A team of Central American journalists has been awarded our 2026 Historias Sin Fronteras reporting grant for a cross-border project that will explore how vulnerable coastal communities are transforming a threatened ecosystem into a source of resilience with a tangible strategy for climate adaptation, ecological conservation, and economic survival.

Against the backdrop of recent extreme weather events associated with La Niña, mangroves constitute critical natural infrastructure but they are under severe environmental threat. This project will illustrate how beekeeping in mangrove ecosystems can generate stable income and provide a solution that demonstrates that climate resilience is not only necessary, but it can also be both viable and profitable.

The journalists will travel to communities along the Central American coast to interview community residents and capture compelling images and gather information for interactive infographics for this multimedia project. Historias Sin Fronteras will publish the project in the summer of 2026.

Historias Sin Fronteras received 21 outstanding proposals from cross-border teams of journalists throughout Latin America in response to our call for proposals for projects on science and ancestral knowledge in the conservation of biodiversity.

In selecting the proposal by the Central American team, the judges said, ““We received several proposals related to bees and honey production, but this one truly stands out for its focus on the connection between beekeeping and mangrove conservation. We thought the idea of ​​creating an interactive map that displays mangrove loss alongside areas where apiaries are fostering their regeneration was brilliant.”

Our 2026 grant is funded with the generous support of individual donors who are committed to helping Latin American journalists conduct in-depth reporting on climate and environment in the Western Hemisphere.

InquireFirst awarded the grant to: 

Jorge Rodríguez, a Guatemalan environmental journalist who is the founder of the online magazine Revista Viatori. His work has been published by National Geographic, El País, Mongabay Latam, Living Bird and Audubon Magazine. He was selected by the Pulitzer Center to produce stories about the ocean and has been a recipient of the Logan Science Fellowship.

Michelle Soto, a Costa Rican environmental journalist with more than 20 years of experience. She is the editor of Ojo al Clima, coordinator of the Periodistas por el Planeta project and a correspondent for Mongabay Latam.

Iván Carrillo, the co-founder of Historias Sin Fronteras, will serve as project editor. He is a journalist, documentary maker and producer specializing in science, the environment and the oceans, with over twenty years of experience across the Ibero-American media landscape. He has published and produced work for media outlets such as National Geographic, KnowableMagazine, CNN en Español, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Expansión, NCC Iberoamericano and El Universal. 

His work has received international recognition, including the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awardfor Excellence in Science Communication 2025,awarded by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine—one of the most prestigious honors in the field of science communication.

A team of journalists in Peru, Colombia, Argentina and Chile has published a sweeping a cross-border project on the impact of climate change on the Inca Trail with the support of a Historias Sin Fronteras reporting grant.

The Qhapaq Ñan, as the Inca Trail is known in the Quechua language, is an extensive road network of almost 19,000 miles constructed by the Incas through some of the world’s most extreme geographical terrains.  The Inca Trail spans six South American countries through the snow-capped peaks of the Andes to the coast, running through tropical rainforests, fertile valleys and harsh deserts.

Four journalists who teamed with four photojournalists followed the road that connects their story to Indigenous communities in South American countries as they reported on ways that people are confronting the challenges of climate change as they struggle to preserve their ancestral heritage.

Historias Sin Fronteras reporting grants supported the work of 14 journalists from seven countries – Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and the United States – on the project.  Reporters, photojournalists, editors, infographics designers, a website developer and translators (who translated the project from Spanish to English and Portuguese) spent months on this comprehensive investigation of the impact of climate change on the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The project was published in November 2025 and has been published by media organizations in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and the United States. It can be read in its entirety here

In selecting the proposal by the South American team as the recipient of a Historias Sin Fronteras grant, the international panel of judges noted the project “takes readers on a journey down this road to learn about the climate resiliency projects that are happening in each country.”

“This project pitch embodies not only the spirit of the call for proposals, but of Historias Sin Fronteras,” the judges wrote. “You could not do this story without a multi, cross-border collaboration. It blends Latin American/Incan history and the current climate challenges well.”

The grant was funded with the generous support of individual donors who believe in the importance of climate and environment reporting by Latin American journalists.

InquireFirst awarded the grant to:

Oscar Bermeo Ocaña, an environmental journalist based in Peru, who has written for the environmental news site Mongabay Latam since 2019. He has reported on biodiversity and conservation projects, deforestation, and social problems created by climate change.

Oscar was a Climate Tracker fellow and he has participated in climate mentoring programs, where he wrote about the need for an energy transition in Peru. In 2024, he was a climate research fellow with the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) and CONNECTAS, where he explored the challenges of ecosystem restoration in Peru.

