Bylines of the Biosphere.

• Position: Brief Article

THE THIRD ANNUAL Biodiversity Reporting Award will be presented this year to journalists from five countries of the Americas: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, and Guyana, and one African nation, Ghana. This environmental journalism contest, organized by Conservation International (CI), in partnership with the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ) and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), began in 1999 in Guatemala and Guyana and expanded last year to include Colombian journalists.

The goal is to encourage journalists to become more active in reporting biodiversity issues in their countries. "The contest recognizes the most outstanding environmental journalists in each of the participating nations," says Haroldo Castro, vice president for CI's international communications and founder of the award. "These professionals are raising public awareness and triggering debate over critical environmental issues, such as the loss of global biodiversity."

To provide a unique training opportunity for these professionals, the first-prize winners are invited to attend the World Congress of Environmental Journalists, organized by IFEJ. In 1999, two winners participated in the annual gathering held in Bogota, Colombia. In 2000, Zilia Castrillon Marquez from Colombia, Jorge Jimenez from Guatemala, and Miranda La Rose from Guyana took part in the Eighth World Congress in Egypt.

This year, the first-prize winners will travel to Germany, from September 30 to...