Tree planter wins enviro prize
2004-03-29 17:30
Oslo - Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, the founder of an organisation that has planted more than 30 million trees in Africa, was on Monday awarded the 2004 Sophie Prize, a Norwegian award for environmental or development efforts.
Maathai, 64, has "for the last 30 years fought fearlessly for the protection of the environment, human rights, social justice, human dignity and the promotion of democratic governance," the Sophie Foundation said.
In the mid-1970s, Maathai started the Green Belt Movement, aimed at promoting and protecting Africa's biodiversity, creating jobs, in particular in rural areas, and promoting the role of women in society.
The group has planted more than 30 million trees and its nurseries employ tens of thousands of people.
Maathai, a biologist and the first eastern African woman to earn her doctorate and become a professor, is also an ardent human rights advocate in Kenya, where she is politically active.
"Her brave defiance of undemocratic and oppressive political leadership has encouraged others in her country and region to stand up for their rights and that of the environment," the Sophie Foundation said.
The Sophie Prize was founded in 1997 by Norwegian writer Jostein Gaarder, author of the bestselling philosophical novel "Sophie's World". The prize, which comes with a $100 000 cheque, last year went to Australian journalist John Pilger.
- AFP