![]() Other winners included Slovakian lawyer Zuzana Caputova, who led successful efforts to prevent a waste dump from being built in her home town of Pesinok. Mining companies at the center of the dispute have criticized the decision to award Acuña the prize, saying the committee did not have "balanced or complete information about the land dispute or the events surrounding it". "Harassment from the mine and security guards is still heavy." "I stayed on my land and wouldn't leave," Acuña told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a conference call. Security forces backing the mining company's claim to the family's land have been accused of beating Acuna's elder daughter because of her activism, the 47-year-old farmer said. Environmentalists feared the mine would have poisoned local water sources and displaced communities and individuals living and farming there.Īcuna's home in a remote area four hours drive from Cajarmarca, the capital of the mountainous region, was destroyed as part of the mine project and the family's attempts to rebuild have been blocked several times since 2011. Her campaigning over more than five years eventually led to the suspension of the $4.8 billion Conga gold and copper mine project in the Peruvian highlands. "People all over the world are fighting to protect their land and water," said Máxima Acuña, a Peruvian farmer, mother of four and grandmother, who won the prize for Latin America. on Wednesday.Įach winner will receive $175,000 to support their environmental activism and continuing local campaigns. ![]() The winners, including a Tanzanian land rights campaigner, a Slovakian public interest lawyer and a Puerto Rican nature reserve developer, will be honoured at a ceremony in Washington D.C. ![]() ![]() RIO DE JANEIRO, April 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A Peruvian potato farmer who was beaten and jailed after protesting against the loss of her land and home to a mining firm is among six winners of the Goldman Prize, one of the world's richest awards for environmental activists. ![]() Peruvian farmer's five-year land rights campaign eventually led to suspension of $4.8 billion mining project ![]()
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