Noah Idechong
Noah Idechong protected Palau’s rich coral reefs and fisheries from development by creating an innovative model that integrates modern and traditional practices.
Luis Macas
A Quichua from the Andes and president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, Luis Macas led a peaceful struggle for indigenous rights, including negotiating a 3-million-acre land transfer back to indigenous control.
Heffa Schucking
Heffa Schücking traced Germany’s role in destroying tropical forests worldwide in her landmark Rainforest Memorandum, precipitating a significant reduction in Germany’s consumption of tropical timber.
Andrew Simmons
Andrew Simmons created JEMS, a volunteer community development organization that uses literacy and skills programs to motivate communities to protect the islands’ natural resources.
Sviatoslav Zabelin
A modest man who inspires trust, Svet Zabelin raised public awareness of environmental problems in the former Soviet Union and helped build a grassroots environmental movement that sparked the country’s democratic transformation.
Matthew Coon Come
Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Cree Indians, Matthew Coon Come led the Cree’s fight against the massive James Bay hydroelectric development project in Quebec.
Laila Iskandar
Laila Iskandar’s work with the zabbaleen garbage collectors of Cairo demonstrated that large-scale recycling programs offer employment, generate income and improve living conditions.
JoAnn Tall
A Lakota, JoAnn Tall helped stop proposed nuclear weapons testing in North Dakota’s Black Hills and also worked to prevent hazardous landfills from being located in the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations.
Dai Qing
Daughter of a revolutionary martyr, former missile technician and one-time intelligence agent, Dai Qing is a fearless journalist who has been outspoken in her opposition to the Chinese government’s plans for the Three Gorges Dam.
John Sinclair
John Sinclair successfully stopped sand mining and logging of the unique rainforest on Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, off the coast of Queensland.