Billionaires, foundations, and philanthropists often make massive, headline-grabbing pledges for biodiversity conservation or climate change mitigation, but how effective are these donations? How do these huge sums get used, and how do we know? These questions are among the considerations that conservationists and environmental reporters should keep in mind, two guest experts on this episode say.

On this edition of the Mongabay Newscast, Holly Jonas, global coordinator of the ICCA Consortium, and Michael Kavate, staff writer at Inside Philanthropy, break down some of the more overlooked issues these giant gifts raise, and story angles that reporters should consider when covering philanthropy for the environment.

"I think what the public really needs is more critical and in-depth coverage of the ideologies and the approaches behind their kinds of philanthropy, the billionaire pledges and so on, how they're being rolled out in practice, where the funding's actually going," says Jonas.

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Image credit: Great Green Macaw in Las Balsas reserve. Photo credit: José León.

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Timecodes 

(00:00) Introduction

(01:55) Biggest trends in environmental philanthropy

(07:23) Follow the money, follow the power

(20:23) Tools and techniques for reporters

(24:09) Localization & accountability

(37:37) Funding transparency

(53:25) Project finance for permanence

(01:06:14) Western influence in philanthropy

(01:13:37) Credits