Goldman Environmental Prize Blog

Six months ago, the inspirational Lenca leader Berta Cáceres was assassinated by armed intruders in her home in Honduras. Since then, five people have been detained for her murder, with no trial date yet set. Despite this, her family has been advocating for an independent investigation into her death which her daughter, Berta Zúñiga Cáceres, believes was orchestrated by the company that planned to build…

The Goldman Environmental Foundation is gravely concerned by yesterday’s reports about an attack against 2016 Goldman Prize winner Máxima Acuña and her husband. While the details are not clear, we know that Ms. Acuña sustained injuries that required hospitalization. We wish her a speedy and full recovery. We denounce any acts of violence that were…

Before winning the Goldman Environmental Prize earlier this year, we spoke to Edward Loure to learn about his challenging work defending the rights of indigenous communities to their land under threat by competing interests, such as agriculture and tourism. We learn how his upbringing in a Maasai tribe formed a life-long commitment to protecting their way of life, while at…

As all eyes in the environmental scene turn to the IUCN World Conservation Congress this week, we are sharing the Twitter handles of conservation activists who have received international acclaim for their  efforts — from creating their country’s first national park to stopping destructive dams. While many Prize winners are active on Twitter, these five heroes (and ‘sheroes’!) have stood out as they…

Who can forget cheerful Scotsman and avid diver Howard Wood? Since winning the Prize in 2015 for establishing Scotland’s first community-developed Marine Protected Area, Wood has been hard at work with the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) educating and inspiring the next generation of Arran to protect their most treasured resource: the sea. Ahead of the 100-year anniversary of the U.S. National Park Service,…

Ahead of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples next week, Program Officer Myriah remembers her first meeting with land rights pioneer Edward Loure. In the rangelands of Northern Tanzania, she experienced first-hand how this remarkable activist is empowering the country’s traditional communities to manage their land: “Ore engulukoni aang naa engishui yang.” Edward closed his Goldman Environmental Prize…

Before he received the Prize earlier this year, we spoke to Leng Ouch to learn about what inspired him to fight for the protection of over 200,000 acres of pristine forest in one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be an environmental defender: Where did you grow up? I was born in…

Our Program Officer Lindsey Freedman looks back on her first meeting with 2016 Goldman Prize winner Leng Ouch at the end of 2015, and again on an official visit in early 2016: Our paths crossed quite by chance in November 2015. I had spent the summer planning a three-week vacation to Cambodia and Myanmar with no way…

It’s not hard to imagine why Kim Wasserman (2013, United States) was invited to be the keynote speaker at the 2016 Waterkeeper Alliance Conference earlier this month. Since her victory shutting down two coal power plants in Chicago’s south side, she continues to defend her community’s right to a clean environment — including water. For almost 20 years she has been…

Last week’s Global Witness report On Dangerous Ground opens with the following statement: The environment is emerging as a new battleground for human rights. Alarming Numbers The report, fittingly dedicated to Berta Cáceres (2015, Honduras) covers the state of land and environmental defenders in 2015 and is not short of harrowing evidence to support this statement:…