On April 24, 2023, winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize 2023 were announced at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California, the United States of America(USA). 6 winners of the 2023 prize are Alessandra Korap Munduruku from Brazil, Chilekwa Mumba from Zambia, Delima Silalahi from Indonesia, Diane Wilson from the USA, Tero Mustonen from Finland, and Zafer Kızılkaya from Türkiye.
- 2023 marks the 34th anniversary of the Goldman Environmental Prize which honors one grassroots activist from each of the six inhabited continents.
- The award is also known as the “Green Nobel Prize”.
- The ceremony for the same was hosted by Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro, an organization dedicated to celebrating Black connections and leadership in nature.
The Winners:
i.Alessandra Korap Munduruku of Brazil (South & Central America)
Awarded for: Drilling & Mining
Efforts:
Alessandra Korap Munduruku,leader of the Munduruku Indigenous peoples from the Brazilian Amazon has been awarded for her work fighting against illegal mining and large-scale projects aimed at facilitating soybean exports in the Tapajos River Basin. She organized community efforts to stop mining development by British mining company Anglo American (AAL.L) in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. In May 2021, the company formally committed to withdraw 27 approved research applications to mine inside Indigenous territories. The decision protects a critically threatened area of the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest and a globally significant carbon sink, from further mining and deforestation.
ii.Tero Mustonen from Finland (Europe),
Awarded for: Climate & Energy
Efforts:
Since April 2018, Tero Mustonen led the restoration of 62 severely degraded former industrial peat mining and forestry sites throughout Finland, totaling 86,000 acres, and transformed them into productive, biodiverse wetlands and habitats. Rich in organic matter, peatlands are highly effective carbon sinks. He is a university professor and environmental activist from Finland
iii.Delima Silalahi from Indonesia (Islands & Island Nations),
Awarded for: Forests
Efforts:
A Batak woman from North Sumatra, Indonesia, led a campaign to secure legal stewardship of 17,824 acres of tropical forest land for six Indigenous communities in North Sumatra. Now, the six communities have begun restoring the forests, creating valuable carbon sinks of biodiverse Indonesian tropical forest.
iv.Chilekwa Mumba from Zambia (Africa)
Awarded for: Environmental Justice
Efforts:
Alarmed by the pollution produced by the Konkola Copper Mines operation in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia, Chilekwa Mumba organized a lawsuit to hold the mine’s parent company, Vedanta Resources, responsible. His victory in the UK Supreme Court set a legal precedent, it was the first time an English court ruled that a British company could be held liable for the environmental damage caused by subsidiary-run operations in another country.
v.Zafer Kizilkaya of Türkiye (Asia)
Awarded for: Oceans & Coasts
Efforts:
He is a marine conservationist and conservation photographer who established Türkiye’s first community-managed marine protected area (MPA) in the Mediterranean. He extended the MPA along 310 miles of Mediterranean Coast in collaboration with local fishing cooperatives, and fishing authorities.
vi.Diane Wilson from United States (North America)
Awarded for: Pollution & Waste
Efforts:
In December 2019, Diane Wilson won a landmark case against Formosa Plastics, one of the world’s largest petrochemical companies, for the illegal dumping of toxic plastic waste on Texas’ Gulf Coast. The $50 million settlement is the largest award in a citizen suit against an industrial polluter in the history of the US Clean Water Act.
About Goldman Environmental Prize:
Founded in 1989 by Richard and Rhoda Goldman to reward ordinary individuals for their outstanding environmental achievements thereby inspire others to emulate the examples set by the Prize recipients, the first Goldman Environmental Prize ceremony took place on April 16, 1990.
- It is an annual award and coincides with Earth Day (April 22).
- It recognizes sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk.
Coverage:
It is awarded to grassroots environmental activists from the world’s six inhabited continental regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands & Island Nations, North America, South & Central America.
Prize:
Each Prize winner receives a bronze sculpture in the shape of an Ouroboros, which depicts a serpent biting its tail, is a symbol of nature’s power of renewal. Along with global recognition and monetary award, prize winners receive access to grants, networking and professional development, security support, and strategic communications, and the opportunity to participate in youth programs.
Recent Related News:
i.On 1st March 2023, the Government of India was honoured with the “Government Leadership Award 2023” – GSMA’s 2023 Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards at the Mobile World Congress(MWC) 2023 held in Barcelona, Spain. India received the “Government Leadership Award 2023” for the implementation of best practices in telecom policy and regulation.
ii.Marconi Society has awarded Hari Balakrishnan, an Indian-born Computer scientist, with the 2023 Marconi Prize for his fundamental discoveries in wired and wireless networking, mobile sensing, and distributed systems.
About Goldman Foundation:
Executive Director– Michael Sutton
Headquarters– San Francisco, California, United States of America(USA)
