India's Ramesh Agrawal received the prize for helping villagers fight a large coal mine in Chhattisgarh state, the San Francisco-based Goldman Environmental Foundation said Monday.

Peru's Ruth Buendia was recognized for helping to prevent construction of two large dams that would have displaced nearly 10,000 indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon, and Russian zoologist Suren Gazaryan won for defending protected areas around Sochi from illegal land seizures for Olympic construction projects, it said.

American lawyer Helen Slottje received the award for helping communities fight fracking in New York State by discovering a legal loophole that allows individual towns to ban the oil extraction method under zoning laws.

South Africa's Desmond D'Sa won for helping to close down one of the country's largest toxic waste dumps, and Indonesian biologist Rudi Putra helped shutter 26 illegal palm oil plantations that were causing deforestation in northern Sumatra.

"From fracking to palm oil development, the 2014 Goldman Prize recipients are not only tackling some of the world's most pressing environmental problems; they are also achieving impressive environmental victories and inspiring others to do the same," foundation executive director David Gordon said in a statement.

View April 30, 2014 The Atlantic article
View April 29, 2014 KTVU article
View April 28, 2014 The Wall Street Journal article
View April 28, 2014 Environment News Service article
Watch April 27, 2014 Goldman Prize video
Visit The Goldman Environmental Prize website