SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Goldman Environmental Foundation today announced the six recipients of the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s largest award for grassroots environmental activists. Awarded annually to environmental heroes from each of the world’s six inhabited continental regions, the Goldman Prize recognizes fearless grassroots activists for significant achievements in protecting the environment and their communities.
The winners will be awarded the Prize at an invitation-only ceremony today at 5:30 p.m. at the San Francisco Opera House (this event will be live streamed online at www.goldmanprize.org/ceremony). A ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. will follow on Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m.
This year’s winners are:
EDWARD LOURE, Tanzania
Edward Loure led a grassroots
organization that pioneered an approach that gives land titles to
indigenous communities—instead of individuals—in northern Tanzania,
ensuring the environmental stewardship of more than 200,000 acres of
land for future generations.
LENG OUCH, Cambodia
In one of the most dangerous
countries in the world for environmental activists, Leng Ouch went
undercover to document illegal logging in Cambodia and exposed the
corruption robbing rural communities of their land, causing the
government to cancel large land concessions.
ZUZANA CAPUTOVA, Slovakia
A public interest lawyer
and mother of two, Zuzana Caputova spearheaded a successful campaign
that shut down a toxic waste dump that was poisoning the land, air and
water in her community, setting a precedent for public participation in
post-communist Slovakia.
LUIS JORGE RIVERA HERRERA, Puerto Rico
Luis Jorge
Rivera Herrera helped lead a successful campaign to establish a nature
reserve in Puerto Rico’s Northeast Ecological Corridor—an important
nesting ground for the endangered leatherback sea turtle—and protect the
island’s natural heritage from harmful development.
DESTINY WATFORD, United States
In a community whose
environmental rights had long been sidelined to make room for heavy
industry, Destiny Watford inspired residents of a Baltimore neighborhood
to defeat plans to build the nation’s largest incinerator less than a
mile away from her high school.
MÁXIMA ACUÑA, Peru
A subsistence farmer in Peru’s
northern highlands, Máxima Acuña stood up for her right to peacefully
live off her own land, a property sought by Newmont and Buenaventura
Mining to develop the Conga gold and copper mine.
ATTENTION EDITORS: Detailed biographical information, photographs, and broadcast-quality video of all the winners in their home countries are available by request or online at www.goldmanprize.org/pressroom.
About the Goldman Environmental Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize was established in 1989 by late San Francisco civic leaders and philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman. Prize winners are selected by an international jury from confidential nominations submitted by a worldwide network of environmental organizations and individuals. For additional information about the Prize and previous winners visit www.goldmanprize.org.
