 Wangari Madhai blazed a trail for women's rights, for democracy and for forests. In 1977, she founded the Greenbelt Movement to combat deforestation and empower communities, particularly women, to improve their livelihoods. The movement has planted over 51 million trees in Kenya. Madhai was the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. It is the people who must save the environment. It is the people who must make their leaders change. So we must stand up for what we believe in. Since 2012, the Collaborative Partnership on Forest has honoured and commemorated her work with its Wangari Madhai Forest Champions Award. This honour is granted to individuals across the world who have made extraordinary efforts to improve the world's forests and the lives of the people who depend on them, following in the footsteps of Wangari Madhai.