Barack Obama

President of the United States

It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Professor Wangari Maathai. On behalf of all Americans, Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to Professor Maathai’s family and the people of Kenya at this difficult time. The world mourns with you and celebrates the extraordinary life of this remarkable woman who devoted her life to peacefully protecting what she called “our common home and future.” The work of the Green Belt Movement stands as a testament to the power of grassroots organizing, proof that one person’s simple idea—that a community should come together to plant trees—can make a difference, first in one village, then in one nation, and now across Africa. Professor Maathai’s tireless efforts earned her not only a Nobel Peace Prize and numerous prestigious awards, but the respect of millions who were inspired by her commitment to conservation, democracy, women’s empowerment, the eradication of poverty, and civic engagement. Professor Maathai further advanced these objectives through her service in the Kenyan government, the African Union, and the United Nations. As she told the world, “we must not tire, we must not give up, we must persist.” Her legacy will stand as an example to all of us to persist in our pursuit of progress.

Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, and Mairead Maguire

Nobel Peace Laureates

We are terribly saddened by the death of our beloved friend and sister Nobel Peace Laureate, Professor Wangari Maathai. Wangari was a true visionary whose work and life served as a powerful example to women everywhere. She showed us that the eradication of poverty, the empowerment of women, and a sustainable future for our planet are all essential building blocks of a more just and peaceful world. She lived her belief that all of us have a role to play in creating sustainable peace.

It has been a great privilege to know and work with Wangari through our joint efforts in the Nobel Women’s Initiative, launched in January 2006. Her tireless commitment to humanity was evident in everything she did–from planting trees and listening to women in refugee camps to amplifying the voices of the disempowered to leaders and decision makers around the globe.

Wangari’s fearless strength in adversity, her creative approach to building a peaceful, healthy planet and her hard work to inspire and empower women will live on. Her passion and commitment have moved countless people to take action to improve their communities. We will miss her great shining smile and her indomitable spirit but all those she has inspired will keep her vision alive through each small action we take toward a better world.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

President of Liberia

Africa, particularly African women, have lost a champion, a leader, an activist. We’re going to miss her. We’re going to miss the work she’s been doing all these years on the environment, working for women’s rights and women’s participation.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee

It was with great sadness the message was received that professor Wangari Mathaai had passed away.

She was highly respected and admired not only for her pioneer work for environmental protection and sustainable development, but also for her work for women’s rights and democracy.

She was among the first to set the agenda for tree planting and forest protection, and among the first to see and advocate the important connection between the environment and development.

Not only was she the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, but also the first to receive the prize for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.

She will be remembered as the very friendly and humble person she was, for her intellectual strength and for her strong and genuine conviction and ability to engage people.

Kenya and the international society have lost a bold and persuasive spokeswoman for the global work on sustainable development and democracy.

Her legacy will always remain with us. The deep sympathy of the Norwegian Government is hereby conveyed to professor Mathaai’s family, close friends and colleagues – and to the Kenyan people – for this significant and painful loss.

HRH The Prince of Wales

There are few people who have had such a profound impact on the future direction of humanity than Wangari Maathai. Her understanding of the link between human poverty and the quality of the natural environment undoubtedly influenced a generation of environmentalists and policymakers. It is a tribute to her passionate determination that so many people feel such a deep sense of loss at her passing. I was fortunate enough to work closely with Wangari on a number of occasions over the years and every time I met her I was struck by both the force of her personality and the quality of her intellect. Her passion shone through in everything she did, from her work on women’s equality to her tireless championing of the rainforests. I, like so many others, will miss her more than it is possible to describe and send my most heartfelt condolences to her children and to everyone who knew her, loved her and depended upon her.

Dalai Lama

HIS HOLINESS THE 14TH DALAI LAMA OF TIBET

She lived a full and meaningful life and will be respectfully remembered for her efforts to promote conservation, women’s rights and transparency in governance. She was determined to make our world a more peaceful, better place to live. I hope her valuable achievements will inspire other women to follow her example and take a more active role in society.

Ban Ki-moon

Secretary-General of the United Nations

The Secretary-General was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Professor Wangari Maathai. A globally recognized champion for human rights and women’s empowerment, Professor Maathai was a pioneer in articulating the links between human rights, poverty, environmental protection and security – for which she was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.

Professor Maathai contributed over many decades to furthering the ideals and objectives of the United Nations. In recognition of her deep commitment, the Secretary-General named her a UN Messenger of Peace in December 2009, with a focus on the environment and climate change. In June 2010 the Secretary-General asked her to join an eminent group of personalities responsible for using their global credibility and renown to boost progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. She served effectively and enthusiastically in both roles.

Professor Maathai’s association with the United Nations spans decades. She was known throughout the development and human rights community not just for her inspirational eloquence, but for her human warmth. Her passing is a loss for the people of Kenya and the world, in particular as we prepare for next year’s crucially important Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development.

The Secretary-General extends deep condolences to Professor Maathai’s family and friends. At this time of sorrow, let us remember the remarkable contributions of a remarkable woman.

Gordon Brown

Former Prime Minister, United Kingdom

I am deeply saddened by the death of my remarkable friend Wangari Maathai. Throughout her career she blazed a trail for the environment, women’s equality and human rights. Winning the Nobel Peace Prize seven years ago reflected a lifetime’s battle against vested interests and political pressure to raise awareness of environmental responsibility and help protect our planet for future generations.

Kofi Annan

Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 2001

Wangari Maathai will be remembered as a committed champion of the environment, sustainable development, women’s rights, and democracy.

Her energy and life-long dedication to improve the lives and livelihoods of people will continue to inspire generations of young people around the world.

Mwai Kibaki

President of Kenya

In politics, she will be remembered for the role she played in agitating for political reforms that paved the way for the country’s second liberation.

Raila Odinga

Prime Minister of Kenya

We all knew her as a voice of reason, a lady who stood above our artificial divisions of race, tribe and region and championed the cause of humanity.

Mary Robinson

Former High Commissioner for Human Rights, former President of Ireland, President of MRFCJ

The death of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, means we are all deprived; we have lost an extraordinary activist who showed the skills of leadership and great determination. But two words sum her up for me; passion and energy—traits she showed in all she did.

I am fortunate to have many wonderful memories of Wangari but I will focus on just one, a meeting we both addressed in Germany some years ago. The venue was full of young people and I watched in awe as she conveyed to them her extraordinary passion about the environment in general and the need for climate fairness and justice in particular. But then, at the end of the meeting, Wangari moved to a new level when she energised all present by leading them in a wonderful sing-a-long. Her charisma was remarkable and she literally held hundreds of young people in her hand, and I have no doubt but she was a formative influence on them.

The passing of Wangari Maathai will be an enormous loss to her family, her extended family including the Green Belt Movement, and to the world she cared so much about.

Al Gore

Former Vice-President, United States and 2007 Nobel Peace Price Laureate

It is with great sadness that I learned today of Wangari Maathai’s passing. Wangari overcame incredible obstacles to devote her life to service—service to her children, to her constituents, to the women, and indeed all the people of Kenya—and to the world as a whole. Wangari was a warm and devoted mother and I send my condolences to her family. She worked tirelessly both as an elected Member of Parliament and an Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources. She forged new ground for women in Kenya helping shatter what we would call the “glass ceiling” in the United States. And, she found her true passion as the founder of the Green Belt Movement. As the first environmentalist and first African woman to earn the Nobel Peace Prize, Wangari served as a true inspiration to us all.

Hillary Rodham Clinton

U.S. Secretary of State

I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Wangari Maathai. The world has lost a powerful force for peace, democracy and women’s rights.

From early on, Dr. Maathai was a tireless advocate for the environment, for women and for all those in the developing world who are unable to realize their potential. She founded the Green Belt Movement that has planted millions of trees and helped women throughout Africa improve their lives and the futures of their families and their communities. She understood the deep connection between local and global problems, and she helped give ordinary citizens a voice. Her death has left a gaping hole among the ranks of women leaders, but she leaves behind a solid foundation for others to build upon. I was inspired by her story and proud to call her my friend.

My thoughts and prayers are with her three children, Waweru, Wanjira and Muta, and her granddaughter, Ruth Wangari.

Joe Biden

Vice President of the United States

I was honored to meet Professor Wangari Maathai in Nairobi just over a year ago, and like millions of others was saddened to learn today of her passing. History will rightly record her most celebrated accomplishments, including that she was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. But her contributions to her home continent-and to our shared humanity-run far deeper than accolades can reflect. From its founding in her native Kenya 34 years ago, her Green Belt Movement spread like the roots of the 40 million trees it planted, making her a world-leading advocate not just for conservation, but for democracy, the rights of women and many other important causes. Working across disciplines and national boundaries led her to identify prescient and groundbreaking connections-for example between environmental degradation and poverty-that reoriented the work of policymakers, development experts and human rights activists, alike. When she found her government too unresponsive to the issues she championed, she ran for political office, and won. Her tireless work on behalf of society’s least privileged meant she often ran afoul of those in power, leading to imprisonment and financial hardship. But through it all, Wangari Maathai remained, as the title of her autobiography aptly put it, “unbowed.” “We continue to be restless,” she wrote in that book, “If we really carry the burden, we are driven to action. We cannot tire or give up.” Worthy advice for those who will carry on her work.

Office of Nelson Mandela

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 1993

It was with great sadness that we learned today of the passing of this exceptional environmental activist.

Her work with the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and as an activist for civil and women’s rights in Kenya and beyond received worthy recognition internationally when she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2004.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 1984

Wangari Maathai understood and acted on the inextricable links between poverty, rights and environmental sustainability. One can but marvel at her foresight and the scope of her success. She was a true African heroine. Our condolences go to Professor Maathai’s family, to the people of Kenya, and to the countless women (and men) across Africa and the world to whom she was an inspiration.

R.K. Pachuari

2007 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, IPCC Chief, TERI Director General, Yale Climate and Energy Institute Head

Dear Dr Wanjira Mathai,

I was shocked and deeply grieved to receive the news this morning while at New Haven of Dr Wangari Maathai’s sad demise. The world has lost a great leader for causes that are so crucial for the future of humanity and all living beings. I have lost a sister who I had become so deeply fond of. For those of us who had the privilege of getting to know Dr Wangari Maathai, the best we can do is to see that the causes that she spent her whole life fighting for are served faithfully. Your institute and TERI have an MoU, and I assure you it will be our endeavor to see that this agreement develops substance now more than what we had planned in the past.

