Applications Invited for Media Grants

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About the Organization

Created in 2004, EJN is now a truly global network of reporters and media outlets in virtually every region of the world.

Environmental and climate change reporting is now more urgent than ever, but journalists face myriad and mounting challenges in covering these topics. The media industry is in crisis, and misinformation is on the rise. Reporters working for cash-strapped news agencies often don't have the resources to research a story properly; freelancers, even less so. That’s where EJN comes in.

About the Grant

In December 2022, more than 190 countries committed to achieve ‘30x30’ under target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework. This target calls for the effective protection and management of 30% of the world’s terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, by the year 2030.

Yet summits since then have made it clear the world is not on track to meet this target. In fact, so far countries have only fully or highly protected 2.9% of our oceans, far from the 30% target.

There are solutions in development: Creating marine protected areas (MPAs) and other area-based conservation measures with strong rules and enforcement are among the most effective ways to conserve biodiversity. Newly developed tools such as the 30x30 Progress Tracker will help make tracking, planning, and advocating for progress toward meeting the 30×30 goal more streamlined.

News organizations and journalists, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, often lack the resources, knowledge, or capacity to report relevant and high-quality ocean-related information. Many journalists themselves may not be familiar with ocean issues, 30x30 or MPAs.

To fill this gap, EJN is offering media grants with support from the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation to newsrooms and media organizations in coastal countries to conduct in-depth reporting, train journalists and increase the quality and quantity of coverage about the 30x30 target and efforts to reach this goal.

Grant Size

• We anticipate supporting two organizations with grants of US$ 10,000 each.

Project themes and objectives

EJN is looking to fund to projects that train journalists—and/or produce media coverage—on topics including, but not limited to:

• The commitments made by government(s) to meet the 30x30 target, including the activities being developed, regulations being implemented and the money being spent;
• The effectiveness of proposed or created Marine Protected Areas, including the lack of regulations on harmful fishing practices;
• The impact of transnational fishing fleets and the global fishing industry on efforts to reach the 30x30 target;
• How Indigenous and local communities were or were not involved in the creation of protected areas that intersect with their traditional territories;
• Technologies such as satellites, remote sensing, eDNA and artificial intelligence for the effective management of MPAs;
• National and international policy negotiations and instruments to achieve the 30 x 30 target.

We are particularly interested in supporting projects that use cross-border, solutions journalism and/or investigative approaches to training and/or reporting projects.

Eligibility

• Newsrooms and media organizations in coastal countries are eligible to apply. Because 30x30 refers to marine conservation, we will not accept applications from countries with a freshwater coast; only coastal countries with a marine border will be considered.
• EJN’s definition of media for this opportunity includes newspapers, online media, radio, television, multimedia platforms, journalist networks, collectives and other groups that produce and distribute news and information.
• Civil society organizations, academic institutions, NGOs or environmental groups who do not fit the definition above are not eligible for this opportunity. Applications with a focus on advocacy and/or political campaigning will not be considered.
• For the purposes of this grant opportunity, we will only be accepting applications in English. Unfortunately, we 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. Projects may, however, produce content in any language best suited for their audience.
• Former EJN grantees are eligible to apply. We will take the performance of former grantees into consideration during the selection. Organizations with an existing EJN grant are not eligible.
• 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.

How to Apply

• Click the 'Apply now' button at the top of the page.
• If you have an existing account, you'll need to log in. If not, you must register by clicking “Log in” on the top right of the page and clicking the “Sign up” link at the bottom of the page that opens. Click here for detailed instructions on how to create an account, and here for detailed instructions on how to reset your password.
• If you start the application and want to come back and complete it later, you can click 'Save Draft.' To return to the draft, you'll need to go back to the opportunity and click 'Apply now' again to finalize the application.
• Applications should provide a detailed budget in an Excel spreadsheet with justification for the amount requested. Download the budget template now by clicking on this link.

Application Deadline: 07 February, 2025, 11:59 PM (Pacific/Niue)

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