In 2025, Mongabay journalists were awarded honors for investigations ranging from exposing environmental crime and illegal resource extraction to threats to Indigenous territories. This included reporting that exposed false claims of United Nations backing used to pressure Indigenous communities in Latin America into giving up long-term forest rights, as well as investigations into environmental risks in public systems, including the sale of shark meat in Brazilian schools and institutions.
Other reporting was similarly showcased at the highest levels of environmental journalism. For example, work covering illegal cattle ranching, deforestation, and land conflicts in Brazil received the prestigious John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, highlighting Mongabay’s role in exposing links between environmental destruction and human rights abuses.
Mongabay’s multimedia reporting – spanning video, audio, and digital storytelling – has also received international recognition. Among the most notable, the Global Shining Light Award, recognized the bilingual data-driven investigation, Amazon Airstrips. Led by Mongabay’s Latin America bureau and originally published in Spanish, the project, developed with Earth Genome and supported by the Pulitzer Center, identified 67 clandestine drug-trafficking airstrips across Peru’s Ucayali, Huánuco, and Pasco regions using satellite analysis and field reporting.
Additional awards highlighted Mongabay’s use of different storytelling formats to reach wider audiences about complex issues. For example, the Mongabay India podcast Wild Frequencies explored how scientists use bioacoustics to monitor elusive wildlife, while contributors Matthew Reichel and Robyn Huang’s film Youth leaders revive Indigenous seafood harvesting heritage documented how Indigenous youth in Canada are restoring traditional food systems and cultural practices.
Impact
Recognition from leading journalism institutions has helped amplify Mongabay’s reporting and extend its reach. Award-winning investigations have been cited by major media outlets, shared widely online, and used by civil society organizations working on environmental protection and Indigenous rights.
These honors also reinforce the credibility of Mongabay’s journalism among policymakers, researchers, and advocacy groups. By elevating stories from underreported regions, they contribute to greater awareness of environmental threats and the communities confronting them.
At the same time, the recognition highlights the risks inherent in reporting from remote and often challenging environments, where many investigations require sustained engagement with local communities and careful navigation of sensitive political contexts.
By combining investigative rigor with innovative storytelling, Mongabay’s award-winning journalism continues to inform global conversations, support accountability, and contribute to efforts addressing some of the most urgent environmental challenges of our time.
Support independent environmental journalism
If you are interested in helping to sustain independent news, there are two excellent ways you can do so with Mongabay. First, consider making a donation, which directly helps us continue to produce high-impact journalism from nature’s frontline. Second, subscribe to Mongabay’s newsletter to get the latest environmental news delivered right to your inbox, and share whatever articles move you with friends and family.
About Mongabay
Mongabay is a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform focused on providing original, reliable, and independent journalism from nature’s frontline. We pride ourselves on producing reporting that has substantial and tangible impacts around the world.
Banner image: Seema Lokhandwala records elephant calls at Kaziranga National Park. Image courtesy of Vijay Bedi.