Earth Law Center Blog
Rights of Rivers Champion Marí Luz Canaquiri Receives 2025 Goldman Prize
Marí Luz Canaquiri Murayari, a Kukama leader from Perú’s Loreto region, has won the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of environmentalism.” As president of the Federation of Kukama Indigenous Women — Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana (HKK) — Canaquiri has spent decades defending her people, their culture, and the sacred Marañón River that sustains them. “It's incredible to receive this news—and even more so for the value accorded to us as women,” said Canaquiri in an interview with Earth Law Center (ELC).
The Marañón River Case, Ríos Protegidos Intiative, Native Stingless Bee Project, and More: Six Months in Action with the ELC Latin America Legal Team
ELC’s Latin America Legal Program has developed 4 pillars of our work: 1) Environmental justice initiatives, 2) Nature defenders and human rights initiatives , 3) Legislative and policy initiatives, 4) Global advocacy and movement building initiatives. Together with our partners, we currently have active projects in 5 countries in South and Central America. We have shared our expert insights in more than 20 environmental lawsuits, contributed to the formulation of 15 environmental bills, and successfully passed 4 laws recognizing the Rights of Nature.
Nine Important Results from the Escazú COP3
Progress updates on implementation of the Escazú Agreement, which is the first international treaty in history to enshrine rights for those considered defenders of Nature, in order to reinforce the protection of human rights in environmental matters. Likewise, it promotes the implementation of management and governance mechanisms in environmental matters, involving vulnerable groups such as youth, women, and Indigenous peoples in the process.
Peru's Marañón River Wins Recognition of Rights and Indigenous Guardianship in Court
Earth Law Center (ELC) celebrates an important victory obtained for the Marañón River on March 18, 2024. The Kukama Indigenous women of Santa Rita de Castilla, and legal nonprofit Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL), obtained a historic ruling recognizing the river as a holder of inherent rights—the first such ruling in Peru. With ELC’s Latin America Legal Program having supported the case since its inception, we are thrilled to see this development.