Thobeka Gumede

Youth in Environment and Sustainability

Nominee's Province:
Western Cape

Age:
31

Project Name/Description:
Centre for Environmental Rights

More info:
https://www.instagram.com/gumedethobeka/?hl=en

Thobeka Gumede, 31, is an environmental warrior who uses the law to fight for environmental justice and the provision of a healthy environment for all. Gumede, an LLB graduate from the University of Zululand, is a practising attorney at the Centre for Environmental Rights in Cape Town, which is made up of lawyers who work with communities and civil society organisations in South Africa to realise our Constitutional right to a healthy environment by advocating and litigating for environmental justice. “The law is one of many tools that can be utilised to protect the constitutional right to a healthy environment,” says Gumede. “I wanted to use this tool to campaign for stronger environmental laws, to compel compliance with constitutional and environmental obligations and to have the ability to call for adequate enforcement action against the transgressors of the law relating to the environment.” She laments the harm of climate change and calls for action. “We need to do more to protect the environment for ourselves and future generations. It is a matter of life and death. Think of the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal and the drought in Cape Town. If we (especially government) do not make drastic changes, it will get worse.”