Cameroon’s minister of forestry and wildlife, Philip Ngole Ngwese, recently announced that the government has suspended 27 logging licenses from timber companies that have continuously violated forest-protection legislation. Cameroon’s tropical forests make up a large part of the Congo Basin, the world’s second largest continuous ecosystem after the Amazon Rainforest. The forest is home to…
Randall Arauz and the team at the Association for the Restoration of Sea Turtles (PRETOMA), celebrate as Costa Rica is asked to respond to a complaint filed with the Environmental Secretariat of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The complaint, filed by PRETOMA in July 2011, cites Costa Rica’s failure to enforce its own…
The film “American Meat,” by Michigan native Graham Meriwether, makes its debut this weekend in Ann Arbor, where the sustainable food movement is gaining traction. Lynn Henning, a fellow Michiganite and 2010 Prize winner, will be participating in a panel discussion immediately following the screening to discuss issues raised in the film. Henning was awarded…
Before Stephanie Roth won the Goldman Prize in 2005 for protecting an ancient Romanian village from being destroyed by a massive silver and gold mining project; she worked as a researcher and editor for The Ecologist magazine. The London-based magazine was founded by the late Edward “Teddy” Goldsmith, a long-time nominator for the Prize. Goldsmith was…
2002 Goldman Prize winner Alexis Massol-Gonzalez and his son Arturo Massol are at the forefront of the fight against Puerto Rico’s proposed Via Verde pipeline project. The pipeline’s planned route threatens thousands of acres of rainforest, rivers, and wildlife. In early January we reported on the campaign’s progress as news broke of a court decision…
The Fukashima disaster in Japan illustrated all too clearly the dangers of nuclear power. Ursula Sladek’s campaign for a nuclear-free future is reaching people around the world, especially in Japan, where one woman was so inspired- she decided to start an anti-nuclear movement of her own: the Natural Energy Society. Mariko Sayama wrote to the…
A federal district court in Washington state has found a CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) in violation of the Clean Water Act and is forcing it to implement stricter pollution monitoring programs. Manure (mixed with other waste) from CAFOs is often used as “fertilizers” on agricultural fields or stored in “manure lagoons.” These lagoons often…
Manana Kochladze, founder of Georgia’s largest environmental NGO, Green Alternative, won the Goldman Prize in 2004 for her precedent setting campaign against the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. Today she celebrates a victory as Turkish investors pull out of the massive Namakhvan Cascade dam project. The project seeks to build three separate hydroelectric stations along the Rioni…
Wanjira Maathai, daughter of the late Wangari Maathai, paid a visit to the Goldman Prize office to chat about her mother’s legacy and the future of the Green Belt Movement. The Green Belt Movement continues to focus on tree-planting and community engagement operations in Kenya, and would eventually like focus on expanding into other African…
Egyptian garbage collector communities, known as zabbaleen, play an invaluable role in the management of Cairo’s solid waste. They specialize in separating organic and non-organic materials. Recyclable materials are sorted from the non-organic waste and delivered to recycling companies. The organic waste is turned into rich compost which is then delivered to local farms. Organic…