2014: Prof. Dr. W.J. Wolff and Ikal Angelei
Prof. Dr. W.J. Wolff
Prof. Dr. W.J. Wolff received the Wetlands International Luc Hoffmann Medal for Excellence in Wetland Science and Conservation (Category Scientific research) for his achievements in conserving the coastal wetlands of the Netherlands and adjoining countries.
His extensive scientific research record, skilled diplomacy and activism saved the Oosterschelde estuary from permanent closure and his comprehensive ecological studies created the knowledge-base for the conservation and management of the Wadden Sea.
While Director of Research of the Research Institute of Nature Management and Professor of Marine Biology at Groningen University where he coached 43 PhD students, Wim still found time and energy to share his knowledge and inspire wetland scientists and managers in many key wetlands overseas, including in Antarctica and West Africa.
Wetlands International recognises and appreciates the enormous influence of Professor Wim Wolff and especially the conservation impact of his activism that is based on sound scientific research, his rare ability to engage, mobilise and inspire others and his legacy in terms of the enduring values of wetlands for nature and people in the Netherlands and overseas.
Ikal Angelei
Ms. Ikal Angelei, founder and director of ‘Friends of Lake Turkana’, received the Wetlands International Luc Hoffmann Medal for Excellence in Wetlands Science and Conservation (Category Communication, education and public awareness) for her crucial role in mobilising and representing the interests of hundreds of thousands of local people living around Lake Turkana.
Lake Turkana, in Africa’s Rift Valley, and the communities whose survival and livelihoods depend on the Lake are threatened by the proposed construction of the Gibe 3 Dam, which would cut off the lake’s major water source. The dam would be the largest hydroelectric plant in Africa, and the fourth largest in the world.
Ikal founded the group Friends of Lake Turkana (FoLT) in 2008 and in 2009, local tribes issued a “Lake Turkana People’s Declaration” and gave FoLT the mandate to communicate their grievances and needs. Ikal subsequently convinced the Kenyan Parliament to pass a resolution to demand an environmental assessment and UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to pass a resolution to halt the dam construction until further investigation. In addition, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank withdrew their considerations for financing of the dam as a direct result of her interventions. Currently, the Gibe 3 Dam is 40 percent complete but its future financing hangs in the balance.
Ikal is Executive Director of FoLT, working tirelessly to increase community participation and governance over natural resource management in the Basin. She holds a Masters in Public Policy and is currently working on her PhD in Political Ecology. Most significantly, Ikal Angelei has, as a young professional African woman, dared to stand up and challenge the current development paradigm and to promote local community rights. She has shown exceptional leadership ability and courage as well as communication skills and tenacity in convincing governments and formidable institutions to think again.
In 2012 she was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize (Africa). Wetlands International applauds the work of Ikal Angelei and recognises the significance of her achievements in putting a spotlight on the vital importance of sustaining wetlands for people and nature worldwide. We wish her well in her future career and endeavours.
Watch her acceptance speech:
