2009年的環保金人獎由來自全球六大洲的草根運動領導人獲得，表揚他們勇於捍衛非洲赤道雨林、伐木建設、固體廢棄物、毒廢棄物傾倒及挑戰政府輕視部落權力等議題。環保金人獎創辦人古德曼（Richard Goldman）表示：「本屆得獎者展現了傲人成就，勇於挑戰近不可克服的問題。」
環保金人獎已邁入第19屆，每年頒發給世界各地區選出的基層環保英雄，是全球類似獎項中規模最大者。以下是今年的得獎名單：
| 北美：煤礦工業為西維吉尼亞州阿帕拉契山脈的經濟命脈，相對的此產業對政策決定及輿論產生相當影響力。然而居民甘諾（Maria Gunnoe）因發動環保運動，反對在西維吉尼亞州阿帕拉契山脈進行山頂移除採礦及廢棄物堆填山谷的採礦行為而獲獎。她本人因此公民行動遭到死亡威脅。 |  |
| 非洲：來自西非一個沒有公民參與文化的加彭共和國，伊衫桂（Marc Ona Essangui）以輪椅代步，但仍發起環保運動反對中國機械設備進出口公司在加彭雨林開採鐵礦，以保護加彭赤道雨林的生態系統。 |  |
| 亞洲：來自孟加拉的環境律師哈姍（Rizwana Hasan），致力於減低孟加拉拆船業所造成的環境衝擊，扮演與政府公部門對峙之訴訟案的領導者角色，訴訟結果讓拆船業面臨更嚴謹的政府法規，並讓大眾更加認識此工業的危險性。 |  |
| 歐洲：來自俄羅斯的物理學家史波蘭斯卡雅（Olga Speranskaya），連結前蘇聯境內的東歐、高加索地區、和中亞的非政府組織網絡，成立Eco-Accord組織，旨在清除前蘇聯附庸國用於農業與工業的老舊有毒化學物質。 |  |
| 島嶼：來自印尼的環境工程師伊斯馬娃提（Yuyun Ismawati），提倡並實施以社區為基礎、並可提供低收入戶經濟收入的可續性廢棄物管理方案，以解決散佈在印尼群島上的廢棄物問題。 |  |
| 中南美洲：來自蘇利南的部落領導者艾杜華茲（Wanze Eduards）和法律學生賈畢尼（Hugo Jabini），兩人連結和領導沙拉瑪卡社群，集合民眾對抗伐木業者，並經由訴訟後獲得具有指標性判決的成果，以保留中南美洲原住民和部落居民決定原住民領土的資源開採。 |  |
環保金人獎是1989年由舊金山公民運動領導人兼慈善家古德曼（Richard N. Goldman）與其已故妻子( Rhoda Goldman) 共同創立，至今已頒發給75個國家共133位得主
過去的得獎者中，共8位被任命或當選為國家官員，其中有幾位擔任環境部長。1991年非洲的金人獎得主馬薩伊（Wangari Maathai）曾於2004年榮獲諾貝爾和平獎。
環保金人獎網站有關於今年與過去得獎者更詳細的資料：http://goldmanprize.org
The 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize winners are grassroots environmental leaders from around the world who have fought mining companies, logging development, mounting piles of solid waste, toxic dumping and government indifference to tribal rights.
"This group of Goldman Prize recipients are as impressive as ever, taking on seemingly insurmountable struggles and achieving success," said Goldman Prize founder Richard Goldman.
The 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize winners are:
North America: Maria Gunnoe, Bob White, West Virginia, USA: In Appalachia, where the coal industry wields enormous power over government and public opinion, lifelong resident Maria Gunnoe fights against mountaintop removal mining and valley fill mining operations in the face of death threats.
Africa: Marc Ona Essangui, Libreville, Gabon: In Gabon, a West African country without a culture of civic engagement, Marc Ona, who uses a wheelchair for mobility, is leading efforts to expose the unlawful agreements behind a Chinese mining project that threatens the ecosystems of Gabon's equatorial rainforests.
Asia: Rizwana Hasan, Dhaka, Bangladesh: Working to reduce the impact of Bangladesh's ship breaking industry, environmental attorney Rizwana Hasan led a legal battle resulting in increased government regulation and heightened public awareness about the dangers of ship breaking.
Europe: Olga Speranskaya, Moscow, Russia: Physicist Olga Speranskaya transformed the nongovernmental community in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, EECCA, into a potent, participatory force working to identify and eliminate the Soviet legacy of toxic chemicals in the environment.
Islands: Yuyun Ismawati, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia: As waste management problems mount throughout the Indonesian archipelago, environmental engineer Yuyun Ismawati implements sustainable community-based solutions that provide employment opportunities to low-income people and empower them to improve the environment.
South and Central America: Wanze Eduards and Hugo Jabini, Pikin Slee Village and Paramaribo, Suriname: To fight logging on their traditional lands, Eduards, a tribal leader, and Jabini, a law student, have organized their Saramaka communities, leading to a landmark ruling for indigenous and tribal peoples throughout the Americas to control resource exploitation in their territories.
The Goldman Environmental Prize was established in 1989 by San Francisco civic leader and philanthropist Richard N. Goldman and his late wife, Rhoda H. Goldman. It has been awarded to 133 people from 75 countries.
Since receiving a Goldman Prize, eight winners have been appointed or elected to national office in their countries, including several who became ministers of the environment. The 1991 Goldman Prize winner for Africa, Wangari Maathai, won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.
作者
In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.