Please accept the heartfelt condolences of all my colleagues at TERI, and while I am here at New Haven I also want to convey the heartfelt sympathies of the entire Yale community.

I shall be in touch with you to see how Dr Wangari Maathai’s legacy can be built on for fulfilling her remarkable vision for world which is green and run on principles of justice.

Yours in grief,
R K Pachauri

Mikhail Gorbachev

Founder, Green Cross International, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 1990

[Professor Maathai's] leadership and work serves to enlighten us all that alleviation of poverty, sustainable development, preservation of our environment, establishment of truly democratic institutions, and peaceful resolution of conflict are all integral parts of a safe and secure global future. As the first recipient of a Nobel Peace prize for her environmental work she helped bring about a new understanding of the inter-connections between environment and peace. This is one of her very important contributions.

Michelle Bachelet

Executive Director, UNWomen, and former president of Chile

It is with deep sorrow and sadness that all of us at UN Women [formerly known as UNIFEM] grieve the loss of Wangari Muta Maathai, an environmentalist, politician, professor and human rights activist.

We join people in Africa and around the world in mourning her death, and celebrating her life, as a remarkable leader who was the first African women to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Professor Maathai took a courageous stand, enduring harassment and brutality, to protect the environment and advance the rights of women, combating desertification, water shortages and rural hunger.

An extraordinary leader and founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, she galvanised an environmental movement that planted more than 30 million trees across Africa, empowered thousands of women, and passionately encouraged a new way of thinking and acting that combined democracy and sustainable development.

A fearless leader, she went where no one else dared to go and challenged authorities that few dared to challenge. Refusing to be cowed, she remained adamant about the full participation of women in civic and public life and leaves behind a legacy that will remain with us forever. Her innovative ideas around job creation through environmental restoration are today found in the global development agenda of green jobs and a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

UN Women draws inspiration from Dr. Maathai’s work, especially as we prepare for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development that will be held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012.

As we grieve her loss, our prayers and thoughts are with her family and the many women and men whose lives she touched. May her soul rest in peace as her vision guides us forward.

Jacqueline McGlade

Executive Director, European Environment Agency

It is hard to imagine a world without Wangari. Her energy, warmth and enthusiasm helped so many people understand more about why the environment matters and why we should care about our planet.
Wangari’s hallmark was her smile; it filled so many conference rooms and eager crowds with warmth and kindness.
I feel so lucky to have known Wangari; she was a great leader of women and men and always a friend. I will miss her greatly and send my deepest condolences to her children and everyone who shared in their love for Wangari – she was a woman who truly defined what living was about.

H.E. Etienne de Poncins

French Ambassador for Kenya

I would like, in my capacity as the French Ambassador and in complement to the message sent by the French authorities, to be associated to the pain being experienced by the Kenyan people, who have just lost a remarkable woman, Prof. Wangari Maathai.

By her courage and will, she was able to inspire people to follow her in her fight for environment. She made popular the cause of environment and reforestation on the African continent.

I had the great privilege to meet her in March at her offices in Nairobi, to discuss about her fight for a more ecological and welcoming earth. We also discussed cooperation projects between Greenbelt Movement and this Embassy.

France stood by her side in the realization of her ambitions. She was also a great friend of France. I will keep the memory of an exceptional woman, warm, humble and extremely human.

She was the pride of Kenya, and the entire African continent.

Alice Walker

Novelist and Poet

I remember her wonderful smile and joyful laugh. And eating together – with a daughter and son-in-law- a sacred meal at a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco. We were sisters in every way and I loved her before I met her and after. We discovered we share the name Wangari, as preposterous as that may seem. When I was a student visiting villages in Kenya I was given this name and told it meant I belonged to the Leopard clan. What a delight to be connected in this way with a leopard clan sister that planted trees!

What we leave behind us is our spirit, which can be shared by anyone with the courage and love to do so. Wangari Maathai’s spirit is a feast of love and joy, honor and determination, incredible will.

She loved this Earth, our big beautiful mother, and now she has gone back home to her. I imagine the celebration as Mother reclaims (Well done!) her beloved daughter and Wangari’s spirit experiences the blessed relief of honorable return.

Elin Enge

Former Chairman and member of the Sophie Prize board

Wangari was a force of love so strong that she moved us all. She was powerful, charismatic and a true doer.
She saw that the environment in Kenya in danger, started a grand tree planting campaign that mobilized thousands of women. She fearlessly fought those in power that destroyed nature. Her selflessness and bravery was awesome.
Her action and person moved the world. She was awarded the Sophie Prize and later the Nobel Peace Price.
With Wangaris passing Africa has lost one of their greatest leaders. She gives great inspiration to all who fight for the environment and human dignity.
We have lost a close and beloved friend.

Winnie Overbeek

Int. Coordinator, World Rainforest Movement

On behalf of the World Rainforest Movement, we received this news with great regret, Wangari´s passing away is a great loss for Africa and the World including the struggle for forest conservation and women´s rights.

We had just received and included in our campaign materials a beautiful small message from Wangari last week on our website on occasion of September 21st, the International Day of Struggle against Industrial Tree Monocultures and for a true definition of forests, excluding industrial tree monocultures. (http://www.youtube.com/user/gbminternational#p/u/3/kH9zdx3T8mM )

That she rests in peace while continuing inspiring people all over the world to continue to struggle for social and environmental justice.

Achim Steiner

UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director

Wangari Maathai was a force of nature. While others deployed their power and life force to damage, degrade and extract short term profit from the environment, she used hers to stand in their way, mobilize communities and to argue for conservation and sustainable development over destruction.

Akere Muna

Presiding Officer, Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union

Those of us who had the privilege of working with her, will remember her militant attitude and her total engagement on the side of Civil Society in the furtherance of many causes. The pioneer role she played in starting off ECOSOCC has brought us where we are today. Her uncompromising stand in trying to ensure that ECOSOCC was an independent and Civil Society voice within the African Union might have not found favour with some but remains the invaluable legacy she leaves us with, to ponder and nurture.

In this moment of great sadness for her family, the Green Belt Movement, Kenya, Africa and ECOSOCC, we offer our prayers and our deepest sympathy. The footprints she has left on our continent will bear everlasting witness to posterity that a Great Lady, A true Pan African and a lover of nature, walked this earth.

May her Soul Rest in Perfect Peace!

Steven C. Rockefeller

Earth Charter International Council

It is with deep sadness that I learned of Wangari Maathai’s death, and I send to her family my sympathy at this time of great loss. Wangari’s vision for a better world and courageous leadership was a unique force for the good and an inspiration to millions of people, including all of us associated with the Earth Charter Initiative. She was deeply involved in the crafting of the Earth Charter and her life was a beautiful expression of Earth Charter values in action. It is a blessing and privilege to have had the opportunity to know and work with Wangari. I will never forget her warm, strong presence and unwavering commitment to freedom, justice and ecological well-being.

Julia Marton-Lefèvre

Director General, World Conservation Union

IUCN has lost a great friend and a role model. A woman who was not afraid to put her own life at risk in the name of the values she fought for. She had the power to inspire women in her home Africa but also reach communities in the most remote parts of the world.

Jane Goodall

Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace

JGI Mourns the Loss of Dr. Wangari Maathai

The board and staff of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) are deeply saddened by the passing of Nobel laureate and Kenyan conservationist Dr. Wangari Maathai, a longtime friend of the Institute and a member of Jane Goodall’s International Advisory Council.

It came as a real shock to me when I learned of Professor Wangari Maathai’s death. It is hard to believe she is no longer with us. She was always so vibrant with energy and life, dressed in the glowing colours of her native Kenya. We did not meet often in person―not nearly often enough for my liking. But when we did get together, we talked the same language and shared the same determination to do all we could to make this a better world. But unlike Wangari, I was never thrown in jail because of my beliefs, nor was I beaten for being a rebel.

Wangari was an icon and a hero. She was tireless and courageous in her efforts to restore the land, to plant trees, to protect the watersheds and the streams. She was unceasing in her fight to give women a better deal.

Wangari became a gifted and eloquent speaker. The sincerity and honesty that accompanied her words inspired others to join her cause, and helped her as she lobbied governments in her campaign for humanitarian and environmental justice.

How richly she deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.

Her death is a loss to the people of Kenya, especially the women and the children, and the international conservation community.

My heart goes out to her family and friends at this time.

Prof. Ruth Oniang’o

What a loss!! Kenya has lost its ambassador No. 1! Women have lost their most viscious champion! Africa has lost a Voice! The world has lost its CHAMPION!

She fought the good fight and won it. People like Wangari (as we fondly call her in Kenya) come only once in a lifetime.

This picture embodies who she really was and I can only imagine what was going on through her head as she sat there on this big indigenous tree, with a smile on her face, and looking so much at peace. Her love for trees drove her to fight to save the environment, to fight for the most vulnerable in our society, to fight injustices, to fight for democratic space and this she did taking on strong governments and powerful men. Wangari did it all for us, and I know that her spirit will do even more for humanity as we all strive to live to her legacy and to REMEMBER her in a truly unique way. REST IN PEACE BIG SISTER.

Dr. Jacques Diouf

Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

It is with profound sadness that I learned of the passing away of Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai.  Wangari Maathai dedicated her life to saving the planet from environmental degradation and improving the well being of people, not only in Kenya, but around the world. We are indebted to the contributions she made to the work of FAO in recent years. Her participation in the Ministerial Meeting on Forests and at the Seventeenth Session of the Committee on Forestry in March 2005 helped raise awareness about the need for sustainable forest management and, in particular, the conservation of Central Africa’s forests. She brought to our attention the severe impact the violent conflict is having on forests around the world and the need to address this intricate link in our efforts to protect and sustainably use this precious resource. We are also grateful for the role she played at the UNFCCC’s Forest Day 3 in Copenhagen in 2009 and for her contributions to the UN Forum on Forests.

We owe a great deal to her for her work she carried out to make this world a better place for all.  She will be greatly missed.

