Nigerian ecologist wins Goldman Prize for community-led bat conservation

Nigerian ecologist Iroro Tanshi wins the Goldman Environmental Prize for leading a community-driven effort to protect endangered short-tailed roundleaf bats in Nigeria’s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary by preventing wildfires and reshaping local attitudes toward bats through education; the initiative has reduced wildfire risk from 2022 to May 2025, and Tanshi, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, highlights the global relevance of her work as all six 2026 prize laureates are female.