist networks, media organizations, civil society organizations or academic institutions. Although they will consider applications by NGOs or environmental groups looking to build the capacity of journalists to cover conservation issues, preference will be given to applications from or affiliated with professional journalists, media organizations and journalism schools.
• They will not consider applications rooted in advocacy or political campaigning.
• 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. Applicants must have a working understanding of English or have a translator available to assist with communication with EJN staff.
• Existing or former EJN grantees are eligible to apply; they will take the performance of existing or former grantees into consideration during selection, however they will not support organizations that they awarded grants to in 2024.
• Applicants are required to be transparent about the use of generative AI tools, if any, to revise their proposals. EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, including, but not limited to, submitting AI-generated content as their own.

For more information, visit EJN.