Center for Responsible Tourism (CREST)

We at the Center for Responsible Tourism (CREST) join the global outpouring of heartfelt grief and sadness at the death of Dr. Wangari Maathai. As we mourn her loss and weep for her family, friends, and Green Belt colleagues, we also recall and celebrate her wide ranging contributions. Few other Nobel Laureates have contributed to social change in so many fields, ranging from environmental protection, sustainable development, women’s rights and empowerment, and grassroots organizing to peace and democracy.

In December 2008, CREST was honored to have Dr. Maathai as the keynote speaker at our International Travelers’ Philanthropy Conference in Tanzania. As she said in her speech, “We need to change our mindset about the resources that we have: how we manage them, how we distribute them, how we share them. And also to economically and politically manage ourselves in a more democratic way. And so sustainable management of resources, good governments, and peace are linked. These three have to be managed together.”

Wangari Maathai not only led with her wise words and courageous actions. She also, thankfully, built a strong movement that has expanded from Kenya to around the world — and will surely continue to grow in her absence.

Martha Honey and William H.Durham
Co-Directors, Center for Responsible Travel (CREST)
Washington, DC and Stanford University

Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR)

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) pays tribute to Prof Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of Kenya’s Green Belt Movement. KNCHR joins Kenyans in mourning the death of a remarkable heroine.

A 2005 recipient of KNCHR’s Milele (lifetime achievement) award, Prof Maathai represented not only the face of Kenya’s women in academia, but was also a veritable human rights defender. KNCHR’s Milele award is presented to an individual who has an impeccable track record of service to human rights and democracy; led the development of contemporary and creative measures in the struggle for human rights; fostered positive inter-group relations amongst persons of different backgrounds and has consistently demonstrated dedication and commitment to social justice and good governance. In awarding Prof. Maathai the Milele Award, KNCHR recognized her for scaling extreme heights to promote environmental rights and for using the environmental protection cause to champion the empowerment of women to stand upfor their rights and those of their communities.

In the early 1990s she courageously led a successful campaign to oppose the construction of a multi-storeyed KANU headquarters at Uhuru Park which earned her a barrage of insults and ridicule from President Daniel Arap Moi and other powerful KANU politicians. In 1992, she led
a group of mothers of political prisoners in staging a hunger strike at Uhuru Park’s Freedom Corner aimed at pressuring the government to release the political prisoners. Despite the brutality meted on her and
the mothers by the regime police, the ensuing local and international pressure led to the release of many of the prisoners.

Prof. Maathai was closely associated with the work of the KNCHR particularly on the campaign against impunity and extrajudicial killings. Just like in her environmental campaign, she warned that the police were killing the future of Kenya by killing thousands of young people and called upon the government to deal with the root causes of insecurity such as poverty and widespread unemployment which had rendered many youths despondent.

During the 2005 Referendum on the Proposed Constitution, Prof Maathai (then the NARC MP for Tetu Constituency) refused to join the highly divisive campaigns and called for sobriety and tolerance amongst the politicians and Kenyans. During the 2007/2008 Post Election Violence, she traversed the country appealing for peace amongst the warring communities. When the Coalition government was formed in March 2008, she joined the KNCHR in calling for a lean cabinet to reduce the burden on taxpayers. During a related public forum at Uhuru Park aimed at discussing accountability in government, where she was the key speaker, she was tear-gassed by the police who brutally dispersed the peaceful gathering. Last year she graciously agreed to be a panellist during our civic education on the New Constitution and appeared on Radio Maisha to discuss women and land rights.

Her humility enabled her to engage freely with Kenyans of all walks of life. She will be remembered for her work with voiceless people particularly rural women who she mobilized and supported in tree planting and environmental conservation.

One of the most remarkable legacies of Prof. Maathai was her clarity and emphasis of the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights for which she consistently and relentlessly campaigned since the 1970s. Long before the indivisibility discourse gained currency, Prof. Maathai endeavored to demonstrate the close nexus that exist between good governance, a healthy environment and human rights. She warned that continued destruction of our forests had severe consequences on livelihoods for future generations.

KNCHR salutes her memory, remembering that the right to a clean and safe environment that Prof Maathai gallantly fought for is her legacy to us all. Indeed, she was a pillar of faith in the fight for human dignity, not only in Kenya but globally as well. In her death, KNCHR has lost a true friend, a great mentor and an invaluable partner. Prof. Maathai was a true human rights defender and her selfless contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights is a great example and inspiration to all of us to remain persistent in the struggle for human rights and democracy.

Joelle Chassard

Manager, Carbon Finance Unit, Environment Department

We received the sad news of the passing of Professor Wangari Maathai after a prolonged battle with cancer. We are deeply grieved and sorry to hear the news. Her loss comes at a time when the global efforts to tackle deforestation are at their peak and her continued support would have been invaluable. The staff at the Carbon Finance Unit in particular was fortunate to have had the opportunity to have worked with Professor Maathai through various projects and hearing her views at several forums both within and outside the Bank. She was a great guiding force to the cause of communities and environmental issues and it is unlikely there will be another individual who will meet her level of motivation and vision to save the forests. We will miss our interactions with her and her thought provoking ideas for making the world a better place for generations to come.

The entire team at the Carbon Finance Unit conveys its heartfelt condolences in this hour of grief. We hope and pray that the Green Belt Movement will continue to be guided by her efforts and ideas for years to come.

Manager
Carbon Finance Unit, Environment Department

Trudy Stevenson

Zimbabwe Ambassador to Senegal

Wangari Maathai was an amazing woman, way ahead of her time – and in Africa, too! Her achievements in both women’s empowerment and in conservation of our environment and natural resources are legend. She was and will remain an inspiration to African women throughout the continent. We owe it to her to carry on where she left off. May she rest in peace, and may God keep and protect her family in the palm of His hand.

Mirian Vilela

Executive Director, Earth Charter International

We are sorry to hear about the passing away of Wangari Maathai. Our prayers are with her and her family. On behalf of all those involved in the Earth Charter Initiative, I want to express our condolences to Wangari’s family and how very grateful we are for Wangari and for all she has done.
We will miss her dearly and the Earth will too.

She was a unique human being committed to “restoring the integrity of Earth’s ecological systems”. She inspired us all in her dedication to mobilize people to help reestablish the green cover of our planet.
The first time I saw Wangari was in January 1997 during the first Earth Charter drafting committee meeting. Her joy and humility attracted my attention. It was funny to see how, in the midst of a complicated or academic discussion she would be able to clarify issues using simple language and directness. One day, she told us in a meeting that she would describe the Earth Charter as like when someone is at a bus stop and needs to identify a bus that will take them to a given place. Well, she said, the Earth Charter is the bus that will take us to the right place.

We will miss her smile, energy and positive attitude. She had a good soul and we bid her goodbye with deep gratitude and respect.

As she wrote in the chapter on Gratitude and Respect of her book Replenishing the Earth, “gratitude is the simple acknowledgement of the bounty with which you have been blessed and a sense of responsibility for using it wisely”.

We have been blessed by you, Wangari, and we should use wisely what you have taught the world.

Dr. Rowan Williams

The Archbishop of Canterbury

I note with great sadness the death of Professor Wangari Muta Maathai, environmentalist, advocate for social justice and Nobel Peace Laureate. Professor Maathai has been an inspiration to the Church and global community in her commitment to restoring a world where humanity and the environment can flourish in harmony, with peace and justice. In my visit to Kenya in June this year I was reminded once again of the extraordinary impact of the Green Belt Movement in empowering communities to have sustainable livelihoods while restoring the environment.

I was especially inspired by the words offered by Professor Maathai to the Global Anglican Congress on the Stewardship of Creation:

“The growing awareness that the world is interdependent, inter-linked and a common neighbourhood should be a source of our inspiration. We must remain motivated and persevering.”

Vision, courage and perseverance were the mark of Wangari Maathai’s life and will remain a profound and enduring inspiration to us all.

Barbara Unmuessig and Ralf Fuecks

Executive Board of the Heinrich Boell Foundation

We are mourning the loss of Wangari Maathai who passed away last night in Nairobi. With her we are losing an extraordinary and courageous woman who successfully devoted her life to the struggle for democracy, ecological sustainability, women and human rights. With her charismatic personality and her unwavering personal dedication she has made tremendous achievements and an indelible impact.

In the past, Wangari Maathai has suffered imprisonment, repression and abuse. But nothing could stop her or compromise her ideals. Beyond the ecology movement, she joined the struggle for democratic and social rights of citizens and has been one of the most famous international ambassadors for African women. For this she rightly received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2004.

With Wangari Maathai’s passing we are losing a close partner and friend

Jacques Rocher

Honorary President of the Yves Rocher Foundation- Institut de France

Wangari was an exceptional person. I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting her and planting trees with her.

It was she, by the power of her gaze and combativeness when faced with adversity, who was the flame that ignited in me and in the entire Yves Rocher Foundation and Brand teams, the desire to plant 50  million trees.

She will remain the guide for the planting of millions of trees of life on this planet.

Carroll Muffett

President, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Wangari and CIEL had a deep and long friendship that dates back many years.She was a long-time member of CIEL’s Board of Advisors, a generous supporter and a great friend to the organization. CIEL sponsored a reception for her in 2008 for a special showing of the documentary, Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai. Wangari also participated as honorary co-chair of our 20th Anniversary Gala in 2010 and shared her words with us for our anniversary poster: “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.”

Senator Bob Brown

Australian Greens party Senator and Goldman Prize Winner

Wangari Maathai was an inspiring green jewel shining against the Earth’s destruction.

Andy Atkins

Executive Director, Friends of the Earth

Wangari Maathai was a hugely inspirational figure who worked tirelessly for a fairer and greener planet. She was also a much loved and valued patron of Friends of the Earth International, who will be sorely missed.  Our thoughts are with her family and her colleagues in the Green Belt Movement – she has left a wonderful legacy for people in Kenya and the wider world.

Kamal Elkheshen

Vice President, African Development Bank

A great loss for human dignity, the world, Africa, women and the environment. Prof Maathai was a tireless campaigner for these five issues in which she so strongly believed to such an extent that she actually did bring about change in every one of them as well as helped to focus the world’s attention on the need to do more.  Let her soul rest in peace knowing that her life counted for a lot and that she leaves behind a legacy which will remain forever.

