Six women receive 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize recognition

Six women from around the world have been awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for their efforts to combat climate change and protect biodiversity.

The winners, representing six primary regions, are Iroro Tanshi from Nigeria, Borim Kim from South Korea, Sarah Finch from the UK, Theonila Roka Matbob from Papua New Guinea, Alannah Acaq Hurley from the US, and Yuvelis Morales Blanco from Colombia. Each recipient will receive $200,000 in prize money.

The Goldman Environmental Prize is considered a “Green Nobel” and recognizes grassroots environmental activists who have made significant contributions to protecting the environment. The winners were chosen from each of the world’s six primary regions.

According to John Goldman, vice president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, the 2026 Prize winners demonstrate that courage, hard work, and hope can lead to meaningful progress in fighting climate change and implementing lifesaving policies.

Yuvelis Morales Blanco, the winner for South and Central America, has been a vocal advocate against commercial fracking in Colombia. She grew up in a family of fishermen along the Magdalena River and began organizing protests after a major oil spill in 2018, which forced the relocation of dozens of local families and killed thousands of animals.

Borim Kim, the winner for Asia, started the Youth 4 Climate Action organization and won a ruling from South Korea’s Constitutional Court that the government’s climate policy violated the constitutional rights of future generations. Sarah Finch, Europe’s winner, plans to use her prize money to continue fighting against fossil fuels.

Theonila Roka Matbob, the winner for Islands and Island Nations, led a successful campaign to address environmental and social devastation caused by Rio Tinto’s Panguna copper mine in Papua New Guinea. Alannah Acaq Hurley, the award recipient for North America, successfully fought alongside 15 tribal nations to stop a mega-copper and gold mining project that threatened ecosystems in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region.

Iroro Tanshi, Africa’s winner, has been working to save the endangered short-tailed roundleaf bat and its refuge, the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, from human-induced wildfires.

Source: Al Jazeera