The Goldman Environmental Prize has announced its six 2026 winners, including Colombian environmental defender Yuvelis Morales Blanco.
The Goldman Environmental Prize notes: “As a young adult, Yuvelis Morales Blanco helped mobilize her community in Puerto Wilches against two key drilling projects, successfully preventing the introduction of commercial fracking into Colombia. In 2022, the campaign forced the country’s largest petroleum company, Ecopetrol, to suspend its contracts for the pilot fracking projects. In August 2024—with the projects still suspended—the Colombian Constitutional Court, in response to a lawsuit by a local organization, confirmed that the projects had violated the right of the Afro-Colombian community of Puerto Wilches to free, prior, and informed consent.”
The 5-minute Goldman Prize video highlighting Yuvelis’ work can be seen here.
CREDHOS accompanies Aguawil
Morales is the founder of Aguawil, the Committee for the Defence of Water, Life and Territory in the community of Puerto Wilches. Morales has commented: “This committee is quite special and is very important in Colombia as it’s a youth committee. We are all between 18 and 25 years old.”
Aguawil is accompanied by the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS), which is accompanied by Peace Brigades International.
The first death threat against Morales came in January 2021, not long after she had organized a protest in December 2020. Morales says: “Some armed men came to my house and trapped me. They put a gun to my head.”
By April 2021, Morales highlighted on a PBI-Canada webinar: “When we became a problem for the oil companies, those interested in promoting fracking and its economic benefits, they started to threaten, stigmatize, and silence us. More than eight of our youth have been threatened.”
In May 2022, Morales spoke on another PBI-Canada webinar and made this comment about Canada: “When your companies and banks are investing in mining and energy megaprojects in other countries where human rights are being violated every day, you are not an environmentalist country, you are not a green country. I’m sorry to be so blunt. This is a reality that people don’t often want to say because when you open your mouth that could mean you are shot in the forehead.”
Goldman ceremony on YouTube
The Goldman Prize Award Ceremony will be livestreamed tonight, Monday April 20 at 5:30 pm PDT, here.
We congratulate Yuvelis, Aguawil, CREDHOS and all the organizations, defenders and community who have supported her work.
Instagram post by CREDHOS.
