The Rainforest Journalism Fund (RJF), launched in September 2018, represents a major investment in international environmental and climate reporting. Through the Pulitzer Center, the RJF will support nearly 200 original reporting projects over five years, along with annual regional conferences designed to raise the level of reporting on global tropical rainforest issues like deforestation and climate change–leading to stories that make a difference. The RJF will support and build capacity for local and regional reporters based in the Amazon Basin, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia, as well as international reporters working in those regions. The RJF is supported by the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI). For more information about the RJF, please see our announcement and update.
To apply for a Rainforest Journalism Fund reporting grant, please visit the RJF Grants page.
Applications for regional projects are independently reviewed by Advisory Committees, composed of experienced journalists, and are expected to propose projects related to tropical rainforests in each region.
To learn more about RJF's three focus regions and Advisory Committees and view the regional reporting projects supported by the Rainforest Journalism Fund, please visit the following pages:
For more information about international RJF projects, please visit the International RJF page.
To see the stories and projects supported by the RJF and also by the Rockefeller Foundation, Omidyar Network, MacArthur Foundation, and individual donors, please see the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforests Issue Page.
The Congo Basin is home to the world’s second-largest rainforest and a unique array of biodiversity. But the ecosystem's remote location cannot protect it from the threat of poaching.
Once known as Brazzaville's bread basket, Congo's Pool department can no longer boast this title. Decades of conflict have resulted in local populations turning to charcoal and wood markets over agriculture.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is home to a large part of the Congo Basin rainforest, a habitat for countless species and a crucial absorber of atmospheric carbon dioxide. But illegal and uncontrolled logging represent major threats to this critical ecosystem.
Filmmaker Tom Laffay, whose short film “Siona: Amazon’s Defender’s Under Threat” recently premiered on The New Yorker, gives a behind-the-scenes look at his long-term film project with the Siona people of Putumayo.
A project called the "grain train," with its planned trajectory through the Brazilian Amazon, divides Indigenous groups and those who support rural development.
An ambitious infrastructure project in the Brazil is increasingly opposed the closer it gets to the heart of the Amazon—an area that has been defended by Indigenous communities for years.
The Brazilian city Sinop embodies the aspirations of a prosperous Amazonian agro-industry — especially now, with the prospect of a railroad that will help send exports to China.
The movement led by Chico Mendes in the 1980s has seen a resurgence in the face of government attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Soy and agriculture have helped a small city in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso prosper economically—to the point that the per capita income is 40% higher than the national average.
The territory of the Colombia's Indigenous Siona people has been caught up in armed conflict for decades; now the group is balancing the needs for demining efforts and for isolation.
The overuse of pesticides poses serious socio-environmental threats. But in Pará, disinformation threatens efforts to control their use.
Four species of endangered primates are endemic to the Mentawai Islands. Their last refuge is Siberut National Park.
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