June 28, 2022
The Goldman Environmental Prize is thrilled to announce the 2022 grant recipients. Since its launch in 2015, the Goldman Prize Grantmaking program has supported past Prize winner organizations working to further grassroots environmental projects around the world.
2022 Goldman Prize Grant Recipients
Listed in alphabetical order:
BLOOM Association: Founded by Claire Nouvian (France, 2018) to protect the marine environment, BLOOM plans to create an Indian Ocean coalition to address industrial overfishing and its detrimental impacts on marine species. The coalition will bring stakeholders together to improve transparency and public disclosure of fisheries-related information. The coalition will also help link fisheries to broader social and food security issues and promote the use of inshore waters for local, small-scale fisheries.
Centre d’Education pour la Protection de l’Environnement et Developpement durable (CEPED): Home to a quarter of the world’s mountain gorilla population and thousands of plant and animal species, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park is a haven of biodiversity. The project will use a participatory approach to promote conservation and economically support nearby rural communities that rely on the park’s resources. Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo (DRC, 2016) will serve as the intermediary between CEPED and the management team at Virunga National Park to implement the project.
Centro Salvadoreño de Tecnología Apropiada (CESTA): The first environmental organization in El Salvador, CESTA will focus on the conservation of one of the largest forests in the country, the Nancuchiname Forest. Working with neighboring communities, Ricardo Navarro (El Salvador, 1995) and CESTA will establish an integral community management plan for Nancuchiname and the surrounding area, with the goal of restoring the fragmented forest and building biological corridors for endangered species in the region.
EarthRights International: Nestled in the mountains of northern Thailand, the Omkoi district is currently facing a significant threat from a proposed coal mine. Led by Ka Hsaw Wa (Myanmar, 1999), EarthRights and the Center for Protection and Revival of Local Community filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Omkoi community in April 2022. With the lawsuit still ongoing, EarthRights will provide legal support, training and capacity building, and advocacy trips for Indigenous community members who are taking part in the process.
ESTAMOS: With a focus on sustainable management of natural resources in the Chipanje Chetu conservation area of Mozambique, Feliciano Dos Santos (Mozambique, 2008) and ESTAMOS seek to strengthen community management in Chipanje Chetu by building capacity, consolidating governance systems, and implementing monitoring and evaluation. The project will advance approaches to mitigate climate change and unregulated use of natural resources due to poor governance.
Forum Konservasi Leuser (FKL): As a senior advisor to FKL, Rudi Putra (Indonesia, 2014) will help develop long-term sustainable solutions to reduce pressure on Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem in Indonesia. FKL will work with local communities to eradicate illegal crops and protect and restore native plants within the degraded forest. Activities include land preparation and development of facilities, camp and nursery operations, restoration supervision, and educational activities and visits.
Fundación Abril: There is an urgent need to support communities addressing the impacts of unsustainable agricultural practices and climate change in Bolivia’s Cochabamba Basin. With the participation of the community, Oscar Olivera (Bolivia, 2001) and Fundación Abril will implement a sustainable land use management plan in the rural village of Villaflor de Pucara. Technical advisors from the University of Cochabamba will train community members on reforestation and sustainable agroforestry techniques.
Fundación Ruth Zenaida Buendia Mestoquiari (FRZBM): Ruth Buendía’s (Peru, 2014) newly created foundation hopes to address deforestation caused by intensive monocropping on illegally leased communal forests in the Ashaninka territory in southern Peru. Working with state entities in the Perené and Ener River basins, FRZBM will conduct community consultations to present sustainable agricultural alternatives and forest management initiatives and implement a legal strategy for the recovery of degraded rental land.
Green Advocates International (GAI): Founded by Alfred Brownell (Liberia, 2019), GAI seeks to stop deforestation by the palm oil industry in Liberia. The project will engage Indigenous forest communities and provide capacity building training and research on the impact of palm oil plantations with the goal of creating and implementing legal strategies to stop palm oil expansion.
Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation (SLCF): Led by Bayarjargal Agvaantseren (Mongolia, 2019), SLCF seeks to conserve biodiversity and protect land rights in Mongolia. SLCF will assist communities in western Mongolia to strengthen environmental protection for land to remain free from extractive industries while empowering locals to continue traditional herding and livestock practices.
Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT): Edward Loure (Tanzania, 2016) and the team at UCRT will create a community action plan, form and train a cross natural resource management committee, provide training to government authorities, and connect surrounding villages to ensure an equitable and sustainable use of a local water resource in northern Tanzania. Their innovative, community-led participatory approach has enabled communities to secure their rights to—and improve governance of and livelihoods from—crucial forest, livestock, and wildlife areas.
Union of People Affected by Texaco (UDAPT): Formed by six Indigenous groups affected by oil drilling contamination in the Ecuadorian Amazon, UDAPT aims to guarantee a sustainable future in the region through increasing traditional Indigenous knowledge, legal capacity, and environmental recuperation strategies. In partnership with local organizations, the project will develop small-scale community gardens, communication workshops, and environmental rehabilitation trainings. Pablo Fajardo (Ecuador, 2008) will serve as the project manager.
Continuing Grants
Within the 2022 grant cycle, the Prize has also extended funding for four 2021 grantees as part of a multi-year grantmaking strategy. Learn about these projects in the 2021 grants announcement blog.
- Center for Rescue of Endangered Marine Species
- Community In-Power Development Association
- Onggi River Movement
- Wild Earth Allies
