Uroš Macerl
Slovenia /
Europe
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Uroš Macerl, an organic farmer from Slovenia, successfully stopped a cement kiln from co-incinerating petcoke with hazardous industrial waste by rallying legal support from fellow Eko Krog activists and leveraging his status as the only citizen allowed to challen
Prafulla Samantara
India /
Asia
x
An iconic leader of social justice movements in India, Prafulla Samantara led a historic 12-year legal battle that affirmed the indigenous Dongria Kondh’s land rights and protected the Niyamgiri Hills from a massive, open-pit aluminum ore mine.
mark! Lopez
United States /
North America
x
Born and raised in a family of community activists, mark! Lopez pushed government officials to provide comprehensive lead testing and cleanup of East Los Angeles homes contaminated by a battery smelter that had been operating on temporary pollution permits for over three decades.
Rodrigo Tot
Guatemala /
South and Central America
x
An indigenous leader in Guatemala’s Agua Caliente, Rodrigo Tot led his community to a landmark court decision that ordered the government to issue land titles to the Q’eqchi people and kept environmentally destructive nickel mining from expanding into his community.
Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo
Democratic Republic of Congo /
Africa
x
Putting his life on the line, Rodrigue Katembo went undercover to document and release information about bribery and corruption in the quest to drill for oil in Virunga National Park, resulting in public outrage that forced the company to withdraw from the project.
Wendy Bowman
Australia /
Islands and Island Nations
x
In the midst of an onslaught of coal development in Australia, octogenarian Wendy Bowman stopped a powerful multinational mining company from taking her family farm and protected her community in Hunter Valley from further pollution and environmental destruction.
About the Goldman Prize Recipients
Goldman Environmental Prize recipients focus on protecting endangered ecosystems and species, combating destructive development projects, promoting sustainability, influencing environmental policies, and striving for environmental justice. Prize recipients are ordinary citizens who choose to take great personal risks to safeguard the environment and their communities.