October 12, 2026
From Grassroots to Global: An Activist’s Path to Success
It’s been nearly two decades since environmental engineer Yuyun Ismawati won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2009, and the passage of time has done nothing to slow her down. When we reached out for an update recently, she warned us that she had a lot going on. We quickly realized that she wasn’t exaggerating.
Since winning the Goldman Prize, Yuyun has relocated to the UK, but she remains committed to her native Indonesia. Among her many projects today, she is a senior advisor at the Nexus3 Foundation (formerly BaliFokus), an NGO she co-founded in 2000 in order to protect the island from unsustainable development and pollution, including working on sustainable waste management. While Yuyun still focuses on some of the same environmental issues she did when she won the Prize, her work has expanded dramatically. What began as a community-level response to sanitation and waste management has grown to include international advocacy against toxic pollution in all its forms.
In 2024, Yuyun was elected global co-chair of the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), where she works with member organizations to advance global environmental justice. She regularly collaborates with other environmental activists around the world, including many fellow Goldman Prize winners.
Combating Environmental Challenges in Indonesia
Yuyun’s environmental story began in the early 1990s when she worked as an environmental engineer focused on improving water supply systems in Jakarta. In 1996, she moved to Bali, where she was shocked by the lack of waste and sanitation management, which was exacerbated by the growing tourism and hospitality industry. In response, she began volunteering at a local NGO before co-founding BaliFokus/Nexus3 Foundation, where she and her colleagues developed a replicable, community-based waste and sanitation model for seven cities. That model was adopted nationwide by 2007 and later became a government-supported national program. Today, government funds continue to support the program, particularly in poor urban communities.
Despite the model’s success, new challenges have emerged in Indonesia, including the proliferation of plastic waste and promotion of waste incineration, a practice that produces noxious fumes associated with air pollution and local health issues. And, because most of the country’s waste is organic and moisture-rich, incineration requires coal to keep it burning, exacerbating the resulting pollution.
While the challenges have changed over time, Yuyun’s commitment to finding solutions has not. She credits the Goldman Prize with giving her the courage to stay the course: “My confidence level is up to the roof because of that recognition. I’m legit. I’m credible and accountable.” Her reputation for a pragmatic, evidence-based approach to solutions, informed by her environmental engineering background, is another source of confidence that keeps her going.
A New Focus on Combating Toxic Chemicals
In 2008, Yuyun visited a rapidly growing gold rush community in South Konawe Regency, Indonesia, to promote sanitation and waste management programs. During the visit, a memorable encounter at a local food stall brought her attention to a new challenge. She watched a woman burn ore mixed with mercury to extract gold, just feet away from Yuyun’s table. The fumes emanating from the torched materials alerted Yuyun to a larger threat in the area: “It’s not sanitation issues—it’s toxics,” she recalled.
While remaining committed to her waste and sanitation work, Yuyun then turned her attention to artisanal and small-scale gold mining and its toxic byproduct—mercury pollution. She traveled to affected communities to better understand the scale of the problem and studied the issue wherever she could. “It became my obsession to learn about mercury,” Yuyun told us. This obsession remains central to her work today. In 2013, she participated in negotiations to help craft the Minamata Convention, a global treaty aimed at eliminating mercury pollution and poisoning.
Building a Global Network: Friends in Green Places
Today, the Nexus3 Foundation is no longer focused on Bali alone. The organization has expanded its reach and mission—its staff of 15 now address the impacts of development on human health and the environment on an international level. And, as global co-chair of IPEN, Yuyun helps shape the network’s strategic vision and build consensus across a network of more than 700 public-interest environmental health organizations in 131 countries. Of her IPEN colleagues, she says: “I love IPEN people! They are all nerds!” It’s clear that Yuyun’s passion—and punchy humor—makes her an eager collaborator.
Yuyun’s many affiliations have resulted in an expansive international network of environmentalists, a few of which are fellow Goldman Prize winners. For example, she assisted 2025 Goldman Prize winner Semia Gharbi with data collection for her successful campaign against the illegal waste trade in Tunisia. Yuyun is also in contact with 2009 Prize winner Rizwana Hasan regarding a shipbreaking project in Indonesia and Bangladesh. And, this past August, Yuyun visited recycling project sites in Bogotá, Colombia, with 2013 Prize winner Nohra Padilla. It’s said that solving the environmental crisis will require global collaboration—Yuyun embodies this ethic.
Envisioning a World Free of Mercury Pollution
Looking ahead to 2027, which will mark 10 years since the Minamata Convention entered into force, Yuyun is focused on attainable milestones that move us toward a world free of mercury pollution. Her current ambition is to tap into the global network of Goldman Prize winners and mobilize support around three calls to action: ban mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining, grow awareness of mercury poisoning by establishing the first week of May as an annual week of action, and demand the cleanup of mercury-contaminated mining sites. Yuyun emphasizes the collective impact of mercury poisoning: “In the end, we will all be affected.”
Not Going Anywhere: Enduring for the Environment
The scope of Yuyun’s work since winning the Goldman Prize makes it clear that she’s in it for the long haul. When she first learned that she won the Prize back in 2009, she recalled asking, “Why me?” Almost 20 years later, the answer is still obvious: the ability to keep fighting and problem-solving over many years, through numerous setbacks, without ever giving up. In a world of innumerable, ever-changing environmental threats, Yuyun’s unwavering commitment to a proven method—identify the problem, develop evidence-based solutions, empower others through education and capacity building, repeat—speaks to her grit and perseverance. “I’ve been everywhere,” she assured us, “but I’m not going anywhere until the mission is accomplished.”
About the author
Amy Breshears
Administrative Coordinator
Obsessed with organization and devoted to detail, Amy brings a well-honed talent for office administration and management to the Prize. She is responsible for daily office operations and supports in driving the Prize toward its goals. She brings over 20 years of experience in philanthropy, hospitality, and nonprofit event management. Amy earned her BA in English Literature at UC Berkeley and is currently pursuing her MA in mass communications. Amy joined the Prize in 2024.
