Past recipients have used this platform to become globally recognised voices in their fields. For example, Dr Hayley Clements’ research on the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa revealed that much of the continent’s biodiversity persists outside formally protected areas, highlighting the conservation value of broader landscapes. Dr Bernard Coetzee’s research demonstrated for the first time that artificial light reduces the biting propensity of Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestes mosquitoes, the main malaria vectors in Africa. And Dr Gideon Idowu’s research identified alarmingly high concentrations of microplastics in the Osun River, up to 22,079 particles per litre of water. These concentrations exceed those reported in 267 global studies of microplastics in river water conducted since 1994.

This year’s shortlist of five research finalists shares a common ambition: to move environmental science from reaction to prediction. Whether studying microbes hidden beneath desert soils, insects moving between flowers, plankton drifting through estuaries or trees standing deep within the Congo Basin, each project seeks early warning signs of ecological change before visible collapse occurs.

Collectively, these projects demonstrate both the breadth of scientific talent emerging across Africa and how investment in early-career researchers can advance the knowledge, partnerships and innovation needed to safeguard the continent’s environmental future.