World’s Indigenous Peoples Day: UNEP highlights five advocates fighting to protect the planet

But that hasn’t stopped a group of award-winning environmental pioneers from fighting for both the planet and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Yacouba SawadogoThese men and women have all been named United Nations Champions of the Earth, the UN’s highest environmental honour, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In the light of the 2026 International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples observed by the UN on August 9, the life and work of these five remarkable people are in focus. “If we allow the Amazon to be destroyed little by little, of course, that affects us as Indigenous Peoples. Sonia Guajajara, BrazilBorn in the Amazon rainforest, Guajajara made history in 2023 when she was appointed Brazil’s first-ever Minister of Indigenous Peoples.