Rainforest Investigations Network Welcomes 2nd Cohort of Fellows

The Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN) is pleased to announce its second cohort of Fellows. 

For a second year, the Pulitzer Center is awarding full-year investigative Fellowships to experienced reporters in tropical regions around the world who will collaborate with colleagues based in large newsrooms in the U.S. and Europe to expand the reach and scope of investigations on underreported rainforest issues.

For 2022, the initiative has expanded to 19 Fellows from 12 countries. Their investigative projects range from illegal activities by armed groups in the Amazon to major supply chains that connect deforestation to global markets. (See the names and affiliations of all 2022 RIN Fellows below.)

“Our goals are to facilitate the exchange of information and seek opportunities to produce landmark investigations,” said the Pulitzer Center´s executive editor, Marina Walker Guevara. “The 2022 Fellows bring a breadth of innovative approaches and expertise to this urgent, global story.”

RIN Fellows are supported by a team of editors that provide advice and mentorship on issues such as data mining, storytelling, and partnerships to expand the impact of the stories. 

The initiative is led by Environment Investigations Editor Gustavo Faleiros, with the support of RIN Editorial Coordinator Jelter Meers and Data Editor Kuek Ser Kuang Keng.

In their first year of activities, RIN Fellows published 76 original stories in multiple languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, bahasa Indonesia, and English, in outlets ranging from The New York Times, NBC, and El País to TEMPO (Indonesia), El CLIP (Colombia), and InfoCongo.  

The investigations exposed violations committed by the beef, leather, palm oil, and nickel and gold mining supply chains. Fellows also explored the underbelly of timber trafficking, corruption behind land grabbing, and misguided policies to encourage food production at the expense of rainforests. Click here to learn more about the stories and their impacts.

The Network is funded by Norway´s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) and works alongside other environmental programs at the Pulitzer Center, such as the Rainforest Journalism Fund (RJF).

FELLOWS 2022

Global outlets Fellows

- Andrew Lehren (NBC News — U.S.)

- Elisângela Mendonça (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism — U.K.)

- Jessica Brice (Bloomberg — Brazil)

- Sasha Chavkin (NBC News — U.S.)

Amazon region Fellows

- Andrés Bermúdez Liévano (El Clip — Colombia)

- Bram Ebus (La Liga Contra El Silencio — Colombia)

- Fernanda Wenzel (The Intercept Brasil — Brazil)

- Hyury Potter (Repórter Brasil — Brazil)

- Joseph Poliszuk (Armando.info — Venezuela)

- María Ramírez (Armando.info — Venezuela)

- Ivan Brehaut (La Mula — Peru)

Congo Basin Fellows

- Mukulu Vulotwa Hervé (La Voix de l'Université Catholique du Graben — DRC)

- Josiane Kouagheu (Le Monde — Cameroon)

- Madeleine Ngeunga (InfoCongo — Cameroon)

- Protus Onyango (Standard Group — Kenya)

Southeast Asia region Fellows

- Anton Delgado (SE Asia Globe — Cambodia)

- Erwan Hermawan (Tempo — Indonesia)

- Gerald Flynn (Mongabay — Cambodia)

- Yao-Hua Law (Macaranga — Malaysia)