Human rights are not things that are put on the table for people to enjoy. These are things you fight for and then you protect.
Wangari MaathaiWe tend to put the environment last because we think the first thing we have to do is eliminate poverty and send children to school and provide health.
Wangari MaathaiIt is evident that many wars are fought over resources which are now becoming increasingly scarce. If we conserved our resources better, fighting over them would not occur ... protecting the global environment is directly related to securing peace. Those of us who understand the complex concept of the environment have the burden to act. We must not tire, we must not give up, we must persist.
Wangari MaathaiIn Kenya, one of our biggest exports is coffee. Where do you grow coffee? You grow coffee in the land. To be able to grow coffee you need rain, you need special kinds of soils that are found on hillsides, and that means you have to protect that land from soil erosion so you don't lose the soil. You also want to make sure that when the rains come you're going to be able to hold that water and have it go into the ground so that the streams and the rivers keep flowing and the ground is relatively humid for these plants.
Wangari Maathai