Former RIN Fellow Wins Award for Reporting on Environmental Crimes

Linda Ngari, a Pulitzer Center 2024 Rainforest Investigations Fellow, was recognized at the Annual Media Excellence Awards in Kenya for her reporting project How Corruption in Congo Undermines Global Climate Goals, a cross-border investigation into the carbon credit market and financial aspects of environmental crimes in DRC. It followed the money trail to identify beneficiaries and financiers.

The investigation draws on satellite imagery from platforms like Google Earth, Sentinel Hub, and Planet Labs to monitor deforestation and land use changes, alongside publicly available documents, reports, and databases from organizations including Global Forest Watch, the World Resources Institute, and local environmental NGOs. Social media accounts tied to environmental activism in the DRC, Indigenous communities, and local news sources also informed the reporting.

“Investigating the carbon credits market in the DRC was a major learning experience. This work was made possible by editors from the Pulitzer Center and Africa Uncensored, who helped turn a complex issue into a comprehensive and accessible story about people in power and Indigenous communities who often bear the greatest cost,” Ngari said upon accepting her award.

Read the full project.