Edem Andah

Trustee and Director, Bassey Andah Foundation

Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole

Director, National Museum of African Art

There is no doubt that Dr. Wangari Maathai’s legacy and her contribution to bettering the environment especially in Africa will live on. Her departure is untimely and a great loss to those who admired her determination to make the world and environment a far better place for all of us.

Gordon Roddick

It was with great sadness that I heard the news on the radio of Wangari’s passing.

Wangari was one of the world’s most important people, who lit up every room like a beacon.

Wangari was never afraid of the truth and, despite threats, violence and intimidation; she stuck to her beliefs and raised her voice.

Wangari had the ability to change the world and she significantly improved the lot of many thousands of people in East Africa.

By every criteria, she was a world-class leader.

I shall miss her beautiful smile.

Jennifer Buffett

President and Co-Chair of the NoVo Foundation

We at NoVo Foundation honor the memory of one of the most inspiring and wise women I have ever met, Wangari Maathai. With great sadness, we learned that this courageous, visionary woman passed away on Sunday. She was one of those rare and amazing leaders who embodied deep integrity, courage, and wisdom. She had an inner light and a deep knowledge about the power of truth, the goodness of women, the need for individual responsibility, and the importance of connectedness.

Read more.

Cyril Ritchie

Chair, Environmental Liaison Centre International

The  world  is  today  a  poorer  place,  following  the  immensely  regretted  death  of  Wangari  Maathai,   an  outstanding  woman,   an  outstanding  humanist,   an outstanding  innovator,   an outstanding  civil  society  activist,   an  outstanding  leader.   And  an  outstanding  mother   to  outstanding  children,  to  whom  I  convey  my  emotional  solidarity  and  support.

I  met  Wangari  in  Nairobi  in  1975  when  I  was  the  first  Chair  of  the  Environment  Liaison  Centre  International  (ELCI),  a  post  in  which  Wangari   later  succeeded  me.   She took  me  to  her  very  first  tree nursery,  carved  out  of  the  land  on  which   a  police  station  stood,   already illustrating  her  immense  powers  of  persuasion.     Later  I  went  out  with  her  more  than  once,  with    a  dozen  or  more  women  in  a  rickety  minivan,   to  support  her   and  to  learn  from   her, as  she  spread  the  tree-planting  revolution  that  became  the  GreenBelt  Movement.     I  have  never  forgotten  her  contagious   enthusiasm,   nor  her  calming  stoicism  as the  minivan negotiated  Kenya’s  rural  roads  that  in  that period  occasionally  resembled  a river  bed !

Wangari  became  big  news  in  Kenya  and  East  Africa,  then  Big  News  in  the  world,  as she  indefatigably  championed  the  causes  of   Africa,  of  women,  of  the  poor,  of  rural  development,  of  sustainability,  of  peace,  of  democracy,  of social justice,   of  human  rights.       She  was  Civil  Society  personified,   even  when  she  had  a  brief  spell as   Kenyan  Assistant  Minister  for  the  Environment  and  Natural  resources.      Wangari   was  increasingly  invited  to  UN,  academic  and  parliamentarian  platforms  to  convey  her  messages  of  good  sense,  of  hope,  of  determination,  of  human  values   and  of  change.      Of course   for  her  irrepressible  activism she  was  vilified  in  some  patriarchal  government  circles.    While protecting  land,  forests  and  people  she   suffered  beatings  at  the  hands  of  police  or  hired  assailants.     When  the  World   Civil  Society  Conference  (WOCSOC)  met  under  my  chairmanship  in  Montreal  in 1999,   Wangari,  as  one  keynote  speaker,   publicly  thanked   the  other  keynote  speaker,    UN Secretary General   Kofi  Annan,  for  his  interventions  on  her  behalf  when  she  had  been  so  attacked  in  Nairobi.

Nothing   deterred  Wangari,  nothing  discouraged  her,   except  perhaps  the  slow  pace  of  governmental  awakening  to,  and  response  to,   the   environmental  and sustainability  crises  confronting  the  planet .     For  Wangari    such   incomprehension  and  inaction  was  only  a  reason  to redouble  her efforts and  her  mobilization  of  civil  society  and  academia  worldwide.    What more  natural,  therefore,  that  in  2004 she  became  the  first  African  woman  to receive  the  Nobel  Prize,  having  already   a  decade  earlier  been  the  recipient  of  the  “people’s  Nobel”,   the  Right  Livelihood  Award.    Her  Nobel  prize  speech  conveys  her  pride  in  African  women’s  resilience;  her  emphasis  on  justice,  integrity  and  trust;   the contribution  of  tree-planting  to  promoting  a  culture  of  peace;   the  need  to  preserve  both  local  biodiversity  and  cultural  diversity.   She  issued  in  that  speech  a  clarion  call  on  leaders  “to  expand  democratic  space  and  build  fair  and  just  societies  that  allow  the  creativity  and  energies  of  their  citizens  to  flourish”.

I  personally  had  multiple  further   opportunities  to  cooperate  with  Wangari  and  to  bask  in her sun:   UN  Conferences  and  Commissions;  the  African  Union  Economic,  Social  and  Cultural  Council  (ECOSOCC)  of  which  she  was  the  first  president;     the  Union  of  International  Associations;   the  World  Future  Council    and  more.         She  was  truly  a  universal  beacon  of  light.   Now  that  that   light  is  extinguished,  what  better  legacy  could  Wangari  have  than  the  universal  redoubling  of    the   commitment  of  all  of  us  to  the  values  that  she  so   outstandingly  incarnated.

THANK  YOU,  WANGARI.

Frances Moore Lappe

Co-Founder, Small Planet Institute

I am grieving, the world is grieving, for our hero, Wangari Maathai. My heart goes out to her beautiful family.

Wangari profoundly changed my life. When my daughter Anna and I spent time with her and the Green Belt Movement in 2000, we came to see the profundity of her work. She taught the world about trees, and their power to restore health to our ecology. Just as critical,she taught us about courage. She showed us that is possible to stand up for what we know is true, to face terrible attack of every kind, and yet to maintain one’s dignity and vision. She taught us that the world we all want depends on our capacity to find such courage within ourselves. Wangari’s courage was contagious. So in her passing, may we all feel an even greater urgency to learn ourselves that fear need not stop us.
What is the greatest honor we can pay to Wangari’s memory? To continue to support the Green Belt Movement, to spread the word of her legacy, and to take new risks for the world we want. I am deeply grateful to the Green Belt Movement for this opportunity to share my grief and my love for Wangari.

World Wildlife Fund

Wangari Maathai was a towering figure at the forefront of Africa’s environmental and human rights movement. Her heroic efforts to plant trees in Kenya and advocate for the rights of local communities around the continent paved the way for many who followed. Her advocacy for women and young girls to become leaders will resonate long after her passing.

Her well-deserved Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 – the first woman from Africa to be awarded the honor — gave her a platform to take her message of environmental conservation and human empowerment to a global audience. Afterwards she became a tireless advocate for conservation of the Congo Basin and in 2005 was appointed a goodwill ambassador for an initiative aimed at protecting the world’s second largest rainforest.

WWF mourns the loss of a heroic African conservationist and our thoughts are with her family and her colleagues in the Greenbelt Movement.

The team at World Wildlife Fund

Jakob von Uexkull

Founder, World Future Council and Founder, Right Livelihood Award

We are deeply saddened and shocked. Her courage and dedication will be very much missed, as will her support and advice. Wangari welcomed our 2011 Future Policy Awards celebrating the world’s best forest policies, and was due to present these in New York last week. Her deep commitment to environmental and human rights will remain an inspiration for us here at the World Future Council to continue our work to protect the rights of future generations.

Bineta Diop

Founder, Femmes Africa Solidarité

Africa has lost today one of its greatest daughters. Wangari was the champion of the environmental cause, to which she brought the attention of the Continent when nobody was talking about this great challenge. She worked tirelessly for the rural women, demanding African leaders to address climate change. We are sure that the young women and men she mentored are ready to continue her fight for climate justice.

Sipho Moyo

The One Campaign

The ONE family learnt with shock, the passing of Nobel Peace Laureate Prof. Wangari Maathai this morning. We are united in grief at the passing of a true fighter, who always stood for what she believed in. Prof. Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace prize in 2004, for her efforts to promote sustainable development, democracy and peace.

Before this, however, Prof. Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement more than 30 years ago because she saw the link between poverty and a degraded environment. Prof. Wangari Maathai lived to fight for the environment, and in particular for the preservation of Africa’s forests. In her life time, Prof. Wangari Maathai planted millions of trees.

She understood all too well that the death of a green world was the death of us all. The good professor took her message to the world, never tiring of repeating it to anyone who had ears to hear.

We celebrate a life well lived, but we mourn Africa’s loss of a true champion. May she rest in eternal peace.

Lynne Twist

Founder, The Soul of Money Institute

I first met Wangari in 1991 when she won the Africa Prize for Leadership,
which was given to her by The Hunger Project. I remember being overwhelmed
by how strong, committed and visionary she was. At that time she seemed so
young to be so wise, yet when I learned more about her history, what she’d
been through, where she came from, and the enormous vision that she held for
the world, I understood why such a young woman emanated so much power and strength.

From the first time I heard her name, I knew she was one of the great ones.
Her constant and unyielding commitment to women, to the natural world, to
liberation, to justice, and to all future generations moved through her in a
way that was unshakable, unstoppable and simply breathtaking.

Even before she won the Nobel Prize, all of us who’ve worked in Africa or
worked with women knew she was one of our heroes. It was such a thrill and
affirmation when the Nobel Committee realized she was worthy of that
remarkable acknowledgment. Having her be the first African woman to win
the prize, as well as the first environmentalist brought so much breadth and
depth to the Nobel Peace Prize itself, and the recognition of the complexity
and many dimensions of what it takes to make a peaceful world.

I know that her vision, commitment, resilience and beauty live on in each
one of us. I commit to honoring her life by living mine in an ever more
committed and effective way. I choose to honor her life by ensuring that my
daughter, granddaughters and all the women whom I can impact know and stay
in touch with their power.

I promise to honor her life through my work with The Pachamama Alliance, the
Soul of Money Institute, and with all of you, in a way that the lessons she
taught me and all of us are carried on in a way that foments the great
turning of which we are all a part.

