The ‘Goldman Environmental Prize’ of 2019, has been awarded to 6 grassroots environmental activist from around the world. The award ceremony was organized at San Francisco Opera House in California in the United States. The event was organized on April 29, 2019.
The winners of Goldman Environmental Prize, 2019, are;
1. Linda Garcia: Linda is from Vancouver, United States. She rallied and made a local community to successfully prevent the construction of North America’s largest Oil Export Terminal at Vancouver, Wash. It allows 11 Million gallons of Oil transportation to the port on the train on a daily basis.
2. Ana Colovic Lesoska: Lesoka founded a Save Mavrovo Campaign, to stop the hydropower project to protect the critical habitat for the endangered Balkan lynx. By stopping the funding of two large hydropower plant which was supposed to be built in Mavrovo National Park.
3. Bayarjargal Agvaantseren: Agvaantseren led a 7-year long fight to create a 1.8 Million-Acre Tost Tosonbumba Nature Reserve in South Gobi Desert to protect the habitat for Snow Leopards. As well as, stands for stopping the mining operations in the park. With her efforts, she canceled the license of 37 mining park and protects the core breeding population of the Snow Leopard.
4. Alfred Brownell: Brownell is an Environmental activist of Liberia and a Human Rights Lawyer who stopped the destruction of Liberia’s Tropical Forest by plantation developers of Palm Oil.
5. Jacqueline Evans: Evans is from the Cook Islands and spends his five years to gain the support for the protection of 763,000 square miles of ocean around the Islands. And he made the government agree and create 15 Marine protected areas for the conservation of marine life.
6. Alberto Curamil: Curamil protected the ecosystem surrounding the Cautin River by stopping the development of two Hydropower plants in Araucania, Chile. The Cautin River is considered as the holy river by the people. He is the only activist who has been jailed for his demands and activities.
It is the 30th Anniversary of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. It is also known as ‘Green Nobel Prize’ and have a cash prize of $200,000 for the winners. The annual award was first established in the year 1989, by a U.S. Philanthropist ‘Richard and Rhonda Goldman’.
