Her Nobel lecture alerted us to: “a challenge that calls for a shift in our thinking, so that humanity stops threatening its life-support system. We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own – indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder...industry and global institutions must appreciate that ensuring economic justice, equity and ecological integrity are of greater value than profits at any cost. The extreme global inequities and prevailing consumption patterns continue at the expense of the environment and peaceful co-existence.”

She honoured women’s role in mediating the impact of environmental devastation, especially on children: “In 1977, when we started the Green Belt Movement, I was partly responding to needs identified by rural women, namely lack of firewood, clean drinking water, balanced diets, shelter and income. Throughout Africa, women are the primary caretakers, holding significant responsibility for tilling the land and feeding their families. As a result, they are often the first to become aware of environmental damage as resources become scarce and incapable of sustaining their families. The women we worked with recounted that unlike in the past they were unable to meet their basic needs. This was due to the degradation of their immediate environment as well as the introduction of commercial farming, which replaced the growing of household food crops. But international trade controlled the price of the exports from these small-scale farmers and a reasonable and just income could not be guaranteed...when the environment is destroyed, plundered or mismanaged, we undermine our quality of life and that of future generations.”

In 2007 Wangari Maathai argued that the “concept of accumulation and privatization is responsible for our failure to recognize that we are required to take what we need from the environment and leave the rest for future generations” .If we listened we would hear the trees share the truth she heard: “Let me live, because when I live, you live.”   Those in positions of power need to heed her wisdom.
 
This year South Africa hosts the United Nations annual Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to assess progress in dealing with climate change. Wangari Maathai’s movement committed to “stepping up our calls for a global deal which safeguards the future of our planet and helps Africa adapt to the impacts of climate change. Climate change is caused by the emission of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) released (mainly) from burning fossil fuels and from land use change, particularly the removal of forests which accounts for almost 20% of global emissions...The countries that developed first, for example the UK, US...have emitted vastly more GHGs than the countries currently called ‘developing’, such as Kenya... Ironically, scientists say that it is the developing countries that will be hardest hit; African countries in particular. A just response to climate change must therefore include a comprehensive compensation package from the developed countries that have polluted the most to the developing countries whose total historical emissions are very low and are the most affected...”
 
Her movement addressed the urgency of climate justice. “People around the world are suffering the effects of climate change now, and for these people climate change is an issue of justice. Women are living on the frontlines of climate change...From food shortages to forest degradation and new and more complex health risks, as well as an increased likelihood of conflict over resources, the impacts of climate change threaten to further jeopardise the lives of women and girls. But just as many women are bearing the greatest burden of climate change because of their role as providers for their families; it is women who are developing the solutions that will save our world from the impacts of global warming.”

Wangari Maathai challenged the Community of Nations to take practical steps to enable women vital role “In March this year, when UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced a climate finance panel expected to mobilise $100 billion a year to help those most affected by climate change, the 19-person panel did not include a single woman. Not only should women be represented on a climate change finance panel. Every effort possible must also be made to ensure that women have access to the education, training, and finances needed to adopt sustainable technologies and participate in the green economy. Women and girls also need the land and resource rights to implement progressive forestry or agricultural practices...”

She asserted that rhetoric must be backed by resources; “In Copenhagen, developed countries agreed to provide “new and additional” financial resources to support mitigation and adaptation measures in the developing world — both immediately and over the long term...Rich countries have committed to reducing their emissions and phasing out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies. They must now prove they are serious, by coming to the table with plans and timelines to reach these goals. And it is possible. As the response to the global economic meltdown has shown, through collaboration states are able to mobilize funds quickly. I ask that they react with the same urgency to climate change...Climate finance is not an act of charity. It is an investment in a shared future.”
Wangari Maathai had warned leaders of the G8 and G20: “...In the Niger delta, the relentless pursuit of oil and gas to feed a world addicted to oil is behind much of the chronic violence and instability. Too often such conflicts are labelled as inter-ethnic or religious, ignoring the fact that climate change, environmental degradation and the pursuit of fossil fuels is the root cause of so much conflict in the world today...While leaders of the world’s richest countries bear the greatest responsibility for rising global temperatures, it is those already living on the edge of poverty who will feel the impacts most acutely...the daily reality of climate change. They include the citizens of small island states who will lose their homes as the seas consume the coastline and the women farmers of Africa, whose crops will dry up and whose children will suffer extensive malnutrition. For them, as well as millions of others, global warming is a matter of life and death.” 

Wangari Maathai often shared the story of a little hummingbird which decided to use its limited power to fight a raging fire that threatened to annihilate the forest. Powerful animals, such as the elephants, rendered helpless by the enormity of the task, ridiculed her instead of helping. However, their ridicule did not stop the hummingbird, who continued carrying water from the river to the forest in its tiny beak. Like the hummingbird, Wangari Muta Maathai did something so small it seemed silly to the powerful ‘elephants’. She persisted and took the unrecognised, unvalued work of countless, nameless rural women and weaved it into a movement that had global impact. Connecting the dots, Wangari provides clear guidance on the action we must take to stop the decimation of our planet. A loving, laughing guardian of our earth has died - her wisdom will not be buried.

Pregs Govender is Deputy Chair of the SAHRC – this tribute is written in her official capacity.

For comments email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.