My heart goes out to Wangari’s family and all who worked so closely with
her. It is a huge loss for the movement. However, if we allow the life she
led and the fact that she is no longer with us to strengthen us, we will
make her proud.

The Achuar whom I work with in the Ecuadorian Amazon say that when a person dies they do not stop loving, and that you don’t stop loving them. May her love for all of us and our love for her last forever and sustain us all.

Ms Sylvie Aboa-Bradwell

Executive Director, African Peoples Advocacy

We were consumed by grief at the news of Professor Wangari Maathai’s death on 25th September 2011. We wish to express our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends, the Green Belt Movement, and all those who, like us, were inspired by her.

Professor Maathai’s relentless opposition to abuse of power and efforts to achieve sustainable development were exceptional. She will be especially remembered for her courage, tenacity and strong leadership in the fight for democratic accountability, human rights, social justice, and the preservation of the environment.

A mighty daughter of Africa has been lost and will be sorely missed. But she leaves us with her outstanding work and exemplary life to celebrate and emulate. Rest assured of our willingness to collaborate with you in all the initiatives you may wish to undertake to honour her memory and perpetuate her legacy.

Sylvie Aboa-Bradwell, Executive Director, African Peoples Advocacy
Lucy Mbugua, Black and Ethnic Minority Representative, Micah Challenge
Knox Chitiyo, Africa Fellow/Head, Africa Programme, RUSI
Precious Williams, Writer and Broadcaster
Joseph Harker, Editor, The Guardian
Hannah Acquah, Founder and Chair, The Knowledge Channel
Chipo Chung, Actress and Activist
Viola Ncube, President, Global Hospitality Services
Elizabeth Williams, Librarian and Lecturer in Anglo-South African History
Conrad Mwanza, Founder and Director, Zimbabwe Business Network

Femi Oke

WNYC's The Takeaway

There are special moments when as a journalist you realize you are no longer doing an interview, but having a real conversation. When I first spoke to Professor Wangari Maathai for CNN, something magical happened as we laughed our way through the interview. I walked into the room as a reporter and walked out with a great friend. I will truly miss Professor Maathai greeting me at various events around the world, with her seemingly mile-wide smile and warm hugs. I am proud to have known her personally, and be one of the many millions of African women she inspired.

H. E. Macharia Kamau

On Sunday, September 25, 2011, we lost a very special lady. Prof. Wangari Maathai died at Nairobi Hospital after a long, courageous struggle with cancer.

We thank the doctors here in New York as well as in Nairobi, were she sought treatment, for doing all they could to give her a few extra months to be with us and to enjoy her family, her children, and her grandchild.

I personally met Prof. Maathai in my previous incarnation as Kenya’s ambassador on matters of environment and climate change, and subsequently we met a couple of times here in New York. In recent months, our exchanges had grown warm and personal. I feel deeply that we have lost someone dear and special.

Prof. Wangari Maathai was a champion of peace, equality, democracy, and the rights of women. She spoke for the voiceless, the oppressed, and the dispossessed. She spoke truth to power in ways in which those in power had no choice but to listen.

The world came to know her as the protector of forests and all that lies therein: the millions who call forest habitats their home, and by extension the animals, the birds, all creatures, great and small.

In the context of the global debate on environment, climate change, and biodiversity, her message rang loud and true. She reminded us time and again that our forests are indeed the nurturers of our biodiversity and the forests are the lungs which help our earth breathe, as well as regulate its climate. The forests are life itself. Prof. Wangari Maathai was convinced of this and preached the message to the world.

If Mother Earth, if life itself, had a friend and protector—a Florence Nightingale, a Joan of Arc—it was Wangari Maathai: philosopher, environmentalist, educationist, political activist, freedom fighter, mother, grandmother, guiding light.

We in Kenya knew her and experienced her in all her manifestations. As a nation, we were intimate with her. She spoke out for us. She took a beating for us. She was our beacon of hope, sanity, and political transformation. She was our shield and defender in the face of dictates from men in power and in conspiracy.

To the world she was the champion of forests, the voice and protector of everything that is green, that is life, that is true.

She was our pride, our genius, our Nobel laureate. She was Wangari, Wangari: the matriarchal name of the Gikuyu lineage of the warriors, the protectors of the people.

We will miss her. We will celebrate her. We will emulate her. We will never forget her. She will continue to live in all that is green, that is life, that is true.

Peace be upon her wherever she is. And may her family find courage and strength in this time.

Deirdre Murray-McIntosh

Senior Television Producer Voice of America TV, Africa Division

VOA’s “Straight Talk Africa” host Shaka Ssali and I would like to extend our condolences to the family and friends of the late Wangari Maathai. She appeared several times on the program over the past eleven years of broadcasting. The Nobel Prize Laureate was clearly one of the most charismatic, articulate, and inspiring newsmakers that we have yet had. We should celebrate Professor Maathai’s life achievements, especially given that she touched a lot of hearts globally rather than spend the moment mourning her passing.

To many, she was certainly a heroine, great lady, and global citizen. Ms. Wangari did not only belong to Kenya, she belonged to Africa and the world rolled into one.

May her soul rest in eternal peace.

Cora Weiss

Formerly Exec. Dir. African American Students Foundation (The Airlift)

Wangari’s death is a global loss.

Wangari Maathai, leader of women, peacemaker, human rights activist and optimist believing that if more people planted trees the world would be a healthier, better more lasting place, was educated in the U.S.

She came here on what she lovingly called the “Kennedy lift,” referring to the grant of $100,000 that then Senator John F. Kennedy arranged to have his family foundation award to the African American Students Foundation, the sponsor of the Airlift. It was 1960, Kenya and much of East Africa were fighting and negotiating for independence from colonial rule. Tom Mboya, a labor and liberation leader, organized an airlift that would bring hundreds (779 to be exact) students from Kenya and other East African countries to the U.S. for education that the British wouldn’t provide. It was the height of the cold war, the height of colonialism, and the height of the civil rights movement in this country.  Mboya came here to persuade college, and some high school, heads to give him scholarships so East Africa could have an educated population of nation builders when Uhuru would be won. Scholarships were of no use if the students couldn’t get here. So he invented the idea of the airlift and I was asked to run it.Other directors included Frank Montero, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Jackie Robinson, Ted Kheel, Mrs. Ralph Bunche, and others. William X. Scheinman became a very close buddy of Mboya and was personally generous as well as  helped raise funds. Tom Mboya met with John F. Kennedy, and following much discussion, the AASF, or the Airlift as we were known, became the beneficiary of a large grant of $100,000 which paid for three charted planes in 1960 (we had already brought 81 students in 1959 with contributions from hundreds of individuals). Wangari was on one of these planes. The story of the Airlift can be read in Tom Shachtman’s book, Airlift to America, How Barack Obama, Sr., John F. Kennedy, Tom Mboya and 800 East African Students Changed Their World and Ours.

Wangari was a risk taker. Her parents should be remembered for letting her come to accept the scholarship from Mount St. Scholastica (Benedictine College) in Kansas. In fact. Tom Mboya should be remembered for encouraging so many young women to get on the plane to places they never heard of. Wangari’s life story is well known and applauded by everyone everywhere. She is the third remarkable woman from the Airlift to be victims of cancer. Pamela Odede, who married Mboya, went to Western College for Women, in Oxford, Ohio. Florence Mwangi, graduated from Smith Collehe, went to Medical School and started the first clinic for women in Kenya, died of breast cancer. They were all remarkable risk-taking, generous, wonderful women who became nation builders for a free Kenya.

I loved Wangari. I admired her brilliance, her dedication to making this a safer, saner more peaceful and healthier world. I loved her laughter, and her wardrobe! Wangari worked with women who had more in common than conflict. They needed to prevent erosion so they could grow crops and also needed to be heard at decision-making tables. She worked with men, too….but was also a victim of their beating and arrest….. Wangari was a role model for all young women and men alike who refuse to be victims of violence or other abuse of human rights and want a safer saner world. The world needs Wangari’s in every country. Thank you, sister. Yours was a life beautifully and courageously lived.

Susan Davis

BRAC USA

Like the millions of trees that she inspired to be planted, Wangari touched so many lives in her 71 years. Now firmly rooted, we can flourish. In her memory, I will do what I can “like a hummingbird.”

Wangari was inspiration and light. Her smile could brighten huge rooms. Her infectious laughter – like thunder claps – rings in my ear as I remember our last time together in New York in Peg Synder’s home. She thanked her friends and bid us farewell as she was returning home to her beloved Kenya. She urged us to know and care for each other. Weaving. Organizing. Caring. Tears streamed down our faces as we sang and laughed and shared stories of our connection. I am flooded with memories and so saddened at her passing. With such magnetism and humility, Wangari walked this planet making it a better place with each step.

May she rest in peace.

My love to her dear family, other friends and precious Greenbelt.

Tonia Moya

President, Green Cross Sweden

On behalf of Green Cross Sweden we wish to say that the passing of Professor Wangari Maathai has left us and the world in great sadness. We send our condolences to her family, to all at Green Belt Movement, and to the people of Kenya. As when a great tree falls in the forest new life springs forth. May all the great work that the Professor has set in process for peace, democracy, equity and a sustainable world continue. Let us all unite to support the people of Kenya.

Wangari Maathai, one of the greatest allies of mother earth, empowered women and inspired impoverished communities to lead their own process for peace. She strived to teach us self empowerment, to help us look within ourselves for leadership, and through practical action to be a source of change in uniting with others. This lesson goes far beyond Kenya, but to all of humanity and to the world.

We will always treasure the Professor’s great positive fearless spirit, her enduring strength, her immense faith, her beauty, her smile, her warmth, her great humility and above all her love for all people.

Wangari you will always live on in us, in our hearts and give us strength to continue your work for a sustainable world. Love to you on your journey onward.

Mia MacDonald

Executive Director, Brighter Green

I first learned about Wangari’s work with the Green Belt Movement to restore degraded environments while providing income and agency for rural Kenyans—mainly women—through tree planting when I was a graduate student at Harvard’s Kennedy School. I was struck by how unusual this approach was in the annals of international development, given its crossing of sectors normally kept separate: the environment, gender, poverty alleviation, governance, and self-help.

