West LA Times

Ecuadorian Indigenous rights activist Nina Gualinga has been honored with the 2024 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award by the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. The award ceremony took place at UCLA's Hershey Hall on October 30.

Gualinga was recognized for her advocacy in Indigenous rights and environmental justice, which has led to significant policy changes aimed at protecting vital ecosystems in the Amazon and beyond. Her journey began at eight years old when she witnessed an oil company representative's visit to her home in Sarayaku, prompting her commitment to protect her land through legal recognition of nature's rights.

"This award is not only mine," Gualinga stated. "I do what I do because I have been inspired and encouraged by other women in my life."

The Pritzker Award, presented annually, includes a $100,000 prize funded by a $20 million gift from the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation to UCLA. It is one of the first major awards specifically for early-career innovators whose work can greatly benefit from such recognition.

Gualinga has become an international advocate for Indigenous environmental justice, addressing climate change and land preservation at platforms like United Nations climate change conferences. Her efforts contributed to Ecuador's decision to ban oil exploitation in Yasuní National Park and Panama’s Supreme Court ruling against a major copper mine in Bosque Donoso National Park.

As co-director of Mujeres Amazónicas, Gualinga leads efforts to empower Indigenous groups in protecting their land and cultural heritage against extractive industries across the Ecuadorian Amazon. She aims to expand this vision globally, advocating for governments to respect Indigenous sovereignty and prioritize women-led conservation initiatives.

"This award will allow us to build out a center for Indigenous women in Ecuador to come together, strategize, create peaceful resistance, heal together," Gualinga added.

Nominated by Indonesian conservationist Farwiza Farhan, a past Pritzker Award winner, Gualinga was selected over finalists Adenike Oladosu Titilope of ILeadclimate Action Initiative and Callie Veelenturf of The Leatherback Project. The judging panel included Antonio Bernardo from UCLA Anderson School of Management; Jeanne Holm from Los Angeles city administration; Ah-Hyung “Alissa” Park from UCLA Samueli School of Engineering; and Abel Valenzuela Jr. from UCLA College Division of Social Sciences.

Tony Pritzker presented the award on behalf of The Pritzker Group. Marilyn Raphael, director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, highlighted the ceremony's role in celebrating environmental justice commitments.

"This award is always a highlight of the year for all of us at UCLA," Raphael said. "Working on the world’s toughest challenges is rewarding, and this ceremony gives us a chance to recognize our hard work, share ideas and promote the next generation who are working to solve these challenges."