Photograph by Linh Pham, National Geographic
Media reporting on biodiversity loss often focuses on high-profile animals like elephants, rhinos and tigers. Less well known are the dramatic declines facing a range of other species, many of which play critical ecological roles and have profound importance for human economies, cultures and livelihoods. BAND funded National Geographic to report on some of these stories — including this award-winning piece on the illegal trade in the giant freshwater fish of the Mekong — through Wildlife Watch, its platform dedicated to covering wildlife exploitation.