Goldman Environmental Prize Blog

Evgenia Chirikova recently testified before the European Parliament on Vinci’s role in the St. Petersburg-Moscow toll motorway project which threatens to destroy the Khimki forest. Vinci is a French company that Chirikova claims is wrought with corruption and special interests. Chirikova’s team supported their testimony with a graphic photo exhibition documenting the arrest and use…

After finally getting caught up on our inbox and backlog of to-dos, Goldman Prize staff took some time to reflect on our week in Rio. And while we share the many frustrations at the vacuum of government leadership, it’s become clear that the events at Rio Centro did little to undermine the tremendous participation from…

Amid continuing criticism against the outline agreement that came out of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development last week in Rio de Janeiro, a group of civil society leaders have signed on to a statement titled “The Rio+20 We Don’t Want” addressed to the UN and the government delegates at Rio+20. Among the leaders signed…

An alarming new report by Global Witness (an environmental and human rights NGO) reveals that environmental activists are being killed at a rate of one per week. According to an article on The Guardian about the report, last month was one of the deadliest for Filipino activists, while environmental defenders working in the America’s face…

Indigenous groups from around the world, including Japan and the Philippines, gathered yesterday to deliver a resolution to UN delegates at Rio+20. Goldman Prize staff was on site as the groups marched in solidarity to the Rio Center, the official site of the UN summit. A group of leaders representing the various indigenous groups met…

A wet and rainy day in Rio did not dampen activists’ spirits. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets, as the UN Sustainable Development summit got underway on Wednesday. Protests of every variety now fill the city, spotlighting everything from environmental protection to economic reform. Goldman Prize staff members Melina Selverston-Scher and Jenny Park had the opportunity…

Goldman Prize staff members Melina Selverston-Scher and Jenny Park spent yesterday at the People’s summit in Rio de Janeiro. Touted as the ‘counter conference,’ the People’s summit departs from the ‘suit and tie’ formality of the UN conference and offers a more relaxed, grassroots forum for alternative ideas and discussion. An outlet for idealism, radical…

Yesterday evening, nearly 70 Goldman Prize recipients, nominators, staff and colleagues gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to celebrate grassroots environmentalism and to support the work of all Goldman Prize recipients. The reception, hosted by the Goldman Environmental Foundation, also helped to reinforce the unified voice of Prize winners calling on world leaders to make…

Eight Goldman Prize recipients from the Asia-Pacific region recently participated in a symposium hosted by the Korea Green Foundation to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Korean Environmental Movement. Yul Choi, 1995 Goldman Prize recipient and President of the Korea Green Foundation, welcomed MC Mehta (1996), Dai Qing (1993), Prigi Arisandi (2011), Noah Idechong (1995),…