An open letter from Goldman Environmental Prize winners to government leaders regarding the 2012 Earth Summit
We are the recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize. We have been threatened. We have been tortured. We have been jailed. We have died from industrial toxins in our blood. We have been killed.
We are the recipients for the Goldman Environmental Prize. We are from 81 countries. We are grassroots activists. We are national ambassadors. We are indigenous people. We are environment ministers. We are women. We are men. We are elders. We are youth.
For over two decades the Goldman Environmental Prize has honored individuals for the great risks we take to protect the environment. Now we ask you to take a risk. Attend the Earth Summit in Rio and lead us into action.
The Earth Summit is a profound opportunity to move us forward in our global commitment to protect the planet, a commitment that was recognized 20 years ago at the historic Earth Summit of 1992. Since then the people of the planet have brought back endangered species, conserved fragile territories, and developed alternatives to some of our most destructive practices. Again and again communities have won great battles.
But let’s face it, environmental leadership has come from civil society, people like us who put our lives on the line to protect the environment. Now, urgently, we request that governments take the lead in protecting the planet we all share. For future generations, we urge you to attend the Earth Summit and make real commitments toward sustainable development. We urge you to take a risk, as we have done, to defend Earth.
Sincerely,
Jane Akre Kaisha Atakhanova Giorgos Catsadorakis United States, 2001 Kazakhstan, 2005 Greece, 2001
Rudolf Amenga‐Etego Oral Ataniyazova Pisit Charnsnoh Ghana, 2004 Uzbekistan, 2000 Thailand, 2002
Ikal Angelei Rashida Bee Choi Yul Kenya, 2012 India, 2004 South Korea, 1995
Randall Arauz Robert Brown Matthew Coon Come Costa Rica, 2010 Australia, 1990 Canada, 1994
Prigi Arisandi Caroline Cannon Willie Corduff Indonesia, 2011 United States, 2012 Ireland, 2007
160 Pacific Avenue, Suite 200, San Francisco, California 94111 Telephone: 415.249.5800 Fax: 415.772.9137 Website: www.goldmanprize.org
Paul Cox Lois Gibbs Hilton Kelley Western Samoa, 1997 United States, 1990 United States, 2011
Julio Cusurichi Palacios Janet Gibson Eha Kern Peru, 2007 Belize, 1990 Sweden, 1991
Dai Qing Anna Giordano Manana Kochladze China, 1993 Italy, 1998 Georgia, 2004
Demetrio do Amaral de Małgorzata Górska Michal Kravcik Carvalho Poland, 2010 Slovakia, 1999 East Timor, 2004 Maria Gunnoe Jean La Rose Tuenjai Deetes United States, 2009 Guyana, 2002 Thailand, 1994 Syeda Rizwana Hasan Jesús León Santos Elias Diaz Peña Bangladesh, 2009 Mexico, 2008 Paraguay, 2000 Lynn Henning Dmitry Lisitsyn Feliciano dos Santos United States, 2010 Russia, 2011 Mozambique, 2008 Von Hernandez Luis Macas Raoul du Toit Philippines, 2003 Ecuador, 1994 Zimbabwe, 2011 Noah Idechong Thuli Makama Wadja Egnankou Palau, 1995 Swaziland, 2010 Ivory Coast, 1992 Laila Iskandar Myrsini Malakou Corneille Ewango Egypt, 1994 Greece, 2001 Democratic Republic of Congo, 2005 Yuyun Ismawati Atherton Martin Indonesia, 2009 Dominica, 1998 Pablo Fajardo Mendoza Ecuador, 2008 Hugo Jabini Bernard Martin Suriname, 2009 Canada, 1999 Tarcísio Feitosa da Silva Brazil, 2006 Margaret Jacobsohn Alexis Massol‐González Namibia, 1993 Puerto Rico, 2002 Maria Elena Foronda Farro Peru, 2003 Sarah James M.C. Mehta United States, 2002 India, 1996 Edwin Gariguez Philippines, 2012 Christine Jean Olya Melen France, 1992 Ukraine, 2006 Sofía Gatica Argentina, 2012 Chavannes Jean‐Baptiste Vera Mischenko Haiti, 2005 Russia, 2000
160 Pacific Avenue, Suite 200, San Francisco, California 94111 Telephone: 415.249.5800 Fax: 415.772.9137 Website: www.goldmanprize.org
Emma Must Rosa Hilda Ramos John Sinclair England, 1995 Puerto Rico, 2008 Australia, 1993
Ricardo Navarro Carlos Alberto Ricardo Ursula Sladek El Salvador, 1995 Brazil, 1992 Germany, 2011
Harrison Ngau Laing Marina Rikhvanova Olga Speranskaya Malaysia, 1990 Russia, 2008 Russia, 2009
Alexander Nikitin Humberto Ríos Labrada José Andrés Tamayo Cortez Russia, 1997 Cuba, 2010 Honduras, 2005
Evaristo Nugkuag Oscar Rivas Bruno Van Peteghem Peru, 1991 Paraguay, 2000 New Caledonia, 2001
Odigha Odigha Stephanie Roth Jorge Varela Márquez Nigeria, 2003 Romania, 2005 Honduras, 1999
Oscar Olivera Eugène Rutagarama János Vargha Bolivia, 2001 Rwanda, 2001 Hungary, 1990
Marc Ona Essangui Ignace Schops Orri Vigffúson Gabon, 2009 Belgium, 2008 Iceland, 2007
Juan Pablo Orrego Heffa Schuecking Ka Hsaw Wa Chile, 1997 Germany, 1994 Burma, 1999
Garth Owen‐Smith Tuy Sereivathana Cath Wallace Namibia, 1993 Cambodia, 2010 New Zealand, 1991
Medha Patkar Champa Devi Shukla Craig Williams India, 1992 India, 2004 United States, 2006
Alexander Peal Silas Siakor Steve Wilson Liberia, 2000 Liberia, 2006 United States, 2001
Francisco Pineda Marina Silva Luis Yanza El Salvador, 2011 Brazil, 1996 Ecuador, 2008
Nat Quansah Andrew Simmons Yu Xiaogang Madagascar, 2000 St. Vincent and the China, 2006 Grenadines, 1994 Sophia Rabliauskas Sviatoslav Zabelin Canada, 2007 Hammerskjoeld Simwinga Russia, 1993 Zambia, 2007
160 Pacific Avenue, Suite 200, San Francisco, California 94111 Telephone: 415.249.5800 Fax: 415.772.9137 Website: www.goldmanprize.org