Wangari and the Green Belt Movement had also become keenly engaged in Kenya’s struggle to restore multi-party democracy. In the 1980s and 1990s, she’d led high-profile efforts to halt construction of a skyscraper in Uhuru (“Freedom”) Park in downtown Nairobi and to stop the “grabbing” of public land in forests by government cronies. For her commitment and persistence, she’d been beaten, jailed, and vilified by the regime, and even evicted from her office. Finding landlords too scared to rent her space, she moved the Green Belt Movement’s operations—and its 50 or so staff—to her modest Nairobi home. That was classic Wangari.

I first got to meet with her in Nairobi in the summer of 2001 to talk to her about her writing her autobiography. “Do you think anyone would be interested?” she asked my partner Martin Rowe and me. “Yes,” we said, and events proceeded from there…

Read More.

Chris Tuite

Senior Advisor for Conservation International's Carbon Fund and former Director of GBM's US Office

Today the conservation movement lost a great hero and visionary with the passing of Africa’s first woman Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Wangari Maathai.

But it’s not just the conservation movement that has lost a treasure — Wangari was ahead of her time in linking the health of our environment to human well-being. Wangari used the analogy of a three-legged African stool as the support on which human well-being depended. The three legs were the environment, democratic space and peace.

More than her vision, what made Wangari stand out were her humanity and the warmth of her personality, her smile, the twinkle in her eye and her laugh. There are few that can bring these things together in support of a vision and a cause in the way that Wangari Maathai was able. She was truly a master communicator; as she stood alone on a stage, she could make a thousand people fall in love with her in five minutes and be captivated by her simple and powerful message.

As the world mourns her loss, we must also celebrate her life. At the end of many speeches, she told a story about a forest fire. All the big animals stood around and did nothing — all except a little hummingbird, who flew frantically back and forth from a stream to the fire, each time carrying but one drop of water. All the other animals mocked the hummingbird for the futility of its efforts, but the humming bird replied, “I’m doing the best that I can.” That is what Wangari would want all of us to keep doing.

Ms Ndagha Shirleybrown Oyiakah

Global Village Cameroon

It is really sad to lost such an icon. I personally had not been opportune to meet Prof. face to face but have heard and read about her. And listening a recap of her never to be forgotten work on one of the private television stations in Cameroon during their 6pm news some minutes ago, leaves me with much sadness. Having persons with such spirit is so rare talk less of devoted women. May her soul rest in peace, sure she will be remembered always and i pray those of us still alive should continue where she has ended to proof our love for her and value of what she started, did and introduced.

Prof. Wangari’s family, colleagues, ABN family and Kenyan brothers/sisters, may you all accept my sincere condolences and may you continue to pray for our mother to have a perfect rest in the lord.

Alexander Likhotal

President of Green Cross International

Professor Maathai’s personal efforts, leadership, and practical community work in Kenya and Africa inspire us all by demonstrating the real progress that can be made in addressing environmental security and sustainable development challenges where people have the courage to make the difference. She was a true visionary whose local approach to protecting the environment has so many global applications and possibilities.

Ambassador Swanee Hunt

Chair, The Institute for Inclusive Security & Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government

Wangari and I had many occasions together: She and her daughter stayed with us in Boston, she spoke in our home, I introduced her on the stage at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and we met up again in Nairobi.

I knew her as a courageous friend. She was as generous with her smile, her time, and her energy as I would like to be. In other words, she was my role model.

When we were together in Kenya, I passed on to her a long, elegant lapis necklace my Dallas, Texas mother had given me. It looked so wonderfully and crazily eclectic dangling over her African print dress.  Perfect, I thought. A woman who is a bridge between power and people.

Live on, Dear One.

Mark Tercek

CEO, The Nature Conservancy

I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a good friend of conservation and a true champion of Africa, Wangari Maathai.

Through my work for The Nature Conservancy, I have had the good fortune to meet many heroes of the conservation world. Few have made such a profound impression on me as Professor Maathai.

Professor Maathai will be remembered as a woman of many firsts. She was the first woman in east Africa to earn a Ph. D. In 2004, she won the Nobel Peace Prize, the first African woman and the first environmental activist to do so.

And of course she will be remembered as a champion for many causes — the environment, women’s rights, sustainable development, peace.

But her real legacy, in my view, was that she saw these issues as intertwined.

Professor Maathai was instrumental in promoting the concept of protecting nature not just for nature’s sake, but for people’s sake as well. As founder of the Green Belt Movement, Professor Maathai helped Kenyan women realize their potential as environmental stewards, and showed them how protecting the environment and planting trees could lead to a better future for themselves and their children. Under her leadership and guidance, the Green Belt Movement planted more than 40 million trees in Kenya. Through her life’s work, Professor Maathai helped advance the cause of women in Africa and promote a fuller understanding of the essential connection between conservation and development.

On the global stage, Professor Maathai was a strong advocate for reducing deforestation and the carbon emissions it generates and for climate adaptation, lobbying for their inclusion in the United Nations’ global climate agreements.

Through our partnership with the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and our work to address global climate change, many of us at The Nature Conservancy knew Professor Maathai. She was warm, affectionate and engaging; an inspiration to so many, yet still so humble and down-to-earth. Professor Maathai was that rare visionary who, with remarkable dedication and courage, was able to make many of her aspirations become reality.

The loss of Wangari Maathai is a loss not just for the environmental community, but for the world as a whole. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time.

Kerry Kennedy

President, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights

Wangari Maathai: A ‘Mighty Woman’ Who Spoke Truth To Power

Last night, Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, died. Most people think of Ms. Maathai as an environmentalist, planting trees. In reality, her environmental activism was part of a holistic approach to empowering women, advocating for democracy, and protecting the earth.

Wangari Maathai was Kenya’s foremost environmentalist and women’s rights advocate. She contended that women have a unique connection to the environment and that human rights violations against women exacerbate environmental degradation.

Throughout Africa, as in much of the world, women are responsible for tilling the fields, deciding what to plant, nurturing the crops, and harvesting the food. They are the first to be aware of environmental damage that harms agricultural production. If the well goes dry, they are the ones who are most concerned about finding new sources of water and the ones who must walk further to fetch it. As mothers, women are often the first to know when the food they feed their children is tainted with pollutants or impurities, because they can see it in the tears of their children and hear it in their babies’ cries.

In recognition of this, Ms. Maathai founded the “Green Belt Movement.” On Earth Day, 1977, she launched a one-woman campaign to reforest Kenya. She hoped to help stop soil erosion and to provide a source of lumber for homes and firewood for cooking. She distributed seedlings to rural women and set up an incentive system for each seedling that survived. She encouraged farmers, 70 percent of them women, to plant protective “green belts” to stop soil erosion, provide shade, and become a source of timber and fuel. The Green Belt Movement has planted more than 30 million of trees in Africa, helping 900,000 women. The Green Belt Movement has spread throughout the world, from Africa, to the United States, to Haiti, and beyond.

It was a simple concept and it was vastly successful.

She won the Africa Prize for helping to stop hunger. The Kenyan government heralded her as one of the country’s most exemplary citizens. Newspapers and local organizations lauded her.

Her commitment was tested when President Daniel arap Moi decided to erect a 60-story skyscraper in the middle of Nairobi’s largest park. The office building was to be a monument to Moi, and plans called for the entranceway to be graced by a two-story statue of the president striding, Leninesque, into the future.

When Ms. Maathai condemned the plans, which would have paved the only green space for tens of thousands of Nairobi’s poor, officials told her to stop. When Ms. Maathai took her campaign public, security forces came to her office and home, threatening her with arrest. When she refused to be silenced, she was subjected to a harassment campaign orchestrated by the government.

Members of Parliament denounced Ms. Maathai and called her organization “a bunch of divorcees.” The government-run newspaper questioned her past sexual activities, spread rumors that she was a lesbian, and police detained her and interrogated her, with no warrant and no charges.

Ms. Maathai then organized a demonstration of women elders in the park itself. Riot police harassed, humiliated, beat, tear gassed and arrested Ms. Maathai and her companions.

That act of defiance cost Ms. Maathai her standing with an all-powerful government, her funding, and her job. But the peaceful protest she led that day became a rallying cry for women activists, environmentalists, and democracy leaders.

I had met Wangari Maathai months earlier, on a human rights mission to Kenya for the RFK Center for Human Rights, and we had become instant friends. She spoke passionately about her work with rural women, and the difficulties they faced with little income, absentee husbands, a hostile government, and few resources for food, water, and firewood. Ms. Maathai worked with them to start planting trees. Along with a small cadre of Kenyan human rights defenders, the RFK Center demanded Ms. Maathai’s release and the prosecution of the riot police who had so brutalized peaceful protesters. More determined than ever, Ms. Maathai continued her work, using planting trees as an organizing tool for women’s empowerment and political participation.
I am proud to say that Ms. Maathai was among the heroes profiled in the book I wrote about human rights defenders, Speak Truth to Power.
Wangari Maathai was a mighty woman, creative, fearless, and full of love. We will miss her.

Kumi Naidoo

Executive Director of Greenpeace International

It is a deeply distressing and painful loss, not only to the environmental movement globally but also to the social justice movement. She was an inspiration to so many of us, far beyond the African continent.

Jakaya Kikwete

President of Tanzania

Rest in peace Dr. Wangari Maathai. A great woman, an inspiration for many women across Africa, a magnificent visionary and embodiment of courage.

Angela Cordeiro

This is a great loss for the world. The forests are crying.

I am sending from Brazil my sorrow for this loss. I wish much strength for the family to face this moment of pain.

And surely the sky is illuminated with light of Dr. Wangari smile. Rest in peace.

Lisa VeneKlasen

JASS (Just Associates) Executive Director and co-founder

We join with many thousands the world over to mourn the loss of Wangari Maathai and to reflect on the rich legacy of this mighty African activist, scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winner. At JASS, we were fortunate to work with Wangari Maathai through the Nobel Women’s Initiative, our close ally, where she joined sister peace laureates to amplify women’s rights agendas. Her life and political work embody much of what we aspire to at JASS. She built theGreen Belt Movement in the 1970s and 80s by organizing women to address a basic need: firewood for cooking and clean water. As an advocate, organizer and professor, she was always clear that the hard work of women’s empowerment, real democracy, sustainable development, and a healthy planet are all wrapped up together and that you can’t have one without the other. She was a fearless local activist while always a global voice for justice. And like many activists today, her demands for justice were met with violence. As she wisely said,

“Every person who has ever achieved anything has been knocked down many times. But all of them picked themselves up and kept going, and that is what I have always tried to do.”

