In Memoriam:  Wangari Maathai (1940-2011)

September 26, 2011

Dear CIEL Friends and Family,

It is with a profound sense of loss that we learn that Nobel Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai has passed away in Kenya, following a long battle with cancer.  Wangari was a member of CIEL’s Board of Advisors, a generous supporter and a great friend to the organization.  More importantly, she was and will continue to be an inspiration to all of us who care about the environment and understand its critical importance to human health, human development and human rights.  She is equally an inspiration to all who know the vital relationship between environmental stewardship, good governance and the foundations of peace.  As Wangari said in her Nobel Lecture, “the state of any country’s environment is a reflection of the kind of governance in place, and without good governance there can be no peace.”  This understanding led Wangari to work tirelessly not only for the causes of environmental protection and human rights, but for the cause of democracy as an essential precondition to both.  It is an understanding, and a cause that we share.

Still, for all of us at CIEL, there is a quote from Wangari that holds even greater resonance.  Part of her original statement on learning she’d received the Nobel Peace Prize, she shared the words with us for the poster celebrating CIEL’s 20th Anniversary in 2010.  We can think of no more fitting way to honor Wangari’s memory than with those words:

Those of us who understand the complex concept of the environment have the burden to act.

We must not tire.  We must not give up.  We must persist.