Three years ago, Alfred Brownell fled his country under threat of violence. It was the culmination of decades of bearing witness to the mining, logging, and agribusiness interests that were destroying Liberia’s natural resources, which include a swath of tropical rainforest that is among the most biodiverse places on the planet. In 2009, Brownell founded Green Advocates, a public-interest environmental law organization focused on ensuring that the income generated by the West African country’s agricultural and resource extraction operations benefit everyday Liberians. Brownell received the Goldman Environmental Prize, awarded annually to a handful of grassroots environmentalists working across the globe. In this interview with Yale Environment 360, he talks about how Liberia became so overrun by extractive industries and the steps its government can now take to ensure a brighter future for its citizens and natural resources.

(From the article.)