Several alumni of the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) have recently won prestigious international awards – highlighting the effectiveness of targeted early-career support in generating long-term conservation impact.
CLP’s mission is to build the next generation of conservationists around the world capable of overcoming major threats to nature. We do this by directing project funding, specialised training and ongoing professional development support to dedicated, locally-embedded leaders working to conserve some of the world’s most threatened species and habitats.
Many of our alumni go on to achieve outstanding impact that is not only locally evident but also globally significant. Their successes are perhaps most clearly exemplified by the prestigious international awards that many receive for outstanding contributions to biodiversity conservation.
Here, we take a look at some of the most recent awards arising from our global alumni network.
Iroro Tanshi: The 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize
Iroro Tanshi is a Nigerian bat ecologist and the co-executive founder of Small Mammals Conservation Organization (SMACON), a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting small mammals and their habitats through research and evidence-based conservation.
Iroro is one of six winners of the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize, otherwise known as the “Green Nobel”, which each year recognises grassroots environmental champions for significant efforts to protect and restore the natural environment. The award honours Iroro’s incredible work protecting one of the rarest bats in the world, the short-tailed roundleaf bat, through the creation of a community-led Wildfire Prevention and Response System.
If that wasn’t enough, in May 2026, Iroro was named as one of the two winners of the 2026 National Geographic Buffett Award for Global Conservation Leadership and is now a National Geographic Explorer.
CLP alumna, Iroro Tanshi, is a Nigerian conservation ecologist and winner of the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa © Etinosa Yvonne for Goldman
Iroro and her team at SMACON rediscovered the short-tailed roundleaf bat at the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Nigeria, in 2016 (the first record in the country in 45 years). But they soon discovered the bat was threatened by cave disturbance and habitat destruction by wildfires. Iroro subsequently gained support from several international organisations, including CLP, to protect these bats and their roosting caves, restore forest ecosystems, and involve local communities in conservation efforts.
Her 2020 CLP project specifically focused on the threat of cave disturbance, leading to local community support and an implementable plan to protect local livelihoods and intensify cave protection efforts. The project also led to the discovery and ongoing protection of three previously unidentified cave roosts for the species in Nigeria.
Gaby Ochoa: The Explorers Club 50
Gabriela (Gaby) Ochoa is a marine biologist and shark conservationist who integrates science, policy, and community engagement to shift perceptions of sharks and promote sustainable fishing practices along Honduras’ coast. She is the founder and director of ilili Honduras, a non-profit dedicated to shark and ray conservation.
Earlier this year, Gabriela was selected as one of 50 people worldwide named on The Explorers Club 50 – a list of “fifty extraordinary people who are doing remarkable work to promote science and exploration” with the 2026 cohort “representing the cutting edge of conservation, field science, and research”.
Supported by CLP in 2019 and 2023, Gaby pioneered shark and ray research in Honduras and successfully fostered sustainable, community-driven marine conservation in the Moskitia region.
Gaby deploying an underwater camera © Patric Lengacher
In particular, with CLP support, Gaby and her team established critical baseline data for shark and ray species, which was essential for evaluating the effectiveness of the country’s 2011 shark sanctuary declaration. Her team also collaborated with local fishers to promote sustainable fishing practices, and their education, outreach, and research programmes empowered Honduran coastal communities to become stewards of their own marine resources.
Seidu Issah and Parveen Shaikh: 2026 Whitley Awards
Issah Seidu and Parveen Shaikh join multiple CLP alumni who have received Whitley Awards over the years. Issah and Parveen were recognised among the six prestigious awards presented by the Whitley Fund for Nature this year. Selected from hundreds of applications worldwide, the winners receive £50,000 in project funding, media training, and international recognition to protect endangered species and habitats while supporting local communities.
CLP staff Kate Tointon and Eleanor Glass were delighted to have the opportunity to congratulate Issah and Parveen in person, at a Whitley NGO networking event in London © Eleanor Glass
Issah Seidu: Issah’s 2022 CLP project in Ghana contributed to the conservation of guitarfish species and created alternative livelihood support to rural fishing communities. He helped to fill knowledge gaps on fisheries hotspots and areas needing critical conservation work, and provided data to support the CITES listing of three guitarfish species on Appendix II. His 2026 Whitley Award will scale up this work by mapping critical habitats of four guitarfish species to establish the country’s first locally managed marine area.
Issah Seidu interviewing a fisher as part of his 2022 CLP project on the conservation of guitarfishes in Ghana © Isaac Asefua
Parveen Shaikh: Through Parveen’s two CLP awards in 2016 and 2021, she established a successful community-based conservation programme in the National Chambal Sanctuary to prevent the rapid population decline of riverine birds like the Indian skimmer. Her 2026 Whitley Award will expand this programme to include other key sites, build artificial nesting platforms, and increase stakeholder engagement.
Watch the video below to learn more about Parveen’s 2021 CLP project and the Indian skimmers she will be protecting through her 2026 Whitley Award:
CLP is delighted that the dedication, leadership, and innovation of our alumni are consistently attracting both international recognition and further support through these prestigious awards. It is tangible validation that the support CLP offers emerging leaders really works: equipping them with the skills and resources they need to lead extraordinary efforts to protect nature, both in the short- and long-term.
Get in touch: If you want to get involved in supporting our efforts to build exceptional conservation leaders like Iroro, Gaby, Issah and Parveen, write to us at clp@birdlife.org.