Carlos Mallo Molina, winner of the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize, was a civil engineer until one of his projects threatened marine life in the Canary Islands — so he quit.
Molina spoke with Mongabay on its podcast, explaining how he abandoned a career to save the ocean life he saw in danger. It was his first project as an engineer, but it was enough to show him there were more important causes that needed him.
On the podcast, he explained, "I was going diving every weekend in my free time, and it was full of sea turtles, it was full of whales, it was full of marine life. And so, I think understanding how my impact was going to destroy [a] marine protected area … I think that was where I had my biggest click in my brain … I need to do something to change what I'm doing, in [a] way that I can protect this ocean."
He went on to say, "I was thinking like there is something wrong in this development. There is something wrong in all of this planification that has been established by the government."
His father was a civil engineer, which inspired Molina to follow the same career path. But when he arrived in Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, to erect a highway and coastal port, he realized the damage the project would do. In 2018, he left the project to start a nonprofit, the Marine Conservation Organization in Tenerife.
The organization hired scientists from around the world to create virtual realities of what's beneath the waves in Tenerife. The goal was to show locals "the richness of all of the biodiversity that lives under the water" so they can understand the beauty and importance of the region.
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He explained that once the local people felt that love for the ocean, getting them on board with the conservation campaign was easy. However, tourism is a major industry in Tenerife, so there was still plenty of pushback.
In the end, the campaign was a success. The Canary Islands government officially canceled the port project in 2021, saving the countless creatures inhabiting the 170,000-acre area. And this led to Molina being awarded the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize.
Preserving this biodiversity doesn't just benefit the whales, turtles, and sharks; it's also key to a healthy planet. A wide variety of species in an ecosystem can support food and water security, reduce the spread of diseases, and stabilize climate conditions.
Ecosystems require a delicate balance, and maintaining that balance benefits humans. It ensures fish populations thrive, fulfilling an essential food source in places like the Canary Islands. Biodiversity can also protect coastal regions from erosion by supporting healthy nutrient cycles in the water.
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Molina summed it up beautifully, explaining how spending time in the water made him "understand how important the ocean is [for] humans, not only for the world, but for humans. We need it [for our] future."
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