Reuters Foundation and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are seeking submissions for their joint 2008 Environmental Media Awards.

These encourage excellence in environmental reporting worldwide and will reward the global winner with a cash prize worth US $ 5,000.

Journalists working in print and online media who have published environmental reports between 1 January 2007 and 10 June 2008 are eligible to submit one article each, accompanied by an entry form.

Entries can be in any language but, if not in English, French or Spanish, they must be accompanied by a translation. The deadline for submissions is 15 June 2008.

A winner will be selected in each of six regions:

• Latin America
• North America, including the Caribbean and Oceania
• Europe
• Asia, including the Middle East
• English-speaking Africa
• French-speaking Africa.

The six regional winners will be invited to attend a global awards ceremony in Barcelona, Spain, during the IUCN World Conservation Congress in October 2008.

"Environmental reporting is a crucial step towards a more sustainable future," commented IUCN's Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre at the launch of the awards in April. "Through this competition we are looking for examples of investigative and inspired reporting that helps both decision-makers and the public to conserve nature and contribute to human wellbeing."

Reuters Foundation Director Rosemary Martin reinforced this view: "Communicating the triumphs and tragedies of the unfolding story of man's ability to destroy or preserve his environment is perhaps the most important journalistic endeavour of our times. We want to honour those journalists around the world who are excelling in this work".

The COM+ Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development has joined Reuters Foundation and IUCN in co-funding the awards, as part of activities to raise global awareness of environmental and sustainable development issues. Past RF-IUCN Media Awards have drawn extensive entries from all around the world, reporting on a wide range of ecological situations and problems.

More information and application forms can be found on the Reuters Foundation website at: