TNC Caribbean Sponsors Two CBU Media Awards in Guyana
The 37th CBU Media Awards in Guyana continues our partnership with the Caribbean Broadcasting Union honoring outstanding environmental journalism.
Jamaican Lyons and Barbadian Jones repeat as Environmental Reporting Awardees
RJRGleaner Communications Group’s Romardo Lyons and Barbadian journalist Esther Jones have repeated as the Caribbean Broadcasting Union/Nature Conservancy winners in the two environmental reporting categories of the 2026 Caribbean Media Awards.
Excellence in Reporting—Coral Reefs
Award-winning environmental journalist Esther Jones earned the 2026 Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) Media Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting on Coral Reefs, sponsored by The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Caribbean Division. Jones was announced as the 2026 winner at the CBU’s Media Awards Gala in Guyana last week for her investigative story titled “Is Barbados Keeping Cruise Tourism and Marine Protection on an Even Keel?” The story was published by the Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network (CIJN) and produced through a fellowship with the Earth Journalism Network. In her story, Jones explores how Caribbean countries balance economic growth through tourism while protecting the coral reefs and marine habitats that sustain biodiversity and local livelihoods.
Jones copped this award for the first time last year in Barbados, at the time reporting for the Barbados Government Information Service on a story titled, “Our Fragments of Hope.”
A team from The BVI Beacon newspaper in the British Virgin Islands received a Special Mention in this category for their story “Caribbean Corals: Bleaching Ravages a Region Built on Reefs as Aid Falls Short.” The story was reported by Freeman Rogers, Jean-Michel Hauteville, Krista Campbell, Yaneris M. Soto Muniz, Suzanne Carlson, Sara Kirkpatrick and Noel Algarin. The story explored the growing impacts of coral bleaching across the Caribbean and the challenges facing reef conservation efforts amid limited financial resources.
Excellence in Reporting—Mangrove/Seagrass Beds
Romardo Lyons of RJRGleaner Group also repeated as the winner of the award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting on Mangrove/Seagrass, sponsored by The Nature Conservancy. Lyons led a team to produce the story titled, “The Vanishing Catch” to cop the 2026 award. The other members of the winning team are Courtney Morgan and Richard Brown, video, and Stefan Murray, editor.
Lyons also won this award in Barbados last year for a story titled, “Rocking the boat.”
Neil Marks (video) and Shatanand Anude (editor) of News Room Inc (Guyana) received a Special Mention in this category for their story, “Sweet Survival: How Guyana’s Mangrove Forests Save the Coastland & Sustain Livelihoods.” This feature story examines the role of mangrove forests in Guyana in protecting the coastline and sustaining livelihoods.
The awards were announced during the 37th Caribbean Broadcasting Union Media Awards in Guyana last week, where winners from print, digital and broadcast media across the English-, French-, Dutch- and Spanish-speaking Caribbean were recognized for excellence in journalism. The Nature Conservancy has partnered with the CBU since 2023 to sponsor the coral reef and mangrove/seagrass environmental reporting categories, supporting stories that bring awareness to the region’s most important marine ecosystems.
“By bringing attention to the opportunities and tradeoffs surrounding marine conservation, the winners of this year’s TNC-sponsored awards help elevate public understanding of why healthy coral reefs and mangroves are vital for both nature and people,” said Cleveland Sam, TNC’s Caribbean marketing director.
As Caribbean nations are confronted with coastal development and growing pressures on marine resources, environmental journalism brings the challenges of maintaining a balanced marine environment into focus while translating policy, science and local perspectives to inform communities.
The Nature Conservancy congratulates this year’s winners on their achievements and thanks them for their critical work to help protect the Caribbean’s marine ecosystems for generations to come.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more resilient. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 83 countries and territories (39 by direct conservation impact and 44 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. For more news, visit our newsroom or follow The Nature Conservancy on LinkedIn.