Indigenous Activist Ruth Buendia Wins Goldman Environmental Prize For Activism In Peru

In Peru, there were plans to damn the rivers in order to supply Brazil with electricity. But thanks to the efforts of an indigenous activist, the plans were foiled. The woman behind stopping the plan has now been honored with a prestigious environmental award in the United States, according to the organizers of the prize.

The recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize is 37-year-old Ruth Buendía, who is the leader of the Asháninka people in Peru's central Amazon near the Ene River. According to Buendía, the Paquitzapango hydroelectric project was conceived to create 7,200 megawatts between Brazil and Peru. Had the dam, which was one of five planned, been formed, flooding would have displaced anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 people.

The government of Peru greenlit the project without tell the Asháninka communities that their homes and livelihood would be affected, said Buendía, which is in direct violation of international law. Buendía took the case to local and international courts to stop the Paquitzapango and other damns.

"There was no conflict," Buendía said in an interview, according to Reuters. "We just used their laws that they were not applying."

Buendía will receive her prize and $175,000 in San Francisco with six other winners from other countries.