Alfred Brownell
Green Advocates International – Liberia/USA
Alfred Lahai Gbabai Brownell is a Liberian environmental activist and lawyer. Under threat of violence, Brownell stopped the clear-cutting of Liberia’s tropical forests by palm oil plantation developers. His campaign protected 513,500 acres of primary forest that constitute one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. He currently lives in exile in Brooklyn.
Known as the “lungs of West Africa,” Liberia’s forests represent ancestrally sacred lands to local Indigenous communities, serving as the region’s largest source of carbon sinks, a source of livelihood, and a green fortress protecting villagers from the advancing Sahara Desert’s scorching heat.
Alfred Brownell was profoundly disturbed with the actions of both his government and foreign corporations that were bulldozing the land of his childhood. Leading a sustainable lifestyle was instilled in Brownell at a young age, fundamentally influencing his lifetime work.
After finishing law school, Brownell co-authored legislation to protect forest land and the rights of the indigenous communities living on the land. However, he found that the government infringed on the newly implemented laws without performing impact studies or consulting with local communities.
“Indigenous people in Liberia and across the globe provide lessons on what we can do, as human beings, to survive on our planet’s resources and sustain it. These frontline communities and defenders put their lives on the line in order for us to breathe clean air and drink pure water, and so it’s our responsibility to look at all the necessary aspects of meaningful social change: governance, enforcement, and mass movement formation.“
Brownell noted that the clear-cutting of forest for palm oil plantations left local communities worse off, because not enough jobs were created to employ residents who lost their land as a result of the development. As part of his work protecting threatened lands and advocating for local communities, Brownell founded Liberia’s first environmental law non-governmental organization, Green Advocates International.
Brownell has played a key role in establishing several networks and coalitions that protect Indigenous land, and give voices to those most impacted by unsustainable and unjust corporate practices. These organizations work to combat land grabs, deforestation, the climate crisis, environmentally destructive foreign investment, pollution, unjust labor practices, and the commodification and exploitation of Indigenous land. Recognizing that their strength lay in numbers, Brownell co-established the Alliance for Rural Democracy, the largest solidarity movement in Liberia. It consists of local communities, rural women dependent upon the land and natural resources, informal sector entrepreneurs and workers, and emerging labor unions – all working together to support and empower rural and Indigenous peoples in Liberia and West Africa.
In 2019, Brownell received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. As a self-proclaimed “activist lawyer” who embraces the nexus of environmental rights and human rights, Brownell became inspired to use his legal education to address systemic inequities, ensure rights, and defend the victims of resource exploitation in his homeland.
“I’m just a messenger. We should instead place Indigenous communities in the spotlight. The focus should be on them. These are the real heroes. These are the first responders and FIREWALLS that we need to empower.”
Publications: ‘Conflict or Consent?’ Chapter 12: Sime Darby oil palm and rubber plantation in Grand Cape Mount County, Liberia; The Liberia Forest Concession Review: Lessons for Resource Management and Restoration of the Rule of Law
Website: Green Advocates
Video 1) 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize
