Ndyakira Amooti
Encyclopedia
Ndyakira Ntamuhiira Amooti (1955 or 1956 – 25 August 1999) was a Ugandan children's writer, journalist and environmentalist
, awarded the Global 500 Roll of Honour
and winner of the Goldman Environment Prize.
newspaper The New Vision
from 1986. He lived in a village in the Ibanda District
. He reported on various environmental issues, such as endangered mountain gorillas, the forests of Bwindi
, on illegal mining and poaching. He also called attention on the business of smuggling of rare animals for the purpose of exposition or laboratory experiments, in particular endangered chimpanzee
s and parrot
s. In 1993 he as awarded the Global 500 Roll of Honour
of the United Nations Environment Programme
. He was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize
in 1996. He later focused on forest protection and on the environment of Lake Victoria
.
He published the children's book What a Country Without Animals! in 1998, and has also published the books What a Country Without Birds, What a Country Without Grasslands and What a Country Without Wetlands. The books are about environmental issues, written for children from nine to twelve years old, and the story's principal character is the young man "Kazoora".
Amooti died from leukemia
in 1999, 43 years old. In accordance with his wishes, he was buried without a coffin; his body was wrapped in a palm-leaf mat.
He is regarded as a pioneer in the awareness of environmental issues in Uganda. At the World Wetlands Day
in 2008, Amooti was honored with a memorial lecture.
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
, awarded the Global 500 Roll of Honour
Global 500 Roll of Honour
The United Nations Environment Programme established the Global 500 Roll of Honour in 1987 to recognize the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world.The last Global 500 Roll of Honour awards were made in 2003...
and winner of the Goldman Environment Prize.
Life and career
Amooti worked as a journalist for the KampalaKampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
newspaper The New Vision
New Vision
New Vision is one of two main national newspapers in Uganda.-History:It was established in its current form in 1986 by the Ugandan Government. New Vision is broadly sympathetic to the government of President Yoweri Museveni. It was founded in 1955 as the Uganda Argus, a British colonial government...
from 1986. He lived in a village in the Ibanda District
Ibanda District
Ibanda District is a district in Western Uganda. As is the case with most Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town' of Ibanda, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
. He reported on various environmental issues, such as endangered mountain gorillas, the forests of Bwindi
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a large primeval forest in the Virunga Volcanoes mountain range, and is located in south-western Uganda on the edge of the western Great Rift Valley. It is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world, where half the world's population of highly endangered...
, on illegal mining and poaching. He also called attention on the business of smuggling of rare animals for the purpose of exposition or laboratory experiments, in particular endangered chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s and parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s. In 1993 he as awarded the Global 500 Roll of Honour
Global 500 Roll of Honour
The United Nations Environment Programme established the Global 500 Roll of Honour in 1987 to recognize the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world.The last Global 500 Roll of Honour awards were made in 2003...
of the United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
. He was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize
Goldman Environmental Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. The prize includes a no-strings-attached award of...
in 1996. He later focused on forest protection and on the environment of Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
.
He published the children's book What a Country Without Animals! in 1998, and has also published the books What a Country Without Birds, What a Country Without Grasslands and What a Country Without Wetlands. The books are about environmental issues, written for children from nine to twelve years old, and the story's principal character is the young man "Kazoora".
Amooti died from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
in 1999, 43 years old. In accordance with his wishes, he was buried without a coffin; his body was wrapped in a palm-leaf mat.
He is regarded as a pioneer in the awareness of environmental issues in Uganda. At the World Wetlands Day
World Wetlands Day
World Wetlands Day occurs on February 2nd, every year.It marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands, called Ramsar Convention, on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. WWD was celebrated for the first time in 1997 and made an encouraging...
in 2008, Amooti was honored with a memorial lecture.
Selected works
Children's books- What a Country Without Animals
- What a Country Without Birds
- What a Country Without Grasslands
- What a Country Without Wetlands