Nicanor Perlas, recipient of the 2003 Right Livelihood Award, has passed away at the age of 75. He was recognised “for his outstanding efforts in educating civil society about the effects of corporate globalisation, and how alternatives to it can be implemented.”
Born in 1950, Perlas studied agriculture at Xavier University in the Philippines, graduating with highest honours. In the late 1970s, he became involved in campaigns against the Marcos-backed Bataan nuclear power plant, and later against the misuse of pesticides. His work contributed to the banning of dozens of harmful chemicals and to the government investing in large-scale integrated pest management programmes for farmers.
Perlas co-founded the Centre for Alternative Development Initiatives and became a leading figure in Philippine and international environmental circles. He played a key role in shaping the Philippine Agenda 21, which aimed to promote sustainable development, and advanced his ideas of “social threefolding,” encouraging dialogue between government, business and civil society.
Later in life, Perlas focused on the role of social movements in global change, as well as the societal impacts of artificial intelligence. He also ran for President of the Philippines in 2010.
An obituary has also been published by Rappler and can be read on their website.