Clara Ferrer Puccio, an Argentine journalist who has worked for media outlets such as La Voz del Interior, the largest news organization in the country’s interior, and Climate Tracker International.

In 2022, Clara was selected for Climate Tracker’s Media Fellowship. During the program, she conducted three investigations into the impact of climate change in Argentina.

She has reported on the complex relationships between environment and society, conducting investigations and reporting on subjects such as wildlife trafficking, access to drinking water, forest fires, pollution and climate negotiations.

Simón Zapata, a Colombian journalist with a background in community journalism that has allowed him to tell stories from the ground up and highlight environmental struggles, human rights violations, and the resistance of grassroots communities. Through El Cuarto Mosquetero, an alternative media outlet, Simón has conducted investigative reporting on the environmental impacts of extractive projects, water conflicts, and environmental crimes in the Amazon rainforest, as well as social initiatives for environmental conservation.

He was a finalist for the Historias con Propósito award for his special report on the impact of small hydroelectric plants in Antioquia, in the Andes in northwest Colombia.   He currently coordinates an hour-long live broadcast focusing on the environment and is leading an investigation with the support of a CONNECTAS grant on the public health impacts of mercury use in gold mining in the Guainía region of Colombia.

Natalie Gilbert, a Chilean journalist who co-founded the digital media outlet Proyectoaurora.cl, which focuses on the environment, human rights and Indigenous people.

She is also in charge of communications at the Mapuche Association Ad Kimvn and co-host of the podcast “Old Age Behind Bars: Older Women Sentenced Under Drug Law in Chile.”

Iván Carrillo, a science writer and editor based in Spain and co-founder of Historias Sin Fronteras, was the project editor. Iván is a 2025 recipient of the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Award for Excellence in Science Communications. He is a contributor to National Geographic and the Latin American editions of Newsweek and has collaborated with the Discovery Channel and CNN en Español. In 2016-2017, he was the recipient of a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT.

A team of journalists in Ecuador and Peru has been awarded a Historias Sin Fronteras reporting grant for a cross-border project on efforts by small farming communities to preserve almost 5 million acres of land along the Peruvian-Ecuadorian border that is the sixth-largest area in the world in plant species and home to hundreds of endangered species.

InquireFirst, in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Department of Science Education, awarded the grant to:

Jonathan Palma, a journalist with the investigative unit of Diario EXPRESO in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where he specializes in data and investigation. He also covers politics for the daily newspaper and is a member of the CONNECTAS Hub.

Jonathan’s work focuses on reporting on irregularities in public procurement, public administration, citizen security and prisons, as well as on the environment. His reports have been published by Mongabay Latam, Diálogo Chino, El Espectador and El Nuevo Herald, among others.

One of his most notable environmental investigative projects focused on a Galapagos Islands turtle trafficking organization.

Leslie Moreno Custodio, a Peruvian journalist, photographer and videographer. Leslie covers social justice, environment, identity and health. Her audiovisual work explores subjects from a documentary perspective. She is a member of the Association of Photojournalists of Peru and CONNECTAS Hub.

Leslie has worked as an investigative journalist and photographer at Peruvian media organizations IDL-Reporteros and Ojo Público, where she was on a team whose work was selected as a Finalist for a United Nations global award in the StoryTeller category (2019), and that was singled out for honorable mention for the Inter-American Press Association’s (2018) Journalistic Excellence Award.

Her work has been published in national and international media such as El País, Diálogo Chino, Internazionale and Salud con Lupa, among others.

In response to our call for proposals for projects focused on the conservation of biodiversity, Historias Sin Fronteras received outstanding responses from journalists throughout Latin America.

In selecting the proposal submitted by Jonathan and Leslie, which focuses on efforts by small farming communities in the Ecuador-Peru border region to establish conservation standards to protect species in both countries, the judges noted the project tells an important story that the world is unaware of.

In making their decision, the judges wrote, “We’re really excited about this truly cross-border story! We think the focus on local conservations efforts – including communities that are not often covered in the media – will make for a really impactful package.”

The project will be published in January 2024.

Iván Carrillo, a Mexico-based science editor and writer and co-founder of Historias Sin Fronteras, will serve as project editor. Carrillo is part of the 2016-2017 generation of the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT. He is a contributor to National Geographic and the Latin American editions of Newsweek and has collaborated with the Discovery Channel and CNN en Español.

By supporting this regional initiative, InquireFirst and HHMI’s Department of Science Education aim to convene, inspire and encourage the work of science writers in Latin America.