Goldman Environmental Prize bolsters Theonila Roka Matbob’s fight for mining justice
SAGE nominee’s win fuels community efforts to secure remediation from mining giant Rio Tinto
The SAGE Fund is thrilled to announce that Theonila Roka Matbob, our nominee and Indigenous community leader from Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, is a 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize winner. SAGE has supported Theonila, her community, and their ally and legal representative, the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), since 2019. They are working to compel Rio Tinto to remediate the decades-long environmental devastation caused by the Panguna copper mine and secure a measure of justice for affected communities in Bougainville.
Daria Caliguire, director of the SAGE Fund, said: “Theonila’s win brings attention to the Bougainville communities’ dedication and perseverance that has forced mining giant Rio Tinto to take responsibility for its actions. Over thirty years after it abandoned the mine, this was no easy feat to not only bring Rio Tinto back to Bougainville, but to secure their financial backing for clean-up, restoration and community support. This work serves as a blueprint for those around the world that continue to suffer the effects of legacy mines—especially salient at a time when we are seeing an increase in mining for transition minerals. Theonila’s success is an important example of how to hold corporations accountable and build a better future.”
Driving Accountability
From 1972 to 1989, the world’s second largest mining company, Rio Tinto, operated the Panguna mine in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea. When landowners stood up in opposition to the billions of tons of waste and contamination of the vital Jaba-Kawerong river, it sparked a brutal 10-year long war as the government tried to keep the mine open. Though the civil war ended in 1999, the hastily abandoned mine continued to pollute the land, with over 25,000 people still living amidst collapsing mine infrastructure and chemical waste.
Two decades later, abandoned and forgotten by Rio Tinto, Theonila and the communities affected by the Panguna mine began their fight for justice. Building on community outreach work done by the Catholic Church, Theonila and HRLC documented the ongoing human rights and environmental impacts of the mine—with SAGE support. The information and testimonies they gathered formed the basis of a legal complaint filed by HRLC on behalf of Theonila and 155 Indigenous community members against Rio Tinto in Australia, where the company is headquartered. The resulting mediation opened a path for Rio Tinto to return to Bougainville.
In 2021, the mining company reached an agreement with the communities to fund a multi-million dollar independent human rights and environmental assessment to develop the full picture of the historic and ongoing damage from the mine, and what is needed to clean it up. Theonila and HRLC worked with other community leaders and the Bougainville government to ensure robust community engagement and oversight of the entire process and negotiations. The resulting report, published in 2024, is the basis for remediation. Rio Tinto is now investing in efforts to start to address some of the environmental impacts, cleaning up aging mining infrastructure, and providing water and sanitation projects. The company has also committed to establishing a remedy fund.
What’s Next
As the Bougainville government is now pushing ahead with plans to re-open the mine, hoping to take advantage of the global rush for transition minerals to fund the island’s future, there is still much to do to ameliorate the half a century’s worth of damage to the people and land of Bougainville. In addition, just last week Bougainville was hit by Tropical Cyclone Maila, which has had a catastrophic impact, further heightening many of the dangers posed by the deteriorating mine site. This makes addressing these life-threatening risks all the more urgent. Amidst it all, Theonila continues to stand with her community, demanding clean-up, restoration and protection for the environment that sustains her people.
The Goldman Award serves as an important recognition of her work and the rights of communities affected by the Panguna mine, raising up their call that Rio Tinto fully remediate the mine.
Read more and support Theonila’s work.
Bougainville is not alone. Mining projects have exploited people and environments around the globe for centuries. But we stand at a crossroads: As we transition from a fossil fuel past to a more sustainable green energy future, demand for transition minerals grows. From the copper in Panguna to the cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, now is the moment to secure better protections and benefits for people around the world.
About The Goldman Environmental Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize celebrates grassroots environment leaders around the world. A celebration of the winners takes place on Monday, April 20, 2026 in San Francisco.