What can we do to honor the life of Wangari Maathai? Keep organizing and mobilizing women and all people to fight for equality, justice and peace. And plant a tree.

Svein Wilhelmsen

Chair, Basecamp Foundation- on behalf of Basecamp Group

We at Basecamp Group had the great privilege to know Prof. Wangari Maathai, privately through Wanjira, Lars and Ruth as well as professionally as a partner with Green Belt Movement in Kenya. The whole world recognizes her inspirational ideas and great, practical achievements. All of us have been moved to greater effort in safeguarding of ecosystems, through her vision and inspiring presence. We all deeply want to express our condolence and prayers to her family and colleagues. She left a great, positive footprint.

Kenneth Marende

Speaker of the Kenyan National Assembly

I had an opportunity to serve with her in the 9th Parliament. She was kindhearted, helpful and committed to serving her country the best way she could. We have lost a true hero.

Ian Mason

The whole living world has been enriched by the 71 year visit of this great soul. Her presence will be missed but her spirit, vision and love live on.

Fare well

Edwyn Ngunjiri

Green Belt Movement

Prof can best be described as a mother to many especially those whom she worked with, the truth is that there are so many young men and women she has taken to school with her own money just to build there capacity this is an act beyond generosity her voice will live with us, What a tragedy for Kenya?

Salim Maina

We met in 1983 in the most unlikely of places. HOLA and at LAZA to be specific. I was a young forest officer in charge of Tana River District. We spent a whole day touring forestry projects run by Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization. I was touched by your humility in that you did not cring at the sight of the jigger-infested people that you had to interact with. In fact you rode in the same vehicle shoulder to shoulder with these poor people although you deserved better. Strangely you never paid any visit to the administration and that to me was most surprising. You never requested for security despite the threat of bandits in this area. Fare thee well mum.

Carmen Gloria Arriagada

Mata Amritanandamayi Math (Humanitarian organisation affiliated to the UN), Kerala, India

We are greatly saddened by Dr. Maathai’s passing away last Sunday and the profound loss this represents to the world.

It is with deepest sympathy that we send our sincerest condolences and heartfelt prayers to Dr. Maathai’s family and members of her organization.

On this moment of remembrance, we want to pay tribute one more time to Dr. Maathai, for her unparalleled contributions to humanity and her astounding legacy to the world, for which we will be forever indebted to her.

May we all seek solace and consolation in knowing that Dr. Maathai’s extraordinary achievements and strong role model as a powerful, inspirational worldwide leader shall be remembered around the globe with high respect and admiration, and will guide our actions in pursuit of a more just, equitable, peaceful and sustainable world.

It has been an honor and a privilege to have encountered Dr. Maathai in the course of our work. For this we want to express our everlasting gratitude.

Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa

Mayor of Kyoto, Japan

I clearly remember that when Prof. Wangari Maathai visited Kyoto last February, she passionately mentioned that she would spread the Japanese lifestyle ‘MOTTAINAI” to the world. Since we have resolved to continue working together to tackle the global warming issue, I am deeply saddened and discouraged by the great loss of her passing away.

She will always remain in my thoughts and prayers. Please accept my deepest and heartfelt condolences at these hard and tragic moments.

Peter Eredics

ESRI Forestry Manager

Please accept my heartfelt sympathy for the loss of Professor Wangari Maathai. While I only had one opportunity to interact with Prof. Maathai, she left me with such a impression that I will cherish having even having spent a few minutes with her. Her name will be always synonymous to me with decency, fairness and the highest level of humanitarian awareness. While she demonstrated deep strength in her convictions to make a difference in the world around her, she went above and beyond by struggling to be a catalyst for change. In short – there are truly very few people we can say we have met that have changed the world. Professor Maathai was one of those giants.

Women’s League of Burma

There are very few women Nobel Peace Laureates in the world and we have learned that Dr. Wangari Maathai is the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on her tireless actions to promote sustainable development, democracy and peace. We would like to express our deepest sorrow for her death.  It is a great loss not only for her country but for the whole world. She will be remembered because of her work to build peace with creative approach, healthy planet and her hard work to inspire and empower women.

We would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to all at NWI, the Green Belt Movement and the Nobel Peace Laureate family members.

Marcus Agar

It is autumn in England. Instead of light winds and falling leaves of amber and gold, we are experiencing a spell of unseasonably good weather. The trees outside my window are enjoying one last burst of green life before they have to give up their leaves to rest awhile and prepare to be reborn again in a few months.

Kenya’s Nobel Peace laureate, activist and former government minister Wangari Maathai loved trees more than most other people could imagine. She appreciated them as the lungs of our world and recognised the role that we all play in the interwoven scheme of life. But her work did not end in the forests of Kenya. Wangari Maathai was a visionary, an academic and a campaigner. She was a great environmentalist and a driving force that empowered people to improve their own lives.

Professor Wangari Maathai died Sunday night in Nairobi, Kenya, aged 71. She was being treated for cancer and enjoyed the comfort of her family in those final days. To those of us who knew her, the sudden sadness of this loss has hit like a bolt from the blue. People called her many things but to me she was always ‘Professor Wangari’. The combination of respect for the title and the warm familiarity of using her first name seemed to sum up the relationship I was fortunate to share with this great woman.

I consider myself honoured to have worked with Wangari at one of the most exciting times of her full life, when she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. In years of campaigning, Wangari had been arrested, beaten and whipped many times and even faced death threats. As late as 2008 she was tear-gassed during a protest against the president’s plans. But now she could see a time when the opportunities opening to take her work to a new level. In one sense, the hard work was paying off. In another, the real work was only just beginning.

When we first met in her compound at Langata, Kenya, with monkeys climbing all around us, Wangari immediately put me at ease. Just off a late plane from London and unsure of what to expect of this great activist and heroine to many, I was struck by the natural warmth and goodwill that surrounded Wangari as we shared supper that night.

That first meeting was little over one month before we flew to Oslo for the grand whirlwind of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in December 2004. It was a wonderful time to be alongside Wangari, watching her work, seeing the respect she commanded and enjoying the warmth of her character. As well as being a dedicated hard worker focused on getting the most from every occasion, Wangari was a lot of fun to be around and we developed a strong rapport.

She was full of happiness and spirit, her smooth face often creasing in laughter at something that struck us both as amusing. Often it was not even that funny, it just made us laugh. But when it came time to work, she was set and ready to get the job done.

The Nobel ceremony is Oslo was a turning point for Wangari and her work. It was an endorsement for her achievements and a spur of encouragement for supporters around the world to continue with their work. Of course, the international media attention was intense, and this brought its own responsibilities and strains.

As well as the presentation ceremony and a meeting with Norway’s royals and political leaders, the programme included the Nobel Peace Concert. Hosted by Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey, the concert featured stars such as Andrea Bocelli and Cyndi Lauper. After the concert, Wangari was keen to go backstage, to enjoy every moment. When she met Oprah Winfrey that day, I watched Oprah in the presence of someone she clearly respected. There was a sparkle in Wangari’s eye as she met with Tom Cruise, too.

Over the following year, we travelled together extensively, worked into the night, and discussed many things. We trudged through snow in Davos, Switzerland, took tea with Buddhist monks in Kyoto, Japan, and met President Chirac and his ministers in Paris.

On one occasion we travelled the Congo River to a sanctuary for orphaned gorillas being raised in the wild. As we trekked through the jungle, our pace was slowed as Prof Wangari stopped every few metres to revel in the nature around us. She was in her element, which was clear to see, and it was infectious. I learned a lot from Prof Wangari that year.

In 1977, Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement to encourage tree planting and prevent further deterioration of the environment by motivating women in rural Kenya and enabling them to support their families through the creation of jobs that also protected the environment. As well as preventing much of Kenya turning to unworkable land and desert by forced deforestation, Wangari created jobs and enabled people to support themselves through sustainable living. She understood that for long-term economic growth, it is important for a country to manage sustainable development, ensure good governance and care for the environment and its natural resources.

Wangari encouraged communities to develop in harmony with their natural resources, manage sustainable business practices, and keep a tight rein on impactful environmental developments. She knew that good, clear and clean governance was essential to the development of any community. A country like Serbia could learn a lot from the work of Wangari Maathai. A case in point could be the extensive Danube development project, heavily funded by Germany and the EU, and the massive dent it will leave on the rural lifestyle of the surrounding region. A country like Serbia, with a weighty rural population and economic lifeline, can only hope to grow and sustain its economic development through considerate business deals, transparent governance and protection of its natural resources.

The Green Belt Movement has now spread beyond Africa to Europe, Asia and the Americas. Following Wangari’s lead, they have planted more than 47 million trees to slow deforestation, prevent soil erosion and improving living standards for many people.

Wangari Maathai was honoured many times, most notably with the Nobel Peace Prize. Her influence grew significantly with that win. It forced World leaders to sit up and listen, encouraged wealthy philanthropists to make donations, and steered global policy makers to take another look at the direction they were taking. But the Nobel win was not her biggest reward. Her greatest reward was seeing the many lives she changed, the forests she saved and the impact she made on a better future for people and the planet. That will be her legacy.

On a personal level, I will always remember Prof Wangari as a warm and generous friend who was wonderful to be around. As well as the professional indulgence of watching such an impressive and inspirational woman at work, I took a lot of pleasure from the time we spent together: during trips to and from engagement, over dinner in hotel rooms or in discussion to prepare for meetings or speeches. In those moments, Prof Wangari was relaxed and at ease. That was the Prof Wangari I shall remember most fondly.

She was full of life and maintained a positive outlook, even when things were pretty bad. She had a warm, open face and a full heart. That is the woman I can see now. I believe that is how she would want to be remembered, as someone who appreciated the gift of life.

My personal memories of Prof Wangari are often a comfort and an inspiration. She left her mark on me, that much is sure. Only this past weekend, I was thinking of her as I walked among oak trees and bushes in dunes along the Dutch coast. It reminded me of that day in the jungles of the Congo Basin, and I smiled. It is true that I will miss her being among us but I believe that she will never be very far away.

