Introduction to Iroro Tanshi's Achievement
A Nigerian scientist's personal encounter with a wildfire and its threat to endangered bats she had discovered just days earlier has earned her the prestigious global Goldman Environmental Prize.
Iroro Tanshi found the short-tailed roundleaf bat in the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary located in south-eastern Nigeria. She expressed that seeing this bat species for the first time in nearly 50 years should have been major news.
However, she highlighted a pressing issue: wildfires were a serious threat to the bats and their habitat.
Wildfires and Community Campaign
In Nigeria, bats are often linked to witchcraft, which complicates conservation efforts. Despite this, Tanshi successfully initiated a community-led campaign aimed at protecting bats by preventing wildfires in their habitats.
"It's really the question of: 'How do we convince people to protect the habitat?' In our case, it was because the wildfire problem was also a community problem - that was the hook."
Tanshi, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington in the United States focusing on bats, identified human-induced wildfires as a significant threat to the endangered short-tailed roundleaf bats.
She recounted to the BBC Focus on Africa podcast that the fire prompting her campaign was suspected to have been started by a farmer clearing land near the forest.
"That fire burned for about three weeks until the rain came. There was nothing people could do - we just kept watching it every day," she said, adding that local people collaborate with them because they also want to address wildfire problems on their farms.
Impact of Fire Prevention Efforts
Tanshi and her community fire brigades have successfully prevented major wildfires from occurring in and around the 24,700-acre Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary between 2022 and May 2025, according to the Goldman Environmental Prize organization.
The campaign not only educates local residents about wildfire prevention but also raises awareness about the ecological importance of bats.
Changing Perceptions of Bats
In Nigeria, bats are commonly feared and associated with witchcraft. To counter this, Tanshi and her team engage the community through various media channels, with a special focus on educating children.
"We don't shy away from those conversations," Tanshi explained, emphasizing bats' roles in ecosystems such as seed dispersal and plant pollination.
She elaborated on the ecological benefits of bats by citing the example of shea butter production.
"Your shea butter that a lot of people use - either raw or in cosmetic products around the world - is because of bats, which disperse the seeds of the tree," she said.
"So essentially, you come to see that they play so many critical roles, it's almost impossible to ignore them."
Recognition and Significance of the Award
Tanshi described receiving the award as an incredible honor.
"There are very few things in this world that signal to you that the work that you're doing has global relevance than things like this."
She is one of six recipients of the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize. Notably, for the first time in the award's 37-year history, all winners are female.
Additional Information
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