Building the capacity of young and aspiring environmental journalists to cover biodiversity hotspots

With the effects of environmental degradation becoming more apparent, high-quality environmental journalism is more important than ever. But like the journalism sector as a whole, environmental reporting has been affected by shifting business models that have reduced the availability of resources for reporting, shrinking press freedoms in many countries and a lack of early-stage career opportunities. These issues are especially acute in places that bear the brunt of climate change, biodiversity loss, the destruction of nature and threats against Indigenous peoples and local communities.

In response to this situation, Mongabay has established the Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship Program. The program will provide opportunities for journalists from biodiversity hotspots in tropical countries to report on critical environmental issues, 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. [See fellow stories: English | Español]

The program

The Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship Program builds on Mongabay’s long-running internship program, which has helped bolster the capacity of environmental journalists in a field where such experience can be hard to acquire. Since 2008, the program has provided training and first-hand reporting experience for dozens of budding journalists in more than a dozen countries. Mongabay interns have gone on to establish careers as professional journalists, communications professionals at scientific institutions and conservation NGOs, and at Mongabay itself.

From 2026-2028, the Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship Program will support at least 34 fellows per year in several language-specific cohorts:

• Sixteen English-language fellows in our Global Bureau, including five focusing on oceans in Southeast Asia;
• Six fellows in our Spanish-language bureau, Mongabay Latam;
• Six Bahasa Indonesia-language fellows at Mongabay Indonesia;
• Six Portuguese-language fellows in our Global Bureau

Please check the details and application windows for each program as they may vary. In addition, Mongabay offers a French-language fellowship in Africa. For more information, please see further details here.

Fellows will gain valuable experience working with a range of editors at our international news outlet, develop their environmental reporting skills, and create a portfolio of original publications that should help them advance their careers in journalism.

About Y. Eva Tan

Eva is passionate about equality for all human beings, and conservation of natural habitats, not only fauna but also flora. She is particularly sensitive to creating opportunities for all, irrespective of national origin, ethnicity and ability.

Logistics

The 2026 English-language fellowship will run from June 1 to November 30. We will accept applications for this cohort from December 15 to February 1.

Please check back soon for details on 2026 program dates and application details for our other fellowship programs.

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 six stories. Fellows will have opportunities to collaborate with multiple Mongabay editors, including those who specialize in different areas.

Each fellow is expected to commit to engaging 10 hours per week. Each fellow is expected to produce an average of one story per month over the course of the fellowship to be published on Mongabay’s website.

Work is remote — Mongabay does not have an office and cannot support work visas.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be from a low- to upper-middle-income tropical country, as classified by the World Bank. “High-income” tropical countries, such as Singapore and Australia, are excluded from the fellowship. A list of eligible countries can be found here.
• Applicants must be aspiring, early-career environmental journalists.
• Applicants must be able to work remotely and commit to 10 hours per week.
• There is no education requirement to apply for the program. The fellowship is not linked to any university.
• All application materials for the English-language program must be submitted in English.
• 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

• Basic understanding of and interest in reporting and writing news stories;
• Demonstrated interest in conservation issues;
• Demonstrated interest in environmental journalism as a career;
• Proven communication skills;
• 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 (1-2 pages maximum)

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

• One writing sample in a journalistic style (published or unpublished) that reflects your best work and skills (preferably a piece related to conservation or the environment). 

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 as they come in, so please submit your entry as early as possible.

For inquiries about the English-language fellowship program at the Mongabay Global Bureau, please contact Karen Coates at karen@mongabay.com. For the Spanish-language fellowship program at the Mongabay Latam Bureau, please contact Dora Montero at dora@mongabay.com. Please check back soon for further information about our other emerging fellowship programs.