Created by Alfred Nobel, Nobel Prizes – Nobel Peace Prize- are awarded to those who have “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”. (Wikipedia, 2017)
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In 2004, Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This makes her the first female African to receive a Nobel Peace Prize.
She was commended for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace for her conservation effort, especially for the Green Belt Movement.
Quoted from the Norwegian Nobel Committee, “(Professor Maathai) “stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. She has taken a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights and women’s rights in particular. She thinks globally and acts locally.”
Her journey to Nobel Peace Prize
When she first began the initiative for tree-planting, all she aimed to do was to help rural women earn a source of income from the sales of seedlings and to slowly restore the environment that was severely damaged.
However, she slowly realised that the cause environmental degradation was due to a corrupted government. The land were cleared and sold illegally to developers. People were encouraged to convert land to cash-crop plantation which had severely damaged the land, causing it to be unsuitable for growth of indigenous crops. All these resulted in permanent damage to land, polluted water resources and lack of food security.
With the depletion of scarce resources, poverty and conflict arise as people fought for access, control and allocation of what was left. Those who are in power gets the land and those who are marginalised retaliate to get justice, causing war and conflict. Hence, a sustainable management and equitable distribution of our resources will prevent conflict between and within countries, promoting peace.
She embarked on a journey to fight against the corrupted government, against clearing of land for modern development. She emphasised on the empowerment of individuals, to keep them informed and demand what belongs to them. They should not suffer in silence because of an oppressive government. They should fight for their basic rights and fight for what was theirs. She fought hard for democracy and achieved it in 2002.
This effort was recognised by the Norwegian Nobel Commitee and she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
In her award acceptance speech, Professor Maathai said: “I believe the Nobel committee was sending a message that protecting and restoring the environment contributes to peace; it is peace work. . . . I always felt that our work was not simply about planting trees. It was about inspiring people to take charge of their environment, the system that governed them, their lives, and their future.”
You can read her Nobel Peace Prize Speech here: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2004/maathai-lecture-text.html