Human impact on the world’s forests is considerable and extensive. Many activities contribute to this loss, such as energy extraction, logging, mining, fires, war, agriculture, and infrastructure expansion – to name a few. According to the World Resources Institute, 30 percent of global forest cover has been cleared, while another 20 percent has been degraded. Research indicates that the forest that remains has been fragmented to a point where only around 15 percent is intact enough to retain its original levels of biodiversity.

Forest management policies set by governments are often influenced by the private sector, including industry and the general public. Increasing awareness of ecosystem importance and the repercussions of land use change is critical to the informed discourse that grows into effective policy. The Mongabay Reporting Network: Global Forests program serves as an opportunity to raise awareness and share knowledge through high-quality journalism.

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Brazil	Indonesia	Colombia
Ecuador	Peru	Guyana
Liberia	Ethiopia	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo	Myanmar	Vietnam

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We welcome story proposals on forest issues in or directly related to the following countries: Indonesia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Liberia, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Focal topics include the rights and interests of forest-dependent populations, deforestation-free commodity supply chains and green growth, and issues surrounding transparency, governance and legality, and REDD+.

Opinion pieces will not be considered for this project and are not paid opportunities. Please share commentary pitches using this form and refer to submission guidelines here.

Each story will be between 800 and 2,000 words in length and will include quotes from at least three original interviews. Authors will be expected to provide five to 10 publishable photos free for Mongabay’s use to accompany their articles, along with captions and photo credits.

Mongabay will negotiate all fees and contracts on a per-story basis. Completed stories will be paid on a per word or fixed fee basis, depending primarily on the journalist’s experience.  Mongabay.com publishes under an open Creative Commons license that allows for sharing, translation, and re-posting.  More information on Mongabay’s editorial standards and practice can be found here.

All applications must be submitted in English, and all final reporting will be published first in English. However, Spanish-language journalists are encouraged to sign up for our opportunities email list (if you haven’t already) and be on the lookout for a similar announcement regarding Spanish-language articles in the coming months.

How to submit your story pitch

To send Mongabay a pitch, please be prepared to also share your resume/portfolio along with three samples of your work. The story pitch should be roughly 500 words in length and include a title for the project. Viable pitches should clearly explain the specific subject you would like to write about in detail, your approach to covering it and describe a few potential sources.

Video-led stories should also include a shot list and a list of expected interviews in their pitch.

Travel funds are very limited but support for travel expenses may also be provided by Mongabay based on availability. Please include a preliminary budget estimate (using this template) if travel expenses will be required to carry out reporting. Do not include payments for your work in this budget estimate. 

Please submit your Global Forests pitch here  As this is an ongoing pitch solicitation, there is no deadline for submissions.

For any questions, please send an email to Genvieve at [email protected]