The Biodiversity Reporting Award (BDRA) contest is an annual environmental journalism competition administered by Conservation International's Global Communications Division, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ) and the Biodiversity Foundation (Fundación Biodiversidad, or FB) founded by Spain's Environment Ministry.
Over eight years, the contest has grown from judging 42 entries from two countries to almost 600 entries per year from nine countries – soon to become 14 – from Latin America to Africa and Eurasia.
ICFJ and IFEJ, as respected and independent journalistic institutions, guarantee the contest's prestige and judging credibility with the international media. Fundación Biodiversidad sponsors Latin American awards as part of its mission to promote the conservation of biodiversity there. Additional sponsors support awards in specific countries and regions: the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund in the Caucasus region; the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Mexico’s Gulf of California region, and the Mata Atlantica Foundation (Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica) in Brazil.
Achievements
2007 – New prizes are awarded in Belize and the Caucasus region, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and part of Russia, bringing the awards to a total of 13 contests in 14 countries.
2006 – Adding two prizes in Mexico, the award includes nine countries and 12 categories with a participation of 588 printed articles written by 363 journalists representing 148 media outlets. The eight Latin American winners travel to Madrid to attend the Eighth Environmental National Congress of Spain.
2005 - Financing from FB expands the BDRA to Ecuador and Venezuela. The award program now comprises eight national awards for written press, and one television award for Brazil. The Regional Andean Award is celebrated for the first time, honoring the best two reports from the Andean region. During 2005, 212 journalists, representing 107 media, sent 376 written stories and 33 television reports.
2004 - Madagascar replaces Ghana and the contest is held in six countries. Entries come from 109 print journalists, representing 72 media outlets, who participate in the award with 186 stories. Brazil launches a new category, Television, and receives 22 stories from 17 journalists from 11 television programs. Seven winners travel to Bangkok, Thailand, to take part of the III IUCN World Conservation Congress.
2003 – The contest continues with a pilot project of awards in Peru and Bolivia for radio, with 18 participants in both countries. Six top BDRA winners, selected from a total of 125 journalists, participate in the XIII SEJ Conference in New Orleans, USA.
2002 - Peru replaces Guatemala in this fourth annual contest. One hundred fifteen journalists enter 222 articles. Six winners travel to Baltimore, Maryland, USA, to attend the XII Annual Conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists of the US (SEJ).
2001 - The competition expands to three additional countries: Bolivia, Brazil and the first African country, Ghana. From 88 participants, six winners are chosen who went on to attend the X IFEJ Conference in Germany.
2000 - The BDRA is expanded to include Colombia. Thirty-five journalists, from 17 media houses, enter 85 stories. Winners Jorge Jimenez, Miranda la Rose and Zilia Castrillón go to Cairo, Egypt, to participate in the IX IFEJ Conference.
1999 - The BDRA is launched as a pilot project in Guatemala and Guyana, where they attract a total of 42 entries.
As a result of eight years of competition, this website offers more than 2.500 stories written by over 800 journalists, representing a great expression of what has been published in the media in these biodiversity-rich countries.
The BDRA has consolidated itself as a powerful tool capable of encouraging the coverage of environmental and biodiversity issues and useful for building local and international alliances. By giving journalists professional incentives to pursue environmental stories, they in turn have taken steps to lobby for more space for environmental coverage in their local media.
Furthermore, the in-country Award ceremonies themselves have increasingly become high-profile events that acknowledge not only the work of the journalists, but also the commitment of the media outlets. By inviting key government and private sector representatives, the award is steadily getting the buy-in of editors and publishers.
