By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
Environmental activist and Executive Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Environmental and Climate Justice at the 2026 Courageous Scientists Awards in recognition of his decades of advocacy for environmental protection and affected communities.
Bassey received the award on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, from the Forum for Eco-Social Transformations (FEST), a non-profit organisation based in Vienna, Austria. He was honoured alongside the late Honduran environmental and Indigenous rights activist, Berta Cáceres.
The Courageous Scientists Awards recognise scientist-activists who demonstrate exceptional courage in advocating publicly for environmental and climate justice.
In his acceptance remarks, Bassey described the recognition as both an honour and a reminder of the collective responsibility to advance environmental justice.
He said courageous, ethical and community-centred science was essential to protecting people, ecosystems and the planet, stressing the need to hold those responsible for environmental destruction accountable.
“Courage is required to stand on the truth and facts produced by science and lived experiences, working in community to tackle the systemic crisis for the benefit of people and planet,” he said.
Bassey also called for respect for the rights of communities affected by extractive activities, urging remediation and environmental restoration in areas damaged by what he described as colonial extraction and ecocide.
The award has attracted commendations from environmental organisations and advocates, who described the recognition as an affirmation of decades of grassroots activism and efforts to promote accountability for ecological damage.
The Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Akinbode Oluwafemi, congratulated Bassey, describing the honour as a major victory for grassroots advocacy across Africa and the Global South.
He said Bassey had demonstrated consistent commitment to environmental and climate justice over several decades, adding that his recognition alongside Cáceres underscored the enduring importance of the struggle to protect communities and the environment.
“We will continue to walk sideways with him to better the environment,” Oluwafemi said.
Similarly, the Deputy Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and S3F Africa Coordinator, Mariann Bassey-Olsson, described the award as a well-deserved recognition of Bassey’s longstanding commitment to environmental protection and the welfare of vulnerable communities.
She said the international honour represented a significant achievement for grassroots advocacy across Africa and the Global South, adding that it reinforced the importance of amplifying the voices of those campaigning for environmental and climate justice.
Joyce Brown, Director of Programmes at HOMEF, also congratulated the organisation’s executive director, describing the recognition as a testament to his sustained commitment to environmental justice in Nigeria and internationally.
Brown said the award affirmed the importance of persistent environmental activism and the courage required to challenge systems and practices that threaten ecosystems, livelihoods and the well-being of present and future generations.
She added that the recognition strengthened the organisation’s resolve to pursue a socio-ecologically just and resilient world.
In a statement, HOMEF congratulated Bassey and other honourees, noting that his work has consistently promoted environmental responsibility, climate action and a just transition that prioritises people and the planet over corporate interests.
Beyond his activism, Bassey has authored several books addressing environmental destruction, resource extraction and the climate crisis in Africa. His works include To Cook a Continent: Destructive Extraction and the Climate Crisis in Africa (2012) and Oil Politics: Echoes of Ecological War.
His poetry collections include We Thought It Was Oil But It Was Blood (1998), I Will Not Dance to Your Beat (2010) and I See the Invisible (2024), which explore themes of environmental resistance, injustice and hope.
The recognition adds to the international acknowledgement of Bassey’s longstanding efforts to challenge destructive extractive practices, demand accountability for environmental damage and advance the rights of communities affected by ecological crises.
