Chima Williams is an

environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advoc ...

, an

environmental lawyer Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...

who fights environmental injustice and held a multinational company like Shell to pay for damages they have caused and inflicted on some communities in the Niger-Delta. He is also the founder of the first Student environmental justice group in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He was named the Earth’s foremost defenders.

Career

Chima Williams as a student joined the Nigerian Environmental Movement in the 1990s where he volunteered for Environmental Rights Action (ERA), an NGO which was created in 1993, which advocates for

environmental rights Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...

in Nigeria. In 1998, Chima founded the first Student

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms from hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses.Schlosberg, David. (2007) ''Defining Environmental Justic ...

group in Nigeria. He has been serving as an environmental lawyer prosecuting

multinational companies A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...

environmental pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

cases in Nigeria. On October 2020, He was appointed as the Executive Director of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN). Environmental Rights Action (ERA) which is an advocacy NGO founded on 11 January 1993 in

to combat environmental human rights issues in Nigeria. ERA is the Nigerian chapter of Friends of the Earth International (FoEI)

Awards

Chima Williams is one of the awardees of the 2022

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. ...

across the globe. He is the third Nigerian to get the award. The award was given for his work in protecting the

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

by holding

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

accountable for oil spillage from their facilities into the Niger Delta communities. The Goldman award is given to honour and appreciate the work of grassroots environmental activists across the world who are working to protect the earth

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Chima Goldman Environmental Prize awardees Nigerian activists Year of birth missing (living people) Environmental lawyers