Asia 2021 Goldman Prize Recipient
Thai Van Nguyen founded Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, which rescued 1,540 pangolins from the illegal wildlife trade between 2014 and 2020, and he established Vietnam’s first anti-poaching unit, which, since 2018, has destroyed 9,701 animal traps and dismantled 775 illegal camps.
Europe 2019 Goldman Prize Recipient
Ana Colovic Lesoska led a seven-year campaign to cut off international funding for two large hydropower plants planned for inside Mavrovo National Park—North Macedonia’s oldest and largest national park—thereby protecting the habitat of the nearly-extinct Balkan lynx.
Asia 2019 Goldman Prize Recipient
Bayarjargal Agvaantseren helped create the 1.8 million-acre Tost Tosonbumba Nature Reserve in the South Gobi Desert—a critical habitat for the vulnerable snow leopard—in April 2016, then succeeded in persuading the Mongolian government to cancel all mining licenses within the reserve.
Africa 2017 Goldman Prize Recipient
Putting his life on the line, Rodrigue Katembo went undercover to document and release information about bribery and corruption in the quest to drill for oil in Virunga National Park, resulting in public outrage that forced the company to withdraw from the project.
Africa 2011 Goldman Prize Recipient
Raoul du Toit coordinated conservation initiatives that have helped develop and maintain the largest remaining black rhino populations in Zimbabwe.
Asia 2010 Goldman Prize Recipient
Tuy Sereivathana introduced innovative low-cost solutions to mitigate human-elephant conflict in Cambodia, empowering local communities to cooperatively participate in endangered Asian elephant conservation.
South and Central America 2010 Goldman Prize Recipient
Drawing international attention to the inhumane and environmentally catastrophic shark finning industry, Randall Arauz led the campaign to halt the practice in Costa Rica, making his country an international model for shark protection.
Africa 2007 Goldman Prize Recipient
In an area where illegal wildlife poaching decimated the wild elephant population and left villagers living in extreme poverty, Hammer Simwinga created an innovative program that successfully restored wildlife and transformed the poverty-stricken area.
Africa 2005 Goldman Prize Recipient
As chief botanist of the Okapi Faunal Reserve, Corneille Ewango stayed during the civil war to protect the reserve’s rare animals and plants and confronted military commanders to stop poaching.
Africa 2001 Goldman Prize Recipient
A conservationist, Eugène Rutagarama risked his life to save 355 of the world’s last 650 mountain gorillas that were threatened by Rwanda’s war and massacres in the 1990s. He helped rebuild the national parks system and protect gorilla habitat.
Europe 1998 Goldman Prize Recipient
Anna Giordano launched a campaign to save raptors being illegally shot for sport in her native Sicily. Despite violent threats and the firebombing of her car, Giordano’s efforts significantly reduced the number of birds killed.
Africa 1993 Goldman Prize Recipient
Garth Owen-Smith and Margaret Jacobsohn pioneered a natural resource management program that links Namibian wildlife conservation to sustainable rural development, and has since become a model for wildlife conservation throughout Africa.
North America 1991 Goldman Prize Recipient
Samuel LaBudde's films documenting the slaughter of dolphins by tuna fishing boats and the destruction of marine life by driftnet fleets led to dolphin-safe tuna and a UN ban on driftnets.
Africa 1990 Goldman Prize Recipient
Kenya’s “Rhino Man” walked thousands of miles in East Africa, Europe and North America to raise public awareness and money for the endangered black rhinoceros.
Africa 1997 Goldman Prize Recipient
Using sparse resources, Nick Carter brought together six African countries to create the world’s first multinational enforcement body to fight rampant illegal wildlife trafficking.
Africa 1996 Goldman Prize Recipient
The only journalist in Uganda reporting on environmental issues at the time, Ndyakira Amooti exposed abuses at great risk, including illegal mining and wildlife smuggling in East Africa, which led to the creation of several national parks.