Abstract
Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai (1940–2011) remains one of the most influential Africans in advancing global sustainability. In 2004, she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her nearly 30 years of work with the Greenbelt Movement (GBM). On the surface, the GBM is best understood as an organization and as a movement to combat deforestation by planting trees. While tree-planting has been a central activity of the GBM, Maathai’s lifework decisively encompassed environmental protection and social justice. The Nobel Committee’s recognition of Maathai’s achievements articulated in no uncertain terms that peace is not possible without the concomitant protection of the environment and human rights. This chapter discusses Maathai’s background, the GBM, and other contributions that Maathai made to champion the nexus of the three key themes of sustainability – environmental protection, fair economic development, and social equity (see “Defining Sustainability” chapter in this volume).
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Kinefuchi, E. (2022). Wangari Maathai. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38948-2_185-1
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