Prime Minister Violeta Bermudez on Wednesday extended her congratulations to Peru's indigenous leader Liz Chicaje for winning
the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize for South and Central America.
"Congratulations to Peruvian indigenous leader and activist Liz Chicaje for having received the Goldman prize in recognition of her dedication in favor of the protection of our Amazonia," she posted on Twitter.
The
Ministry of Environment (Minam) also praised her for being the recipient of "one of the most important awards for environmental leaders in recognition of her work to protect the Peruvian Amazon (Yaguas National Park)."
In January of 2018, as a result of the efforts of Liz Chicaje and her partners, the Peruvian government created
Yaguas National Park.
Its creation is a key step in conserving the country's biodiversity —safeguarding thousands of rare and unique wildlife species and conserving carbon-rich peatlands— and protecting Indigenous peoples.
A leader among the Bora
Liz Chicaje Churay, 38, is a leader of the Indigenous Bora community of Loreto, Peru, president of an agricultural cooperative, and former president of the Federation of Indigenous Communities of the Ampiyacu River.
She first became an activist in her community at the age of 16, when she started to attend meetings about defending ancestral Bora territory from illegal logging and other incursions.
That same year, she became a mother for the first time. During the campaign to protect the Yaguas, she often carried her young daughter with her, while spending long periods apart from the rest of her family as she traveled throughout the region.
Advocating for and creating a historic park
Facing increased invasion from illegal loggers and miners in the region of Loreto, Chicaje and her community realized that the formal status of a national park would help protect the region's rainforests and river systems.
Chicaje and her partners launched a campaign on multiple fronts to advocate for the park. They partnered with government officials, conservationists, and scientists, including researchers at the Field Museum of Chicago, who conducted participatory mapping and satellite image analysis.
She and her partners organized education and outreach to Peruvians across society in order to make their case.
Thus, in January 2018, the work of Chicaje and her community finally paid off. Peru's government declared the creation of Yaguas National Park, protecting more than two million acres of Amazon rainforest, comparable in size to Yellowstone National Park in the United States and considerably more biodiverse.
The park's creation is a key step in conserving the country's rich ecosystems while protecting the ancestral lands of Indigenous peoples. According to a report by Peru's National Service of Natural Protected Areas, upgrading Yaguas to national park status will sequester about 1.5 million tons of carbon over the next 20 years.
Chicaje was nominated for the Prize with Benjamin Rodriguez, another Indigenous leader who worked for the protection of the Yaguas area, but he passed away in July 2020 due to complications from COVID-19.
Editor's note: Based on information provided by Goldman Environmental Foundation.
(END) NDP/RMB/MVB
Publicado: 16/6/2021