3 May 2017 — SumOfUs
Six brave people from around the world were awarded the most prestigious environmental award in the world last week — The Goldman Environmental Prize (aka. the ‘Green Nobel’). The award recognises the ordinary people like you and me who do extraordinary things to stand up to corporate power. People like Rodrigue and Prafulla who risked everything to keep British companies from their local communities and ecosystems. So let’s take a break from the rolling election news to celebrate them!
In 2016, Peruvian farmer Máxima Acuña won the Goldman Prize for her tireless work stopping extractive giant Newmont Mining from building a gold mine in her backyard. Over 160,000 SumOfUs members have asked Newmont to leave Máxima alone after repeated harassment over the last two years. Together, we raised resources for her support and legal fund. And finally, we all cheered and stood by Máxima as she won the award last year.
Given SumOfUs’ mission is to fight for people over profits, we want to be the first to introduce you this year’s winners. Without further ado, here they are. You can click on their photos to learn more or send them a personal message.
RODRIGUE MUGARUKA KATEMBO, Democratic Republic of Congo
Rodrigue Katembo put his life on the line to fight the British oil company that had purchased the right to drill for oil in the oldest national park in Africa where he was a Park Ranger. Rodrigue went far and beyond his role as a ranger in Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, facing down poachers, armed thugs. Rodrigue documented SOCO International’s corruption and misdeeds until international outrage forced the corporation to withdraw from its proposed project.
Rodrigue and the footage he gathered during his undercover investigations were heavily featured in the documentary film Virunga. The film gained a massive international audience through Netflix and in late 2015, SOCO announced it was giving up its oil licence. Rodrigue won.
He paid an enormous price for his activism. In 2013, just days after he had stopped a SOCO team from building a telecommunications antenna inside the park, Katembo was arrested and tortured for 17 days.
Since his unlikely victory, Rodrigue has been promoted to Director of Upemba National Park, where he continues to protect the park and wildlife from poachers, militia, and the extractive industry.
Please send a message thanking Rodrigue for protecting the priceless Virunga National Park.
PRAFULLA SAMANTARA, India
An iconic leader of social justice movements in India, Prafulla Samantara led a historic 12-year legal battle against a massive, British-operated open-pit aluminium ore mine in India’s breathtaking Niyamgiri Hills, home to the endangered Bengal tiger.
Prafulla dedicated his life to alerting the Indigenous community to UK-based Vedanta Resources’ plans to destroy 1,660 acres of untouched forest land in order to extract more than 70 million tons of bauxite, the primary ore in aluminium, polluting critical water sources in the process. He walked, biked and travelled for miles from village to village among the Indigenous Dongria Kondh to build resistance to this destructive mine.
The Niyamgiri Hills are home to the endangered Bengal tiger and serve as an important migration corridor for elephants. More than 100 streams flow down from the peaks, providing a critical water source for millions of people. The Dongria Kondh are an 8,000-member Indigenous tribe with deep connection to the surrounding environment.
After almost a decade of marches, resistance and court filings, the Indian Supreme Court sided with Prafulla, leaving the Niyamgiri Hills’ future safely in the Dongria Kondh’s hands.
UROS MACERL, Slovenia
Uroš Macerl, an organic farmer from Slovenia, successfully stopped French-owned cement company Lafarge from spewing hazardous industrial waste all over his community. Uroš rallied support and took his fight all the way to the European Comission. Against all odds, Uroš forced the plant to shut down in 2015.
Click here to learn more about Uroš’ fight with Lafarge Cement, and thank him for his tireless work.
WENDY BOWMAN, Australia
For almost 7 years, 84 year-old Wendy Bowman fought to stop Chinese-owned mining company Yancoal from expanding an open cut coal mine. Bowman took her fight all the way to the New South Wales Court of Appeal, and didn’t give up until she stopped the mine in its tracks.
MARK! LOPEZ, United States
mark! Lopez took on one of the biggest manufacturers of industrial and lead batteries in the world after it polluted his community in Los Angeles’ Eastside for more than 30 years. After tireless door-knocking and outreach, mark! built so much popular support that the Governor of California was forced to commit $176.6 million to decontaminate homes, one of the largest environmental cleanups in state history.
RODRIGO TOT, Guatemala
An Indigenous leader in Guatemala’s Agua Caliente, Rodrigo Tot led his community to a landmark court decision that recognised land titles to the Q’eqchi people and kept destructive nickel mining out of his community. Bravely taking on a Guatemalan legal system mired in corruption, Rodrigo shocked mining companies and environmental activists alike when he actually won.
As always, thanks for all that you do,
Angus, Emma, Sondhya, Hanna, and the team at SumOfUs
The New Dark Age 
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