Odigha Odigha
Odigha Odigha’s work has resulted in representation for Nigerian civil society in all forest management policies, including a statewide logging moratorium to protect the country’s remaining rainforests.
Rudolf Amenga-Etego
A public interest lawyer, Rudolf Amenga-Etego gained international recognition for suspending a major water privatization project that would have further impeded access to clean drinking water, a crisis linked to high rates of disease in low-income communities.
Julia Bonds
A coal miner’s daughter, Julia “Judy” Bonds fought to end mountaintop removal coal mining that contaminates drinking water, destroys rivers and forests, increases asthma rates, and forces families to abandon their homes.
Eileen Wani Wingfield & Eileen Kampakuta Brown
Eileen Kampakuta Brown and Eileen Wani Wingfield led the campaign to block construction of a nuclear waste dump 50 years after nuclear bomb tests caused birth defects, cancer and the poisoning of the environment and wildlife.
María Elena Foronda Farro
Maria Foronda fostered partnerships between community groups, fishmeal producers and the government to institute environmentally sound and profitable business practices in lieu of dumping untreated industrial waste into streams and out of smokestacks.
Jadwiga Lopata
Jadwiga Lopata created an eco-tourism program that promoted the environmental, economic and health advantages of small family farms over large-scale factory agriculture.
Alexis Massol González
A civil engineer, Alexis Massol-González established Puerto Rico’s first community-managed forest reserve, Bosque del Pueblo (People’s Forest), where shade-grown coffee and eco-tourism bring income to the community.
Pedro Arrojo Agudo
A physicist and economics professor, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo spearheaded a new wave of activism and forged a sustainable water future based on conservation, recycling and informed agricultural choices.
Sarah James & Norma Kassi & Jonathan Solomon
Gwich’in tribal leaders, Sarah James, Norma Kassi and Jonathon Solomon (d. 2006) defended the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling that targets the heart of the refuge’s wildlife habitat and coastal plain.
Fatima Jibrell
Fatima Jibrell saved northeastern Somalia from the massive logging of old-growth acacia trees by persuading the regional government to create and enforce a ban on exports of charcoal made from the trees.