KENYA: Joy as first African woman wins Nobel Peace Prize

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

NAIROBI, 9 Oct 2004 (IRIN) - Kenyan environmental activists were thrilled when the news came on Friday that the country's leading conservationist, Wangari Maathai, had won this year's Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first African woman to be its recipient.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced in Oslo that it had decided to award the prize to Maathai, 64, in recognition of her "contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace".

"Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment," the Nobel committee said. "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."

Maathai said in an interview with CNN that the prize was a "great recognition and encouragement" to the people of Africa and especially the women of Africa "who continue to struggle despite the problems they face".

She commented that it is important to manage resources at sustainable levels. She founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977, an organisation that has since mobilised people across that country to plant millions of trees, even as she campaigned for greater democracy and the respect of human rights in Kenya.

Maathai was elected to parliament in 2002 and represents a constituency in the central Nyeri district, where she was born. She is currently assistant minister in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife.

She was in her constituency when she received the news that she had won the peace prize. She said she "had no clue" that she was in the list of likely winners until reporters mentioned it to her on Friday morning, before the Norwegian ambassador to Kenya and the Nobel Committee called her to give her the news.

"Everybody is so happy. We are so excited," Mugure Muchai, a project officer at the Green Belt Movement told IRIN. "The staff cannot even concentrate on their work today because the excitement is overwhelming," she added.

"Maathai combines science, social commitment and active politics," the Nobel Committee said. "Through education, family planning, nutrition and the fight against corruption, the Green Belt Movement has paved the way for development at a grassroots level. We believe that Maathai is a strong voice speaking for the best forces in Africa to promote peace and good living conditions on that continent."

More than simply protecting the existing environment, her strategy is to secure and strengthen the basis for ecological-sustainable development. Maathai has received many awards including: the Goldman Environmental Prize of the Goldman Foundation (1991), The Hunger Project's Africa Prize for Leadership (1991), the UN's Africa Prize for Leadership (1991), the Windstar Award for the environment (1988), the Better World Society Award (1986), the Alternative Nobel Prize and the Right Livelihood Award (1984), and many other honors.

[ENDS]