When Berta Cáceres won the Goldman Environmental Prize last year for her work protecting the lands of the indigenous Lenca people of Honduras from hydroelectric power development, the award came with an unspoken hope: that the international attention would protect her from violence. The recognition was not enough. On March 3rd, gunmen burst into a house where Cáceres was staying in her hometown of La Esperanza and shot and killed her, prompting international outrage. Legislators in Washington and global green groups demanded a credible investigation and a halt to the dam project Cáceres fought for years as head of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. (See “Award winner knows activism’s risks all too well”—EcoAméricas, April ’15.) The dam project, called... [Log in to read more]
