“Wangari Maathai is a women of great personal courage and strong commitment, who has achieved remarkable results. Her work has placed environmental protection in the context of peace.

“The award of this year’s Peace Prize to Professor Maathai from Kenya is a very welcome and well-deserved recognition of her many years of tireless struggle for the environment, development, democracy and human rights,” said Foreign Minister Petersen.

Professor Maathai is the first woman from Africa to receive the Peace Prize. “This award underlines the key role played by women in development and emphasises how essential it is that the fight for the sustainable utilisation of resources is given a central place in the efforts to promote development,” said the Minister.

Professor Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977. By mobilising women in rural areas this grassroots movement has done much to combat deforestation and desertification, and the model has been successfully applied in a number of other African countries. For this she received the Norwegian Sophie Prize in 2004.

On several occasions Professor Maathai has come into conflict with the Kenyan authorities. Attempts to silence her voice have led to considerable personal sacrifices, but she has never wavered in her efforts.

“Ecologically sustainable development is essential for stability, security, democracy and peace. Therefore I am very pleased that the prize has been awarded to a person who has done so much to raise awareness of these issues. This is a great encouragement to us all,” said Mr Petersen.