Today the trees outside my window are still mostly green and enjoying the early autumn sunshine. There is a smattering of gold and yellow among the leaves, and birds are chirping merrily in bushes ablaze with red berries. Shortly I will take a walk in the nearby woods, to enjoy the smells and sounds of a season on the turn. Professor Wangari will be there with me, I am quite sure of that.

Lucy Mulenkei

It is sad to receive the Sad News this early morning. At this moment we Pray for you All Family, Friends and all the Staff . We feel extremely saddened by the News and as Partners and great Friends to our Mother, Professor, Mentor and Teacher we Pray for her Peaceful rest. She will always remain alive in us all.
May Good give you all Peace, strength at this time and always.
God Bless you All.

Eric A. Davidson

President and Executive Director of The Woods Hole Research Center

On behalf of my colleagues at the Woods Hole Research Center, I wish to express to you our deepest sympathies on the passing of Wangari Maathai. Our thoughts are with you during this period of grief. She will remain an inspiration to us all.

Mwenda Mbaka

71 trees for 71 years

a tree a year, 71 trees in 71 years…she planted more

and she shed a flood of tears for the trees

yet to plant

imagine… just imagine… if you care to … just imagine!

if 71 of us, or 710 of us, or 7,100 of us, or 71, 000 of us, or 710,000 of us ….

or 7,100,000 of us, or 71,000,000 of us

each planted a tree a year for another 71 years

how many trees would we give some life to…. even in 71 years short!

imagine… just imagine… if you care to … just imagine!

imagine the shelter to the eyes of those beloved

that we leave behind!

imagine the shelter from the bitter tears

that we now so carelessly put in stock

for those beloved we will leave behind!

Wangari…. why are you so different!

is it your guts, or your wits, or your heart?!

Is it a talent, or effort or fate!

and now, why you… a mentor, a meteor, a sweet sun set too soon?

…hey you all! here we are, helpless as a creeper without a staff

…..not a man man enough, would let you go, Wangari Mama

O yes Mama!!! not a man man enough

but then… which man was man enough to halt fate!

So go… go on Mama go. We need an emissary to God

go Mama go …. fare thee well

go darling… go Mama… go and give us a reason to shed the tears

give us a reason to plant 71 trees

give us a reason to feel silly…foolish and squanderous

to let your lesson not stir us up

to not plant 71 trees

in another 71 years!

Carine Nadal

Thank you to Wangari for being an inspiring role model – an advocate for the whole Earth Community and strong women leader. May your soul rest in peace among the forests you have nurtured. And let us be guided by the roots of Earth’s wisdom, united in solidarity, branch out and bear fruit of a healthy and resilient Earth Community.

David J.N. Musendo

Learning & Development Consultant, Lifetime Consulting

Received the message of the passing on of Prof Wangari with great sadness. We pray that the whole GBM family and the world over will find peace during this time of loss.

James Kimani

Friends, times like this are trying. Prof is gone but she has left a legacy that will remain. It is indeed very sad she is gone. She has done her part. May you find strength to go through this and to carry forward her vision for the country and the world.

Our hearts are with you.

Mohinder Dillon

Film maker

One of the many documentaries my son Sam and myself shot for ‘Carte Blanche’ South Africa’s prestigious Investigative programs nicknamed her as “KENYA’S WARRIOR WOMAN”. In another program she was described rather cheekily as the only person in Kenya who wears trousers. This came about when she courageously challenged the authorities holding her ground like a giant high up on Mt. Kenya Forest slopes, daring arrest. This was in her defiance to Moi’s brutal regime describing her ‘Mad Woman’. Now with world’s spotlight on Wangari as greatest world hero, may I need to ask, where does the madness lies? She was hounded out of Greenbelt Movement Office, even the signboard on Moi Avenue offices was destroyed into pieces. She had her dress torn at speakers corner trying to save Uhuru Park, later by challenging in court speaking out loudly at the idea of destroying Uhuru Park at the expense of getting herself jailed for contempt of court for speaking  out loudly and frankly.  Every Kenyan knows Uhuru Park where Kenyans enjoy recreation and Karura Forest, lungs of Nairobi city both would have gone without her courage. Even World Bank backed out on funding futile project of creating concrete jungle at Uhuru Park as they must have heard Wangari’s cries making a sensible case. Whenever she won a battle she spoke to camera with a sweetest of smile which she will bring out only in victory, this made my hair stand up with satisfaction and excitement for the future. Many films and books have granted her maximum credit and I am giving her enough space in my autobiography.  She earned the name of ‘Mama Africa’ for her dedication, total commitment to environmental issues in utterly fearless manner challenging regime’s hired thugs who broke her head with a rock, others armed with bows and arrows at Karura Forest threatening bodily harm, on another occasion getting into trouble  for kicking out wooden pegs marked for clearing  chunks of Mt. Kenya Forest ending up inside Naro Moro police station.  She was unstoppable throughout her life and ignored forests guards who tried to stop her, she just carried on uprooting the wooden pegs shouting at them these forests belong to all people of Kenya and we need to save our forests. When she gets angry you could count every vein on her neck shouting I am ready to spill my blood.

Fellow Kenyan’s I beg you it is now our duty to uphold her legacy, and the only way her bloodshed could be rewarded is, we should take over dear Wangari uncompleted mission put every ounce of our effort  to clear out all the greedy politicians who just allotted big chunks of our National Heritage to themselves with illegal title deeds. It is them who should be in court for treason for robbing Kenyans of National Heritage, which is a crime in every sense and perpetrators should not be allowed to keep on enjoying the loot and public suffers due to climate changes in absence of life sustaining rain water coming out of forest catchments areas. All the tea plantations on Mau forest and other forests replacing previous forest land, the guilty rich grabbers must be made to re-forest and reverted to government who will remain honest custodian of the National Heritage and should not go any private individual.

It was not an easy road to travel to fame, glory and Peace Prize. My connection with Wangari goes back to her humble start when she started her first tree nursery in small garden in her modest Nairobi South-C humble home where her attachment is deep-rooted. I took my journalist friend Halle Hanssen of Norwegian Broadcasting and bunch of other journalists to her home and they were mesmerised by her mission of reforestation, her sincerity, dedication,  go getter  and with the power of electronic box  convinced the Scandinavian and other governments to generate funds for Wangari’s dreams and Green Belt Movement became a reality.  I felt we grew together.  Wangari would privately and publically acknowledge my humble contribution towards her mission.

Wangari was a film makers dream and I feel privileged to have been associated with someone highly intelligent and colourful, and with experience she became director, script writer, presenter and actress. She did not need any instruction, marching to Karura Forest she will look back over her shoulder at me or my son Sam without shouting action and this meant action when she was about to be confronted by hefty police officer, looking back into camera her commentary- I am going to confronted by this burly policeman allowing me no further. She would then get into animated verbal confrontation with the police waving her first on point of law. She was stopped at highway round about nowhere near the Karura Forest. Her facial expressions portray intelligence, authority of her subject, glowing eyes, her sincere convictions to achieve her goals and many other things. I got lot of inspiration from her and learning a lot about trees from her. She was very much interested in my own work on the subject of desertification, deforestation, reforestation in places like Vietnam. Watching the film I shot “Vietnam-After the fire” which showed destruction of Vietnamese natural forests and mangrove trees by the use of defoliant agent-orange left her speechless and she shed tears not only for trees but for un-necessary human suffering. She got up and hugged me to say God bless you for highlighting the folly of another senseless war destroying another country.

I am so glad that every Kenyan wishes to plant a tree in her memory. This will be a good start for the people. On a national level I hope the current and future governments will have the political will to put things right. Wangari asked me to produce a film ‘Naked Earth’ for Women’s Decade and it was heart warming for me to film school children singing ‘if you cut one tree, plant two more’ and each child was encouraged to plant a tree on the boundary of their school and their country home. Her Movement supplied the seedlings and know how to look after planted trees. School children are future leaders of the country and I hope this legacy continues.

I pray for dear Wangari’s soul and pray for all her dreams to become a reality for the betterment of human race.

Danny Martin

Founder, Cross River Connexions

Eunice Njeri

She will be missed all over in Kenya and personally. We’ll miss her in Tetu so much. I will miss seeing her plant a tree every time there’s an occasion and I remember we always made fun of it because she would go bearing a tree to plant while everyone else took gifts or money. I watered the one she planted at great cucu’s burial and I feel so honoured. She is a woman to look up to and she was a fighter. To all of us who had a privilege to meet her and see her at work, lets passionately keep her fire burning and make sure she will be celebrated and remembered my generations to come. R.I.P Wangari Muta Mathai!”

Mugove Walter Nyika

Rescope Programme, Regional Facilitator

Dear friends
We have lost an icon but let us draw inspiration from her illustrious life to work towards the attainment of our common dreams. Let us connect all positive energies around our communities to build resilience at all levels

Nangamso Koza

Dear Green Belt Movement Family

Our prayers are with you during this time of great loss. In a town at the heart of South Africa, Bloemfontein, we also mourn with you. What a legend we have lost.

She laid a foundation for us to serve our nations and communities selflessly. As a female, a black female, I am so much stronger after having watched in action from a distance. This is the woman that was sidelined, victimised, isolated and made to feel unworthy because of her decision to stand firm and speak the gospel of truth. We had the stories of her imprisonments, even in her own house. We heard how she sacrifices her house to shelter the members of the GBM. Oh what a lady you were Mama. Thank you

I our hearts we will store the memories and in our spirits, we will keep fresh her vision for a greener Africa.

R.I.P. Mama Wangari

May your  God whom you served selflessly bless you with eternal rest and happiness

Until we meet again,
Nangamso Koza

Dr. Girmachew Lakew

The outstanding daughter of Africa and the year 2004 Nobel Prize winner for human rights and environment conservation activist laureate Professor Wangari Maathai sudden death is very sad and heart breaking news. She fight for the safety of both animal kingdom and plant kingdom till she is bleed and got wounded physically.
Her legacy will not remain only in the hearts of people of Kenyans, but to the rest of the continent of Africa and to whole people of the globe.
Professor Wangari she was one of among the few true Kenyan nationalist and hero fighting for human equality, against corruption, nepotism & mismanagement. Our world may be to get a model person like Professor Wangari Maathai for one person in every one centennial among one hundred million people,
May GOD Almighty comfort her household members, and rest her soul in eternal peace.