21-04-2025
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
Winners of annual Goldman Environmental Prize to be honored in S.F.
The Goldman Prize, a prestigious annual environmental award, will be presented to seven winners at a ceremony in San Francisco on Monday afternoon.
This year's overseas winners come from Mongolia, the Canary Islands, Peru, Tunisia and Albania. Laurene Allen, the sole American winner, 'stepped up to protect thousands of families affected by contaminated drinking water' in her New England community, according to the Goldman Environmental Foundation, which awards the prize. Concerned about forever chemicals, Allen campaigned against a plastics plant that later closed, the foundation said.
The prize was first given in 1989, with funding from late San Francisco philanthropists Rhoda and Richard Goldman. Their goal was to honor ordinary people from around the world who did important work to ameliorate environmental problems. The winners are chosen by an international panel; environmental groups and individuals submit confidential nominations.
'It's been a tough year for both people and the planet,' Jennifer Goldman Wallis, vice president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, said in a statement. Still, she added, 'In these difficult times for environmental activists, these seven individuals serve as powerful reminders of what is possible through determination, resilience and hope.'
The winners worked on a diverse array of challenges. Batmunkh Luvsandash of Mongolia worked to protect a vast, 66,000-acre area that is home to Argali sheep and endangered Asiatic wild ass. Carlos Mallo Molina of the Canary Islands campaigned against a boat terminal — later canceled — that 'threatened a biodiverse 170,000-acre marine protected area,' according to the Goldman Environmental Foundation. Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari worked on river protections in Peru and helped win an important court decision.
Semia Gharbi of Tunisia focused on the export of household waste, and, Besjana Guri and Olsi Nika of Albania helped secure the creation of a national park that protects the area from prospective hydropower development.
