Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai this week became the first Kenyan to receive the highest decoration from the Government of Japan for her campaign to protect the environment.
Prof Maathai, a former assistant minister for the Environment and the head of the Greenbelt Movement, was decorated with “the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun” in honour of her significant contribution in raising people’s awareness of environmental protection in Japan, and enhancing the country’s global status.
Cabinet ministers John Michuki (the Environment and Mineral Resources), Moses Wetang’ula (Foreign Affairs) and Noah Wekesa (Forestry and Wildlife) attended the ceremony at the Japan ambassador’s residence on Thursday night.
Prof Mathaai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, played an immense role in the promotion of Japans environmental diplomacy through various activities such as the implementation of grassroot programmes using her Greenbelt Movement and made a substantive contribution to the discussion at the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in May 2008.
“She is quite popular among the Japanese,” a statement from the Japanese Embassy in Nairobi said.
