Iroro Tanshi
When wildfires escape Nigerian farms, they destroy both the farmers' fields and the endangered wildlife habitat next door—pushing families deeper into poverty and species closer to extinction. Many wildfires start the same way: a farmer burns a field on the wrong day. The problem isn't the burning—it's that no one tells them which days are most dangerous.
The Idea
Dynamic Tropical Fire Risk Advisories
Organization
Organization
Small Mammal Conservation Organization
The Mission
Prevent tropical forest wildfires.
How It Works
SMACON predicts dangerous fire days by installing weather stations and leveraging historical data, then gets the word to farmers through signposts, town criers, and texts. When someone ignores the warning or a fire escapes anyway, trained and equipped Forest Guardians on motorbikes respond fast. Village bylaws give the system teeth—burn on the wrong day, and there are consequences.
The Dream
NGOs layer this effective and simple solution into their programs, paid for by philanthropy.
Why We Picked Iroro
Iroro is bat and nature obsessed. She’s discovered species once thought lost, built Nigeria’s first bat record database, and launched major zero-wildfire campaigns. We think this unique, relatively simple, and locally popular approach can significantly reduce fires that damage tropical forests next to agricultural zones in places like southern Nigeria and Cameroon. Smokey Bear showed that government-led fire prediction changes behavior, and the spread of volunteer fire stations proves the model’s adaptability. If Iroro makes it work in Nigeria, they could inspire and train others in the region to follow suit.
