Hi, need to submit a 1250 words paper on the topic Environmental Activism. Ikal Angelelei was born in the town of Kitale. In 2012, she won a Goldman Prize for fighting for Lake Turkana's preservation

Hi, need to submit a 1250 words paper on the topic Environmental Activism. Ikal Angelelei was born in the town of Kitale. In 2012, she won a Goldman Prize for fighting for Lake Turkana's preservation by preventing the construction of the Gibe III dam in Ethiopia (Thornton 2). She is an environmental activist fighting for the preservation of rivers in Kenya. Before engaging in environmental activism, Ikal was working in the Turkana Basin Institute. Ikal founded an organization called 'Friends of Lake Turkana' in 2008 (Abbink 129). The organization operates on a nonprofit base, and its purpose is to fight for the preservation and sustainability of Lake Turkana. The lake is found in Kenya's arid area, and it runs through to Ethiopia (Thornton 1). It serves as a tourist attraction. thus, playing a role in increasing the income of the Kenyan government and in the surrounding communities.

The lake also serves as a water source for farmers and pastoralists in the surrounding communities (Akiiki 340). People also use the lake's water to drive their daily activities such as cooking, bathing, and drinking. Ikal learned about plans that had been made to construct a massive dam by the Ethiopian government. The dam would be fed by water from Lake Turkana, which runs from northwestern Kenya to the southern side of Ethiopia (Thornton 1). Her motivation to fight for the conservation of the lake was that a massive dam would result in Lake Turkana's lower water levels. Water life, including crocodiles, fish, and sea plants, would die off (Thornton 1). Decreased water levels would also affect the lives of people living in Turkana. Being an arid area, recovering the water levels would take a long time or be an impossibility disrupting Kenyans' lives. The benefits of constructing the dam were against the quality of life of Kenyans living in Turkana.

Strategies and Activities Promoted

Ikal used the media in Kenya to fight against the construction of a hydroelectric dam by the Ethiopian governments. Through the media, she was able to educate people on how the construction of the dam would impact negatively on the lives of Kenyans (Abbink 136). The dam would result in the depletion of water in the desert lake. This would greatly affect the communities living near Lake Turkana. By educating the local communities, she was able to get the people to rally against the construction of the dam (Thornton 2). The campaigns were focused on how the lives of the people will be affected, adding more to their hardships. This plea through the media caught the attention of many Non-Governmental Organizations who joined her in the rallies. Ikal went a step further and filed petitions with the governments and banks that were funding the project (Thornton 4).