The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) congratulates Bishop Erwin Kräutler, President of the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), on receiving the prestigious Right Livelihood Award "for a lifetime of work for the human and environmental rights of indigenous peoples and for his tireless efforts to save the Amazon forest from destruction."

"We are happy for Bishop Kräutler and CIMI, the most important mouthpiece for the indigenous population in Brazil," says Yvonne Bangert, head of the Indigenous Peoples section at the STP. "We have him to thank for ensuring that the basic rights of indigenous people were secured in the Brazilian Constitution in 1988. He has put himself at great personal risk during his decades of commitment. The Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize," is a long overdue acknowledgement of Bishop Kräutler's selfless work for the human rights of the most defenseless people in Brazilian society." The STP awarded its Victor Gollancz Prize to CIMI in 2009 for their "exemplary advocacy" for indigenous peoples in Brazil. CIMI is a Brazilian affiliate of the STP.

"Bishop Kräutler, the Bishop of Xingu since 1980, is a vociferous advocate for the indigenous resistance to the Belo Monte dam project on the Xingu River, which would flood nearly 200 square miles of rain forest and crop land, as well as one-third of the city of Altamira," Bangert praised the commitment of the 71-year-old. Right from the beginning Kräutler has fought the destruction of the unique natural landscape of the Xingu River basin, home to around 25,000 indigenous people from the state of Mato Grosso through the state of Pará to the mouth of the river in the Amazon. The STP supports the resistance of the indigenous peoples to this gargantuan project.

Erwin Kräutler was born in Koblach, Vorarlberg in Austria in 1939. From 1959 to 1965 he studied theology and philosophy. Since November 1980 he has been Bishop of Xingu, with over 142,000 square miles Brazil's largest diocese in terms of area, and home to more than 500,000 inhabitants, including 8,000 Indios of the Kayapó, Asurini, Araweté, Parakaña, Xipaia-Curuaia and Arara peoples. Bishop Kräutler has made many enemies with his unceasing efforts on behalf of human rights for indigenous people in Brazil. He has escaped several attempts on his life, and for many years has had around-the-clock police protection.

Yvonne Bangert can be reached by phone at +49 (0)551/ 499 0614.

Translated by Elizabeth Crawford