The continuing movement expanding indigenous and environmental rights in Latin America was highlighted with the awarding of the Goldman Environmental prize to Nemonte Nenquimo, a leader of the Waorani people in Ecuador. Ms. Nenquimo is the President of the Waorani of Pastaza region and a co-founder of the Ceibo Alliance, which works to protest the rights of indigenous people. She organized a successful lawsuit stopping the proposal to drill oil by the Ecuadorean government in the Waorani region. As a result of the successful legal action, 500,000 acres of land are now protected, and the local population must be consulted before any other projects in the region are considered.
The Waorani people had lived in isolation in Ecuador’s portion of the Amazon forest until Christian missionaries made contact in the late 1950s. Since that time, the Waorani have seen their territory shrink dramatically. The governments’ announcement to offer oil drilling leases in their remaining territory galvanized Ms. Nenquimo to organize the community and challenge the leases in the courts. The court ruled in the Waorani’s favor in 2019. She was recently named to Time Magazine‘s 100 most influential people in the world.
“The Waorani people have always been protectors, they have defended their territory and their culture for thousands of years,” Ms. Nenquimo told the BBC.
Environmental protections in Ecuador have been strengthening during the past few decades. In 2008 the government expanded the constitution to grant permanent legal rights to the environment. The constitutional changes stressed the importance of indigenous culture and populations in preserving and strengthening the environment and Ecuador. Ecuador was the first nation to grant such rights to environment. The recent ruling by the Ecuadorian court directed the National Assembly to pass a bill to guarantee the enforcement of the courts’ ruling. The ruling demonstrates tangible results from the Ecuadorian constitutional reforms.
The Goldman Environmental Prize was created in 1990 to honor and promote grassroots environmental action across the world. It often highlights individuals who have risked their lives in organizing their communities and nations to protect the environment. Five total winners are selected each year, one each from Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, and North America. Previous winners include Berta Caceres from Honduras who was assassinated one year after receiving the award for her work in protesting the building of the Agua Zarca dam.
Though the Goldman Environmental Prize is based in San Francisco, the awarding of the prize to Ms. Nenquimo received little attention by most of the US media. Her selection, along with the other recipients, did receive significant coverage in Europe and in Latin America. She is the fourth Ecuadorian to receive the prize.
“About the Prize.” The Goldman Environmental Prize. Accessed December 9, 2020. https://www.goldmanprize.org/about/.
“Nemonte Nenquimo: The indigenous leader named ‘environmental hero’.” BBC. November 30, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55122550.