THE DOING MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
Berito Kuwaru’wa of Colombia was awarded the Goldman Prize in 1998 for leading a nonviolent, international campaign calling on multinational oil companies not to drill in the isolated, traditional homelands of his U’wa people, who consider oil to be the “blood of Mother Earth.” After decades of contention, the U’Wa territory continues to be targeted…
In 2001, biologists Giorgos Catsadorakis and Myrsini Malakou were awarded the Goldman Prize for their efforts to create the first trans-boundary protected area in the Balkans, an area better known for conflict than cooperation, at the borders of Greece, Albania and Macedonia. Read below for an exciting update on Malakou and Catsadorakis’ work on the…
Rossano Ercolini, an elementary school teacher, was awarded the Goldman Prize in 2013 for his work to lead a public education campaign about the dangers of incinerators in his small Tuscan town that grew into a national Zero Waste (ZW) movement. As president of Zero Waste Europe, Ercolini’s campaign has experienced tremendous growth over the…
In the guest blog below, 2006 Goldman Prize winner Silas Siakor describes how across Africa, corporations are grabbing community land and water – and nowhere more than in Liberia, where half the country has already been allocated to foreign investors. But one community has shown it’s possible to overcome intimidation, organise and resist. Right now…
Using a clause in the state constitution that gives municipalities the right to make local land use decisions, 2014 Goldman Prize winner Helen Slottje provided pro-bono legal assistance, helping towns across New York defend themselves from oil and gas companies by passing local bans on fracking. In the Q&A below, Slottje tells us how she…
We sit down with 2014 Goldman Prize winner Rudi Putra to discuss his work to dismantle illegal palm oil plantations that are causing massive deforestation in northern Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, in order to protect the habitat of the critically endangered Sumatran rhino. How did your dedication to protecting the Sumatran rhino inspire you to take action against…
2014 Goldman Prize winner Ramesh Agrawal answers our questions about how he organized villagers to demand their right to information about industrial development projects and succeeded in shutting down one of the largest proposed coal mines in Chhattisgarh. How has the coal industry impacted the environment of Chhattisgarh and the lives of its people? Chhattisgarh…
2014 Goldman Prize winner Desmond D’Sa answers our question about how he rallied south Durban’s diverse and disenfranchised communities to successfully shut down a toxic waste dump that was exposing nearby residents to dangerous chemicals and robbing them of their constitutionally protected right to a safe and clean environment. How did you first get inspired…
2014 Goldman Prize winner Suren Gazaryan, an internationally recognized bat expert and zoologist, answers our questions about the multiple campaigns he led to expose government corruption and illegal exploitation of federally protected forestland along Russia’s Black Sea coast. What motivated you to campaign against the illegal palaces and land grabs in the Krasnodarregion? While I…
We sat down with 2014 Goldman Prize winner Ruth Buendia for a Q&A on her work to unite the Asháninka people in a powerful campaign against large-scale dams that would have uprooted indigenous communities still recovering from Peru’s violent civil war. Can you describe the landscape and culture of the Ene River Valley, and your…