Young contributors towards the environment have been springing up across the globe. These are fondly known as Eco-Heroes. It is only fair that the world gets to know of these eco heroes and their wonderful work. After all, good deeds ought to be recognised. They have created a leeway for those who also want to work for the environment.
They set precedent for the adage – ‘Everyone can be an eco-hero.’Their methods can be applied to actually save the environment by one and all, which is a futuristic stepping stone. At the end of it all, not many of us are working for preserving nature.
Leng Ouch
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Knowing Leng Ouch up close and personal is very different from looking at a man far away from you. The man who fights for the protection of 200, 000 acres of pristine forest located in dangerous geographical conditions. This Cambodian was moved to the forest a little before the Pol Pot regime and has since been living forest to forest.
Thanks to this nomadic life, he was also well hidden during the Civil War. Pol Pot was notorious for snatching away nomadic lands, and Ouch says little has changed with the current government. He says that the government is snatching means of livelihood of the people.
Maxima Acuna de Chaupe
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She completely refused to sell her land to what could be the biggest ever gold mining project in South America. This was an individual effort without a backing of any movement or organisation. She resisted beating, death threats, court proceeding and intimidations in order to stick to her land. The land has been the cause of a lot of fury, claiming the lives of 5 demonstrators in 2012.
Peruvian government has given a mining concession because Maxima would not budge. She grows potatoes on her farms and breeds guinea pigs. The government now has to compromise on the mining plans. They had also planned to run the fresh water lakes dry so that they could use the space to dump toxic waste. This was a major harm to the environment.
Desmond Majekodunmi
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He is not just an environmental activist but also a farmer and a film and documentary producer. He is extremely passionate about the conservation of environment. In fact, he and conservation of environment is one and the same thing for the Nigerians. Yes, he has had that kind of an impact.
He has built an urban jungle and he calls it a little contribution! This effort is to preserve the ancient trees and all. Thanks to the urban jungle, the Nigerians have indeed felt a change in the atmosphere and climate.
Zuzana Caputova
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She is a lawyer and a mother who was also the force behind shutting down of the waste dump that could have poisoned the environmental resources. She has definitely set an example for one and all. The dumping ground that she was protesting against was cheap and convenient. This is a tourist attraction full of castles and museums wherein tourists line-up to soak in the knowledge of the royal wines of Slovakia and this was definitely hampering the process.
A lot of countries from Europe use places in the neighbouring countries to dump garbage. Since there weren’t any permits, waste was dumped very liberally in these grounds. Thanks to Zunana, such atrocities aren’t committed anymore.
Destiny Watford
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There is no denying the fact that the environmental landscape is engulfed with worries. Thanks to a few individuals, the situation is still in hand. 20-year-old Destiny Watford who was brave enough to protest against a corporate firm’s plan to build an incinerator through the neighbourhood at Curtis Bay.
The residents have already been bearing the brunt of toxic hazards and Destiny wasn’t ready to give in anymore than they already were. At a tender age of 17, she stood up for herself and her neighbourhood. This area has a very high quantity of pollutants resulting in very high asthma and lung cancer rates. From sewage treatment to medical waste to fertilizer producing firms, everyone has released waste in this place. Destiny was definitely a brave girl to protest against this.
Therefore, environmental awareness of the smallest kind can go a long way in protecting the environment and thus, the effort of every single environmentalist counts!
A large number of people contribute towards the environment in big and small ways. However, for some it is a matter of life and death and these are the eco-heroes who set a precedent for the rest of the world with their brave and compassionate work.
