Nobelist makes case for sustainable development
| Pages | 33-39 |
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Some argue that sustainable development is a luxury that poor countries can ill afford, but Kenya's Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, disagrees. Her Green Belt Movement has mobilized African women to plant more than 30 million trees, and now she continues her fight in Kenya's parliament. In an interview with the IMF's Lynn Aylward, she reflects on the roles that democracy, conservation, and good governance play in development.
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In 2004, when the Nobel Committee awarded Kenya's Wangari Maathai its Peace Prize, it cited "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace." The committee made special mention of her work in founding the Green Belt Movement, which mobilized African women to plant more than 30 million trees, and her courageous stand against political oppression. Maathai, commended for combining "science, social commitment, and active politics," is a member of parliament and Deputy Minister of the Environment, Natural Resources, and Wildlife. She spoke with Lynn Aylward of the IMF's Policy Development and Review Department about why she believes peace, conservation, and good governance are intertwined and so critical to development.
AYLWARD: How does it feel to be part of the system, when you worked outside it-maybe even against it-for so long?
MAATHAI: Well, it's good to be in the system to see how it works.When I was on the outside, I was often frustrated- it took so long for it to move. Inside, you see that not all these problems and frustrations are solved! I am not in the cabinet, and the position of assistant minister in Kenya is to some extent political rather than operational. So I experience frustration within the system also. But, on balance, it is better to be inside. After all, this is the government that the people of Kenya brought to power.
AYLWARD: You have called for a holistic approach to development, and you say that Kenya's Green Belt Movement exemplifies such an approach.What exactly do you mean by that?
MAATHAI: I like to use the traditional three-legged African stool to explain holistic development. This stool is made from a single piece of log. You chisel its three legs at once, so that you have a stable foundation. I compare the legs to the three pillars of government. One leg is the sustainable development of resources and equitable distribution of the same. The second leg is good governance, which allows for the sustainable development and...
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