ISTANBUL

The 36th Goldman Prize Award Ceremony on Monday concluded with a livestream ceremony in San Francisco that honored grassroots environmental activists.

Prizes are awarded to environmental activists from six geographical regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America and South and Central America.

The African winner was Semia Gharbi from Tunisia. She spearheaded a campaign to combat a corrupt waste trafficking scheme between Italy and Tunisia, preventing Tunisian landfills from being filled with household garbage.

Her efforts also led to the EU strengthening regulations on waste shipments abroad.

The Asia winner was Batmunkh Luvsandash from Mongolia. He took action against the destructive effects of mining on wildlife and herder communities, resulting in the establishment of a 66,000-acre (26,709-hectare) protected area in Dornogovi province.

The European winners were Besjana Guri and Olsi Nika from Albania. They launched the "Save the Blue Heart of Europe" campaign to save Europe’s last unspoiled rivers. Their efforts led to the historic protection of the Vjosa River from additional hydropower development.

The Islands and Island Nations winner was Carlos Mallo Molina from the Canary Islands, after discovering the threat posed by the Fonsalia Port to the Canary Islands' marine life.

He led a global campaign that successfully led to the cancelation of a port project in October 2021.

The South and Central American winner was Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari from Peru. She took action against oil spills in the Maranon River, a crucial food source for the Kukama people, securing a landmark court ruling that granted the river legal protection under the rights of nature.

The North American winner was Laurene Allen from the US. She launched a campaign after finding out neighborhood water wells were contaminated with toxic "forever chemicals," commonly known as PFAS.

She pressured a plastics plant that was responsible for leaking the harmful chemicals into the community's water supply to announce its closure.

“Richard and Rhoda Goldman founded the Prize in 1989 as a way to celebrate those on the frontlines of conservation, environmental justice, and protecting our sacred planet,” said host and Bay Area environmental leader Rue Mapp.

Award recipients “have each worked incredibly hard to protect ecosystems and communities, they refused to sit down and passively watch environmental destruction but instead got busy” she added.

The Goldman Environmental Prize has been awarded annually since 1989 by the Goldman Environmental Foundation, established by San Francisco philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman.

Award winners are chosen by an international jury from candidates nominated by a worldwide network of environmental organizations and experts in the field.