Goldman Environmental Prize Blog

Protecting the Earth’s resources is a dangerous job. On April 26th, a Cambodian anti-logging activist named Chut Wutty was shot and killed by military police while investigating illegal logging activities. Silas Siakor, 2006 Prize winner from Liberia and fellow anti-logging activist, was familiar with Wutty’s work. Siakor commented, “I think the story of Chutty highlights…

The maternal instinct to protect one’s family is a powerful catalyst. Many Goldman Prize recipients initially became involved in environmental activism to protect the health and wellbeing of their children. From Lois Gibbs (1990) to Sofia Gatica (2012), the Goldman Prize has been honoring activist mothers since its inception. One of the first recipients of…

In the weeks leading up to the Rio+20 Earth Summit, we’ll be posting blog entries that celebrate environmental achievements accomplished at the grassroots level over the past two decades while urging government leaders to step up to the challenge of sustainable development. As the first part of a this new blog series, we’re pleased to…

With growing evidence linking the death of bees to pesticides and genetically modified crops, the campaign to keep GMO out of Poland reached new heights thanks to a campaign organized by Goldman Prize winner Jadwiga Lopata. She organized the Polish Beekepers Association to join forces with ICPPC and the Coalition for a GMO Free Poland…

The mission of the Goldman Prize is to ‘inspire, educate and motivate.’ The heroism and courage demonstrated by the Prize recipients year after year inspires us to believe in overcoming incredible odds, educates us by providing insight into environmental issues going on all over the world, and motivates us to take action in our own…

Harrison Ngau Laing was awarded the Goldman Prize in 1990 for his struggle to protect the rights of the indigenous peoples of Sarawak, Malaysia to defend their tropical forests from the highly corrupt logging industry. Since then, Ngau has gone on to become legal advisor to Save Rivers Network, which is currently leading the protest…

One year after winning the Goldman Prize in 2011, Prigi Arisandi’s work to protect Indonesia’s rivers is growing by leaps and bounds. Arisandi and his wife, Daru, are in the process of building the Brantas Institute for River Rehabilitation, a training center where upon completion, they hope to train over a thousand volunteers every year.…

2010 Goldman Prize winner, Lynn Henning was featured on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, April 20th, following the announcement that she won Rock the Earth’s 2012 Planet Defenders Award for the ‘grassroots activist’ category. Willie Nelson took home the award for the ‘artist’ category, while Amory Lovins won the ‘community leader’ vote.…

The Washington, DC Goldman Prize ceremony took place last night at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Every seat in the house was full as Dr. Cristián Samper, the museum’s director, welcomed an enthusiastic audience. Local NBC news anchor, Barbara Harrison, hosted the event as she has done for many years. The festivities continued as…

The 23rd annual Goldman Environmental Prize ceremony took place last night in San Francisco to honor the 2012 Goldman Prize recipients: Ikal Angelei, Ma Jun, Evgenia Chirikova, Fr. Edwin Gariguez, Caroline Cannon, and Sofia Gatica. Over 3,000 audience members were moved by the personal stories and speeches from the Prize winners after viewing their video…