Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) has launched a two-year project to boost media coverage of illegal wildlife trafficking in and through Europe.

With funding from the Oak Foundation, EJN will collaborate with investigative journalists to expose wildlife trade and report on potentially scalable solutions.

“Media coverage of illicit wildlife trade tends to focus on tropical countries as sources of wildlife and Asian countries as markets, particularly for wildlife parts used in traditional medicines,” says James Fahn, EJN’s executive director. “But Europe is also both a conduit and market for illegally traded wildlife, as well as a source of products that are smuggled to markets further East.”

By working with journalist across Europe, EJN aims to shed light on these little-told aspects of the story. The project will bring journalists together to promote collaboration and strengthen knowledge and skills.

“EJN will form partnerships with investigative reporters, supporting them with resources, contacts, insights and tools as they research and report their stories,” says Fahn. “We also plan to work with existing partners to dive deep into key datasets to identify trends and patterns that can inform the journalists’ reporting.”