Filipina biologist to receive Midori Prize for biodiversity

A Filipina environmentalist was chosen to be one of the recipients of the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity 2026, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the AEON Environmental Foundation announced on Friday.

"For more than 25 years, Lisa Paguntalan-Marte has been at the forefront of biodiversity conservation in the Philippines. Her work has contributed to the rediscovery of species once thought to be extinct, the conservation of threatened wildlife, and the implementation of national biodiversity strategies on a local level," the statement said.

The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity was established by AEON Environmental Foundation during the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity and given to individuals working on biodiversity conservation.

A graduate of Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental Paguntalan-Marte is the executive director of Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc.

She has ventured into conservation right after taking BS Biology in 1996 and proceed to take a Master's degree which she finished in 2002.

She is known in Cebu for her work in the conservation of endemic bird species, the black shama or Siloy, Cebu flowerpecker, and the Cebu hawk owl, among others.

In 2018, a newly discovered mistletoe species was named after Paguntalan-Marte, according to an article published in the scientific journal Phytotaxa.

The other awardee is Alexandra Zimmermann from Germany, who is "internationally recognized for her leadership in advancing approaches to human-wildlife coexistence."

"Their work demonstrates the leadership, dedication and collaboration needed to advance the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and build a world living in harmony with nature."

The awarding ceremony will be held in Tokyo, Japan on August 27, 2026. — BAP, GMA News