Story Grants for Biodiversity Reporting in Western Balkans

• Eligibility Criteria: Applicants can be from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. Groups of journalists are eligible.
• Type of Funding: Grant
• Target Region: Western Balkans
• Application Language: English

The Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is offering reporting grants to journalists in the Western Balkans to support in-depth stories on biodiversity, its values, the threats it faces and conservation solutions. EJN expects to award up to 15 grants with an average budget of up to €1,200 each.

From karst mountain ranges holding one of the largest karst aquifer systems in the world to plentiful free-flowing rivers—home to 40% of Europe’s freshwater mussels and snails—the Western Balkans region is rich in unique flora and fauna. However, the region’s rare ecosystems are under strain from multiple direct and indirect threats.

Thematics

EJN ecourages story ideas that focus on:

• Links between biodiversity and either climate change or human health
• The progress of alignment (or lack thereof) between national nature policies and EU accession regulations and environmental directives
• Progress with implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans.
• The effectiveness of conservation measures, such as protected area management, species-specific interventions, ecosystem restoration and nature-based solutions.
• The tension between the transition to renewable energy and the need to conserve biodiversity
• Innovative, collaborative or community/locally led conservation initiatives
• Sustainable use of biodiversity.
• The benefits and challenges of biodiversity credits or biodiversity offsets.
• The use of technologies such as satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to track threats to biodiversity and monitor biodiversity protection measures.
• Threats to nature as well as solutions to such threats.

Eligibility

• Groups of journalists are eligible and we welcome stories that are involve cross-border collaboration or investigate angles. However, the application must be made in the name of one lead applicant. Lead applicants are responsible for communicating with EJN and receiving funds on the group’s behalf, if awarded.
• For the purposes of this grant opportunity, only applications in English will be accepted. Applicants must either have a working understanding of English or have a translator available to assist with communication with Internews staff.
• Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio) and other expert media practitioners with professional reporting experience.
• EJN welcomes applications from early-career journalists and experienced reporters with a track record of covering environmental and nature issues.
•  Freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations – international, national, local and community-based.
• Applicants are required to be transparent about the use of generative AI tools, if any, to revise their proposals.

Requirements

• EJN will issue grants in February 2026 with the expectation that all stories will be published by August 2026 at the latest.
• Safety: It encourages reporters to develop robust risk management plans for physical and digital security as well as mental health care when reporting so you do not endanger yourself or the people you’re interviewing.
• Language of publication: Stories can be produced in any language. However, applicants who intend to write or produce stories in their local language need to also include an English translation. Please include the cost for translation in the budget, if necessary.
• Generally, applications with smaller budgets will be more competitive, but we will consider larger grant amounts for stories using innovative, collaborative or investigative approaches that may be more resource-intensive and time-consuming.
• EJN expects that proposals will largely reflect what equipment the applicant already has access to.

How to apply

• Applicants must apply by creating their account or logging in to an existing account on the EJN platform.
• Applications should provide a detailed budget in an Excel spreadsheet with justification for the amount requested. The budget template can by downloaded using this link.
• All applicants are required to provide a signed letter of support from their editor, explicitly stating that the media outlet will publish the stories produced as a result of this grant.
• Applicants will also need to submit two samples of stories or links to relevant work.
• Applicants encountering difficulties with submitting the application or having questions about the grants can email info.ejn@internews.org.
• Applications must be submitted no later than February 19, 2026, 11:59 PM CET. 

For more information, please visit this page.