The award, known as the “Green Nobel Prize”, recognizes grassroots activism for the environment and the conservation of natural resources.
Through the work of Korap and other groups, major mining companies such as Anglo American and Vale, abandoned exploration projects in the territory of indigenous peoples, which is not yet officially demarcated or recognized by the Brazilian authorities.
Corap, 39, is president of the Pairi Indigenous Association, which supports communities in the region that includes the Tapajos River Basin in Para, in northern Brazil.
Her high-profile campaign to defend the Munduruku territory led her to take on the mining giant Anglo American.
As a result, Anglo American withdrew 27 requests to investigate mining operations on Indigenous lands.
Company Measure Represents a rare victory for an indigenous community about one of the largest mining companies in the world.
Asked by the BBC if she finds the prospect of confronting the mining giant daunting, Alessandra Corap Mundurucu said she draws strength from the territory she intended to defend.
“May be [Anglo American] might be powerful for you, but powerful for me is the river, the strength of our territory and our people, the ant doing its job, and the resilience of our people in the struggle for our land for over 500 years.”
Korap, who worked as a teacher, says that the destruction of rivers and forests has become more of a concern for her since 2014 and 2015.
“The main influence came with the arrival of large companies to the region where we live. That’s where urbanization and deforestation started,” he says.
“Many times we have come to a place where we used to hunt or gather fruit, and all of a sudden the whole land was cleared by machines. So we asked ourselves: where is this lake, where we used to fish and play? It just didn’t exist anymore.”
It was then that he decided to get involved in the defense of the Indigenous territories after seeing how gold mining affects his community.
“Where I live [en el estado brasileño de Pará, a lo largo del río Tapajós], there are more and more settlements. My people depend on fishing. But there are already places where gold mining has polluted the water and killed the fish,” he explains.
“As a child, I had a lot of freedom. We fished in rivers and lakes, collected fruits and seeds, which we use to make our crafts. But since 2014, I have seen these areas being turned into deserts by bulldozers and other big machines.”
It was these changes, she says, that made her an activist. But he adds that it wasn’t easy at first to take on a leadership role in his community.
“In our culture, traditionally men make decisions, men go hunting and fishing. Women should stay on our site, taking care of the husband, children and home.”
Corap was inspired by another Munduruku woman, Maria Leusa Kaba Munduruku. challenge these rigid gender roles.
I had already helped the caciques (indigenous leaders) and she saw me and said, “Alessandra, keep going, don’t give up, you will get a lot of hits from men, from caciques, but women can’t.” give up.”
She says she always thought it was important that all voices be heard, including the voices of women and children, but were initially resisted.
“Why do women want to talk? Women should take care of their husbands, not make speeches,” some bosses told me,” she recalls.
When Munduruku was attacked by illegal gold miners a few years ago, Korap’s own mother begged him to back off, but insisted that he keep fighting.
“I told her: Mom, as long as our community and our territory exists, I will continue to fight. [para defenderlos]”.
With the help of the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples Coalition (APIB) and the lobbying groups Amazon Watch and Greenpeace, Corap prepared an open letter calling on Anglo American to revoke exploration permits for mining in Brazil’s indigenous territories, the Brazilian Amazon.
Permissions were released without the informed consent of indigenous communities required by the Brazilian Constitution.
The company initially denied having such permits, but after an intense media campaign led by Korap, Anglo American said that concerns it had expressed convinced them to formally withdraw more than two dozen investigation requests they had already received.
The actions of the Anglo-American company Anglo American prompted the Brazilian mining company Vale to do the same, with the miner admitting that exploration in indigenous territories requires the consent of the communities.
Korap says that over the past decade more and more women are joining the fight for protection their territories still play a key role.
However, she is convinced that the key to victories like the one she won over Anglo American lies in uniting the entire community.
An open letter he sent to the company in 2020 was based on an official statement drafted at a meeting attended by 45 executives and 200 attendees.
“We women do not want to destroy the caciques, but we want to be with them, decide together with them; our role as women is not to divide the community, but to bring everyone together.”
Other winners of this year’s Goldman Prize also include American Diane Wilsonwon a landmark lawsuit against Formosa Plastics, one of the world’s largest petrochemical companies, for dumping large quantities of toxic plastic waste on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
The Goldman Prize is also awarded to the African Chilekwa Mumbawho are facing another historic environmental battle, this time against copper mining company Konkola Copper Mines.
Alarmed by the pollution caused by the operation of the mine in Zambia, Mumba organized a lawsuit to hold the parent company of the mine, Vedanta Resources, liable.
The victory of an African activist in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has set a legal precedent: for the first time, an English court has ruled that a UK company could be liable for environmental damage as a result of the activities of a subsidiary in another country.
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Source: La Opinion
Alfred Hart is an accomplished journalist known for his expert analysis and commentary on global affairs. He currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker, where he provides readers with in-depth coverage of the most pressing issues affecting the world today. With a keen insight and a deep understanding of international politics and economics, Alfred’s writing is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the world we live in.