About Us

Greenpeace has been working in Africa to end environmental destruction and fighting for the right of Africans to a healthy environment since the early 1990s. From campaigning to end destructive logging in the unique Congo Basin rainforest to working to stop the plunder from the bountiful waters of West Africa by industrialised nations' fishing fleets and pirate fishing.

Greenpeace brings to Africa a long tradition of empowering people, expertise, and environmental action to achieve sustainable change. Working in partnership with local organisations, we hope to give Africans a stronger voice by channeling African ideas, expertise and leadership internationally and create truly global solutions for a greener future.

By opening offices in South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal, Greenpeace is at the heart of areas pivotal to challenging some of the most urgent environmental problems facing Africa today.

Crew of PHYLLIS CORMACK. 1st Greenpeace trip to Amchitka Island to protest USA nuclear testing.

Who we are

Founded in 1971, we exist to expose crimes against the environment, and to challenge governments and corporations when they fail to live up to their mandate to safeguard our environment and our future.

We believe that the struggle to preserve the future of our planet is not about us, it's about you. Greenpeace speaks for 2.9 million supporters worldwide, and encourages many millions more than that to take action every day.

To combat the environmental problems facing the world, Greenpeace is in over 40 countries across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Americas. As a global organisation we can match solutions to problems on an international scale.

Whether it is uniting forest populations in Central Africa, Brazil and Indonesia so their demand to save the rainforests is heard and a solution created, or highlighting the shared plight of local fishing communities from Mexico, to Senegal.

Israeli Marine forces board the SV Rainbow Warrior at the military restricted area near the coal plant in Ashkelon, Israel. 14 Greenpeace activists were later arrested and taken into custody after protesting against the Rotenberg coal power plant construction.

In pursuing our mission, we have no permanent allies or enemies. We promote open, informed debate about society's environmental choices. We pursue our goals through research, lobbying and quiet diplomacy, as well as by using high-profile, non-violent direct action.

To maintain our independence, Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments or corporations but relies on contributions from individuals.

We take the name of our flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, from a North American Cree Indian legend. It described a time when humanity's greed has made the Earth sick. At that time, a tribe of people known as the Warriors of the Rainbow would rise up to defend her.

As one of the longest banners we've ever made summed things up, "When the last tree is cut, the last river poisoned, and the last fish dead, we will discover that we can't eat money..."