Creating opportunities for early- and mid-career environmental journalists to gain experience reporting critical ocean issues and solutions in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is both a global hotspot for marine biodiversity and the world’s leading seafood consumer per person. This resilient region is facing mounting pressures from climate change and marine pollution on top of decades of overfishing and harmful fishing practices like bottom trawling. With the effects of ocean degradation becoming more apparent, high-quality environmental journalism is more important than ever, but journalists in the region often lack resources and opportunity to cover this topic. In response, Mongabay has established the Southeast Asia Ocean Reporting Fellowship. It will provide opportunities for early- and mid-career journalists from coastal countries in Southeast Asia to report on critical ocean challenges and their solutions in the region, gaining valuable training, experience and credibility that will help them advance their careers in journalism and communications. Ultimately, we aim for fellows to join our growing global network as regular Mongabay contributors.

The fellowship

The Southeast Asia Ocean Reporting Fellowship extends Mongabay’s Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship to focus on a specific theme and region. This fellowship has helped bolster the capacity of environmental journalists in a field where such experience can be hard to acquire. Mongabay fellows and interns have gone on to establish careers as professional journalists, communications professionals at scientific institutions and conservation NGOs, and at Mongabay itself.

In 2026, the Southeast Asia Ocean Reporting Fellowship Program will support up to five fellows from the region in our Global Bureau. (Note that Mongabay Indonesia hosts a fellowship program in Bahasa Indonesia; refer to that webpage for latest opportunities.)

Fellows will gain valuable experience working with editors at our international news outlet to create a portfolio of original publications that should help them advance their careers in journalism. Fellows will develop their ocean reporting skills, from generating story ideas, pitching, finding and interviewing sources, news writing, and investigative techniques, to current issues in journalism ethics, safety and security. They will also learn about a range of specific topics pertaining to oceans in Southeast Asia such as fisheries, marine pollution, climate change, implementation of global biodiversity targets, protected and conserved areas and community-led conservation. In addition to hands-on editorial support from Mongabay staff through all stages of the publication process, the fellows will also learn from each other and build their peer support and professional networks for future job opportunities.

Logistics

The Southeast Asia Ocean Reporting Fellowship is expected to run from September 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027. We will accept applications for this cohort from May 14 to June 25 (23:59 UTC).

Each fellow will receive $500 USD per month for the duration of the six-month fellowship, or $3,000 USD in total. During that time, fellows will work directly with the fellowship editors to produce stories. They will have opportunities to collaborate with several Mongabay editors, particularly those in Southeast Asia and the Oceans Desk.

Throughout the fellowship, each fellow is expected to commit to 10 hours per week and to produce a total of four to six stories in English to be published on Mongabay’s website.

Work is remote — Mongabay does not have an office.

Eligibility

• As this fellowship is run in English, applicants must be able to report, write and communicate at a high level of English.
• Applicants must be from and based in a coastal Southeast Asian country, with a particular focus on Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. High-income countries in Southeast Asia (Singapore and Brunei) are not eligible.
• Applicants must be early- or mid-career environmental journalists with at least two years of reporting and writing experience. We especially welcome applicants with identities and backgrounds that are under-represented in journalism in the region.
• Applicants must be able to work remotely and commit to 10 hours per week.
• There is no formal educational requirement to apply for the program. The fellowship is not linked to any university.
• All application materials must be submitted in English.
• Applicants must write their application materials themselves. Applications prepared with generative AI will be disqualified.
• All materials must adhere to the guidelines below and on the application form; applications that do not follow the guidelines will be disqualified.

Desired Experience & Qualifications / Judging Criteria

• At least two years of experience with reporting and writing news articles;
• Demonstrated interest in ocean issues and in environmental journalism as a career;
• Talent in writing and ability to identify what information is newsworthy;
• Proven reporting, writing and communication skills in English;
• Capacity to fulfill all of the fellowship requirements and reporting plans.

Application Requirements

On the application form, you will be asked to fill out basic contact information, answer a few questions about your interest, and upload the following documents:

• Resume (2 pages maximum)

• Cover letter(1 page maximum) introducing yourself and answering the following:
  • How does environmental journalism fit into your career goals?
  • Why should Mongabay select you for this specific fellowship?

• Two original English-language writing samples in a journalistic style that reflects your best work and skills. At least one must be a published clip and preferably at least one is related to ocean conservation or other ocean-related issues. AI-generated written samples will be disqualified.

Selection Process

Selections will be made by an internal Mongabay team, and applicants will receive a notification regarding the status of their application at least three weeks prior to the start of the cohort. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so please submit yours as early as possible. For inquiries or if you have technical difficulties with the application form, please contact Holly Jonas at holly@mongabay.com.

Banner image: Fishers in Indonesia. Image by arondphotography via Flickr. CC BY 2.0.