Ndyakira Amooti

Sir. Ndyakira Amooti
Born 1955/1956
Died 25 August 1999
Kampala, Uganda
Nationality Ugandan
Occupation Journalist, children's writer
Known for Environmental journalism

Ndyakira Ntamuhiira Amooti (1955/1956 – 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.[1]

Life and career

Amooti worked as a journalist for the Kampala 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 chimpanzees and parrots.[2] In 1993 he was awarded the Global 500 Roll of Honour of the United Nations Environment Programme.[3][4] He was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1996.[2][5] He later focused on forest protection and on the environment of Lake Victoria.[2]

He published the children's book What a Country Without Animals! in 1998,[6] 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.[7] In accordance with his wishes, he was buried without a coffin; his body was wrapped in a palm-leaf mat.[8][9]

He is regarded as a pioneer in the awareness of environmental issues in Uganda.[10] At the World Wetlands Day in 2008, Amooti was honored with a memorial lecture.[10]

Selected works

Children's books

References

  1. "Alphabetical list of recipients". Goldman Environmental Prize. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Africa 1996. Ndyakira Amooti. Wildlife & Endangered Species". Goldman Environmental Prize. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  3. "Global 500 Forum". United Nations Environment Programme. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  4. "Adult Award Winner in 1993: Ndyakira Ntamuhirra Amooti (d. 1999)". United Nations Environment Programme. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  5. "Editorial: Prizing the Environment" (PDF). African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. 3. 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  6. "Books authored by Ndyakira Amooti". African Book Collective. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  7. Namutebi, Joyce (26 August 1999). "Uganda: Ndyakira Amooti Dies Of Leukemia". AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013. The New Vision veteran environmental reporter, wildlife conservationist and international award winner, Sir Ndyakira Ntamuhiira Amooti, 43, has died.
  8. "Uganda: Sir Ndyakira Amooti Laid To Rest At His Ancestral Home". New Vision. Allafrica.com. 29 August 1999. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  9. Mapesa, Moses (27 January 2006). "Concrete graves a hazard to us all". New Vision. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  10. 1 2 UGANDA'S MOVERS AND SHAKERS. New Vision, Thursday, May 20, 2012-"Commemorating World Wetlands Day in Uganda" (PDF). Ministry of Water and Environment. 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2010.

"

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.