Background

Australia is often imagined as a continent of open space, with most people clustered along the coast and a vast interior that looks empty on a map. Ecologically, that impression is misleading. Much of Australia’s biodiversity is concentrated in habitats that sit close to where people farm, build, log, and dig. Over the past 20–30 years, land-use change has continued to reshape those places, narrowing the options for wildlife even in a nation that prides itself on its natural heritage.

The basic trajectory is well understood. Native vegetation is cleared or degraded. Habitat becomes smaller, more fragmented, and less resilient. Populations thin out. Some disappear. Australia’s national environment reporting treats habitat loss and modification as one of the major pressures on biodiversity, alongside invasive species and climate change.

Simultaneously, Australia’s oceans are among the most biologically diverse in the world. Home to the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef, and an extensive network of marine parks that cover over 40% of the Australian waters, the country’s marine environment is also threatened by climate change, overfishing, extractive industries and pollution.

Project Objectives

The Australian Biodiversity Special Reporting Project will produce sustained, high-quality journalism on Australia’s unique wildlife, ecosystems, and the threats they face—including habitat destruction, invasive species, climate change, and extractive industries. It will also spotlight conservation efforts led by First Nations peoples, scientists, civil society, and government.

This project will:

• Provide in-depth, original coverage of Australia’s most imperiled ecosystems and species.
• Report drivers of biodiversity loss and highlight gaps in governance and enforcement.
• Identify stories of resilience, innovation, and Indigenous-led stewardship.

Articles produced through this initiative will be published on Mongabay’s website under an open Creative Commons license, allowing other outlets to republish the content for free. Through these republications, Mongabay will expand the reach of accurate, credible information to new audiences and strengthen public access to science-driven reporting.

This reporting project aims to strengthen understanding of the forces shaping Australia’s biodiversity future, foreground the voices of those impacted by environmental change, and examine both the possibilities and limits of conservation in a landscape under accelerating pressure.

Suggested story topics and guidelines

We welcome proposals from experienced journalists for conventional news stories, in-depth features, investigative reports, profiles, and case studies. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Threats to biodiversity and ecosystems

Investigate land-use change, deforestation and habitat conversion, climate-related impacts (including bushfires and drought), invasive species, and extractive industry expansion. We are especially interested in reporting that shows how cumulative habitat loss plays out on the ground, including fragmentation, corridor loss, and declining ecosystem function. Stories about marine ecosystems may be relevant to subjects such as fisheries, coral reefs, marine animal behavior, pollution, and marine protected areas.

Conservation efforts and success stories

Highlight promising initiatives in species recovery, ecological restoration, and protected area expansion. This includes Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs), community-led stewardship programs, and conservation models that demonstrate measurable ecological outcomes. This includes terrestrial, marine, or both ecosystems.

Indigenous stewardship and traditional knowledge

First Nations-led projects to restore their communities, cultural heritage, languages and livelihoods with the positive impacts these have on biodiversity conservation. This includes stories about Indigenous leaders, activists and policymakers who make significant or novel contributions to biodiversity conservation.

Policy, governance, and accountability

Analyze biodiversity policy at the federal and state levels, enforcement gaps, corporate accountability, and the implementation of Australia’s international commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity. We are keen to explore where regulatory systems fail to account for cumulative impacts, and how “legal” clearing can still drive ecological decline.

Opinion pieces, or commentaries, will not be considered for this project and are not paid opportunities. Please share commentary pitches using this form and refer to the 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 three to five 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, with rates 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 practices can be found here.

How to submit your story pitch

To send a pitch to Mongabay, please be prepared to share your resume/portfolio along with three samples of your work. The story pitch should be roughly 500 words in length and clearly explain what you propose to write about, and describe potential sources. If you are proposing a story that is led by video, please indicate that and include a short description of your video idea.

Pitches will be considered on a rolling basis. Incoming pitches will be responded to within 3 weeks and often within a few days.

The guidelines on what contributors should include in their pitch are located here under the [Pitching Instructions] section.

Please use the form below so that the information is directed to the most appropriate editors: