Ms. Ruiz Corzo was awarded this prize for her notable contributions to preserve, restore, sustainably manage and raise awareness in the important role that forests play to local communities, to women and to the environment. For more than 25 years her work in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Querétaro, – the most ecodiverse area in the country – has been an essential element in the foundation of a real conservation economy that raises the standard of living for local communities.

“The Wangari Mathaai Prize gives credibility to the innovation necessary to give value to environmental services and communities, and raises a wave of love that we have to orchestrate to defend the natural heritage of the planet”, said Ruiz Corzo. The main objective of the CPF is to support the UN Forum on Forests to enhance the cooperation and coordination between countries regarding forestry issues.

“Martha’s extraordinary compromise to protect the biodiversity of her territory and to improve the living conditions of rural communities and taking them out of poverty makes her worthy of the Wangari Maathai Prize”, said Eduardo Rojas Briales, Assistant Director-General and Head of the Forestry Department of FAO, and president of the CPF. “Acknowledging the implications of convincing small producers to plant trees in the land they depend on to support themselves, and developing successful mechanisms that improve their income, Martha and her organization have established a solid model that can be replicated in any site.”

The council includes: members of the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), and the secretariat of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), as well as the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the World Bank and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

“I believe in the common good not only for the people that live in the Sierra Gorda, but also for the conservation of the flora and the fauna with whom we share this biosphere with” added the awardee. The award ceremony will take place today in Salt Lake City, Utah, EUA, in the framework of the IUFRO’s fourteenth Congress.