In a ceremony organized within the International Summit on Journalism and the Environment that takes place this week in Kuching, Malaysia, the winners of the First Andean Prize, within the Biodiversity Reporting Award, promoted by Conservation International and the Biodiversity Foundation, were announced yesterday.

The journalist awarded the First Andean Prize was Juan Carlos Fernández, from Colombia, for the article “Esa Planta es mía”. The second Andean prize has been awarded to the Bolivian Alexander Ayala, for his report “Alert: unpunished wildlife trafficking”. The work of Juan Carlos Fernández, published in the newspaper El Espectador, deals with the improper use of the biodiversity of the tropics, while the tragic reality of the illegal trade in fauna and flora, is the subject of the article by Alexander Ayala, published in the Escape Magazine of the newspaper La Razón de La Paz.

During the ceremony, which was attended by Haroldo Castro, vice president of Conservation International, as well as representatives of the Malaysian government, the director of Communication and Awareness of the Biodiversity Foundation, Mónica Pérez de las Heras, explained to the attendees the work of this institution and the importance of environmental journalism as a tool to raise awareness in society.

The first and second Andean Prizes will be presented in Madrid in the first quarter of 2006, in a ceremony that will be attended by the Minister of the Environment, Cristina Narbona. Likewise, the “Biodiversity Reporting Awards in Spain” will be awarded at this event, promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation in the modalities of press, radio, television and online media.