The British High Commissioner, Ms. Catriona Laing CB, has commended Nigeria’s Iroro Tanshi, for emerging winner of the 2021 Whitley Awards, which celebrates champions of grassroots wildlife conservation.
She gave her congratulatory message during a virtual meeting with the winner on Friday.
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Tanshi is one of six winners who are proven to be a grassroots conservation leaders across the global south.
She won the award for her inspiring work to save the short-tailed roundleaf Bat from extinction, after discovering the first and only population in Nigeria.
The Whitley Awards, hosted by the Whitley Fund for Nature Fund annually and often referred to as “Green Oscars”, seek to recognise outstanding contributions to wildlife conservation with a focus on Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Speaking during the meeting, the British High Commissioner, Catriona Laing commended Tanshi on her work to save bats and assured her of the British High Commission’s support for conservationists in Nigeria.
In her response, Tanshi stated that she became interested in bats after attending a course in Uganda in 2010 and getting involved in field studies that expanded her knowledge of bats.
“With the support received from the WFN, I will put in place early warning systems and fire-fighting forces in local communities, to eliminate wildfires that destroy forest habitats, and also raise awareness on Bat conservation and the need for protection with the aim of reducing fruit Bat hunting by 50%. We will continue to work with communities and the next generation of conservationists with capacity building and training to ensure long-term success in Nigeria,” she said.
