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News / 18 April 2012

Ikal Angelei wins prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize

Ikal Angelei, founder of Friends of Lake Turkana in Kenya, a partner organisation of Both ENDS, received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize this week for her battle against the construction of the infamous Gibe 3 dam in Ethiopia. The construction of this dam would severely damage the ecosystem around Lake Turkana and have disastrous consequences for the indigenous people and their natural habitat.

 

Several hundred thousand fishermen, farmers and shepherds depend on Lake Turkana for their life support. Due to climate change and irrigation projects the water level in the lake has already declined severely over the past 40 years. With the construction of the Gibe 3 dam which is build on the border between Kenya and Ehtiopia, fresh water and fertile ground would become scarce and would ultimately lead to ethnic conflicts.

 

By founding Friends of Lake Turkana in 2008, Ikal Angelei has brought together the divided communities around Lake Turkana in their battle against the construction of the Gibe 3 dam. She brought its negative consequences under the attention of local and national policy makers. The Kenyan Parliament is now demanding a reevaluation of the project. Angelei also convinced the World Bank, the European Investment bank (EIB) and the African development bank (AFDB) not to provide financial support to the project.

 

Besides Ikal Angelei, five other environmental activists received the Goldman Environmental Prize.

 

For more information see:

Gibe 3 dam and Goldman Environmental Prize.

 

 

Photo (on Flickr): Ian Elwood

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