“Wangari Maathai is a women of
great personal courage and strong commitment, who has achieved
remarkable results. Her work has placed environmental protection in
the context of peace.
“The award of this year’s Peace
Prize to Professor Maathai from Kenya is a very welcome and
well-deserved recognition of her many years of tireless struggle
for the environment, development, democracy and human rights,” said
Foreign Minister Petersen.
Professor Maathai is the first
woman from Africa to receive the Peace Prize. “This award
underlines the key role played by women in development and
emphasises how essential it is that the fight for the sustainable
utilisation of resources is given a central place in the efforts to
promote development,” said the Minister.
Professor Maathai founded the Green
Belt Movement in 1977. By mobilising women in rural areas this
grassroots movement has done much to combat deforestation and
desertification, and the model has been successfully applied in a
number of other African countries. For this she received the
Norwegian Sophie Prize in 2004.
On several occasions Professor
Maathai has come into conflict with the Kenyan authorities.
Attempts to silence her voice have led to considerable personal
sacrifices, but she has never wavered in her efforts.
“Ecologically sustainable
development is essential for stability, security, democracy and
peace. Therefore I am very pleased that the prize has been awarded
to a person who has done so much to raise awareness of these
issues. This is a great encouragement to us all,” said Mr
Petersen.
