People
The people behind the stories
Farmers, students, lawyers, mothers, engineers, waste pickers, beekeepers. Sustainability belongs to everyone.
Making change now
| Person or group | Role | Place | Problem |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abel Cruz Gutiérrez | Industrial engineer (as described by Orato); founder of the Movimiento Peruanos Sin Agua | Lima, Peru | Water |
| Afroz Shah | Lawyer | Versova, Mumbai, India | Ocean pollution |
| Autumn Peltier | Water-rights advocate; Anishinabek Nation Chief Water Commissioner (as described in 2022) | Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada | Water |
| Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola (Wecyclers) | software engineer turned social entrepreneur | Lagos, Nigeria | Urban waste |
| Chewang Norphel | Retired civil engineer | Leh, Ladakh, India | Water |
| Farmers of Maradi and Zinder, with agronomist Tony Rinaudo | smallholder farmers; agronomist (Rinaudo) | Maradi, Niger | Soil degradation |
| Isatou Ceesay and the women of N'jau | community organiser and recycling entrepreneur | N'jau, Central River Region, The Gambia | Plastic waste |
| Jadav Payeng | Farmer and dairy herder (Mishing community) | Kokilamukh, Jorhat (Brahmaputra river islands, Assam), India | Forests and deforestation |
| Leah Namugerwa | student and climate activist | Kampala, Uganda | Forests and deforestation |
| Leydy Pech | Beekeeper; member of the Mayan women's cooperative Koolel-Kab/Muuchkambal | Hopelchén, Campeche, Mexico | Biodiversity loss |
| Martine Postma | Former journalist; founder of the Repair Café Foundation | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Urban waste |
| Melati and Isabel Wijsen | Students (at the start) | Bali, Indonesia | Plastic waste |
| Mohammed Rezwan (Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha) | Architect | Chalan Beel, Natore district, Bangladesh | Climate adaptation and resilience |
| Nemonte Nenquimo | Indigenous leader; co-founder of the Ceibo Alliance; former president of the Waorani organisation of Pastaza (CONCONAWEP) | Waorani territory, Pastaza province (coordinates: Puyo, provincial capital), Ecuador | Forests and deforestation |
| Nohra Padilla | Recycler (waste picker); executive director of the Asociación de Recicladores de Bogotá (as reported in 2016) | Bogotá, Colombia | Urban waste |
| Nzambi Matee (Gjenge Makers) | materials engineer and entrepreneur | Nairobi, Kenya | Plastic waste |
| Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change | Law students | Port Vila, Vanuatu | Climate adaptation and resilience |
| Pam Warhurst and Mary Clear (co-founders), with volunteers of Incredible Edible Todmorden | Volunteers; Pam Warhurst has been described as a community leader and Mary Clear as a gardener (as documented) | Todmorden, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | Climate adaptation and resilience |
| Residents of Kamikatsu | Residents, town government and the non-profit Zero Waste Academy | Kamikatsu, Tokushima, Japan | Urban waste |
| William Kamkwamba | student (at the time); now engineer and innovator | Masitala village, near Kasungu, Malawi | Energy |
Remembered
| Name | Work | Country | Life |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berta Cáceres | Indigenous Lenca leader; co-founder and coordinator of COPINH | Honduras | 1972–2016 |
| Chico Mendes | Rubber tapper and rural trade union leader | Brazil | 1944–1988 |
| Isidro Baldenegro López | Subsistence farmer and Tarahumara (Rarámuri) community leader | Mexico | 1965–2017 |
| Jane Goodall | Primatologist, ethologist and conservationist | United Kingdom | 1934–2025 |
| Ken Saro-Wiwa | Writer, television producer and leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) | Nigeria | 1941–1995 |
| Rachel Carson | Marine biologist, government scientist and writer | United States | 1907–1964 |
| Sister Dorothy Stang | Catholic nun (Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur) and community organiser | Brazil | 1931–2005 |
| Wangari Maathai | Biologist, academic, politician and founder of the Green Belt Movement | Kenya | 1940–2011 |
| Yacouba Sawadogo | Farmer | Burkina Faso | 1946–2023 |