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 Chap. 1, “Defining Sustainability,” in this volume).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chirindo K (2016) Bantu sociolinguistics in Wangari Maathai’s peacebuilding rhetoric. Women’s Stud Commun 39(4):442–459
Dater A, Merton L (2008) Taking root: the vision of Wangari Maathai [Documentary]. Marlboro Productions, Soundchef Studios. https://doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2016.1228552
Florence N (2018) Wangari Maathai the educator: straddling tradition and modernity. J Glob Educ Res 1(1):48–67. https://doi.org/10.5038/2577-509X.1.1.1008
Gorsevski EW (2012) Wangari Maathai’s emplaced rhetoric: greening global peacebuilding. Environ Commun 6(3):290–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2012.689776
Harper-Shipman TD (2019) How comprehensive is comprehensive? Using Wangari Maathai as a critique of the World Bank’s contemporary development model. Third World Q 40(4):633–650. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2018.1549940
Johnson S (2012) UNEP the first 40 years: a narrative. UNEP - UN Environment Programme. http://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-first-40-years-narrative-stanley-johnson
Kammen D (2011). Wangari Muta Maathai: a life of firsts. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/wangari-muta-maathai-a-life-of-firsts
KFEET – Karura Forest Environmental Education Trust (2013, February 21). Friends of Karura forest. https://www.friendsofkarura.org/become-a-member/kfeet-karura-forest-environment-education-trust/
Kinefuchi E (2018) Wangari Maathai and mottainai: gifting “cultural appropriation” with cultural empowerment. In: Mutua E, Gonzalez A, Wolbert A (eds) Planting the future: the rhetorical legacy of Wangari Maathai. Lexington, pp 137–156
Maathai W (2005) Why a Nobel Peace Prize for environmental activism? N Perspect Q 22(2):16–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5842.2005.00741.x
Maathai WM (2006a) The Green Belt Movement: sharing the approach and the experience, New Revised edn. Lantern Books. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.libproxy.uncg.edu/lib/uncg/detail.action?docID=319393
Maathai WM (2006b) Unbowed: a memoir. Alfred A. Knopp
Maathai W (2008) An unbreakable link: peace, environment, and democracy. Harv Int Rev 29(4):24–27
Maathai WM (2009) The challenge for Africa. Pantheon Books
Maathai WM (2010) Replenishing the earth: spiritual values for healing ourselves and the world. Doubleday
Mutua E, Gonzalez A, Wolbert A (2018) Planting the future: The rhetorical legacy of Wangari Maathai. Lexington
Muthuki J (2006) Challenging patriarchal structures: Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, Agenda, 20(69):83–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/10130950.2006.9674752
Ngunjiri FW (2014) “I will be a hummingbird”: lessons in radical transformative leadership from professor Wangari Maathai. In: Jallow BG (ed) Leadership in postcolonial Africa. Palgrave Macmillan US, pp 123–141. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137478122
Nixon R (2011) Slow violence, gender, and the environmentalism of the poor. Harvard University Press.
Ochwa-Echel J, Onyango R (2018) African women and social transformation: exploring Wangari Maathai’s activism. Africology 12(6):93–109
Presbey GM (2013) Women’s empowerment: the insights of Wangari Maathai. J Glob Ethics 9(3):277–292. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449626.2013.856640
The United Nations Environment Programme (2008) Plant for the planet: the Billion Tree Campaign. https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/plant-planet-billion-tree-campaign
Wangari Maathai-facts (n.d.) The Nobel Prize. Retrieved January 21, 2022, from https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2004/maathai/26050-wangari-maathai-nobel-lecture-2004/
WMI History | Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies (n.d.) Retrieved April 30, 2022, from https://wmi.uonbi.ac.ke/basic-page/wmi-history
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Kinefuchi, E. (2023). Wangari Maathai. In: Brinkmann, R. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01949-4_185
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01949-4_185
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-01948-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-01949-4
eBook Packages: Social SciencesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences