Amazon Indigenous Leader Benki Piyãko Awarded 43rd Niwano Peace Prize

“Honorable Senior Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Mr. Hiroyuki Nakamura, distinguished leaders, honorable guests, esteemed recipients of the 43rd Niwano Peace Prize, and fellow members of the Niwano Peace Prize Committee, I extend my heartfelt greetings of peace to you all. Before starting my remarks, it is important to recognize the Honorable Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, founder and first president of the lay Buddhist organization Rissho Kosei-kai, who established the Niwano Peace Foundation in 1978. For Niwano, peace was not merely the absence of conflict among nations, but a dynamic harmony within the inner lives of individuals, as well as within communities, nations, and the world. He devoted much of the latter half of his life to promoting world peace, particularly through interreligious dialogue and cooperation. Since then, the Foundation has continued to dedicate its resources to peacebuilding and interfaith engagement across the globe.

 

The Niwano Peace Prize, one of the Foundation’s principal initiatives, was established to recognize and encourage individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to peace, human rights, and interreligious cooperation—thereby advancing the cause of world peace. It also seeks to make their achievements widely known, in the hope of inspiring others to dedicate their lives to interfaith understanding and peacebuilding. The Niwano Peace Prize Committee was established to oversee the selection of the laureates. It currently consists of nine members from diverse cultural, religious, and geographical backgrounds. Committee members are carefully selected based on their interfaith engagement, spiritual commitment, and contributions to peacebuilding and peaceful coexistence. The selection process is both rigorous and thorough, ensuring representation not only of the world’s religions but also of all regions of the globe.

 

The recipient of the Niwano Peace Prize is chosen through a careful, multi-stage screening process and rigorous deliberation. The selection for this year’s award was conducted through three successive rounds of review during 2024 and 2025. At our final annual meeting, held on May 13, 2025, in Tokyo, the Committee reached its decision.

 

On behalf of the Niwano Peace Prize Committee, I am honored to announce that: The 43rd Niwano Peace Prize is awarded to Mr. Benki Piyãko, in recognition of his extraordinary efforts to defend the land and culture of his people, the Indigenous Ashaninka of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. For generations, they have suffered from invasion and the destruction of their forests. Over the past 15 years, Mr. Piyãko has demonstrated unwavering commitment in leading environmental and reforestation initiatives in service of both his people and the Amazon. His efforts as an environmental steward to foster deep connections between humans and nature are felt not just by his surrounding communities but all over the world. We are all reliant on a healthy Amazon rainforest for harmonious and sustainable living.

 

Mr. Benki Piyãko is an Indigenous spiritual leader of the Ashaninka people of the Amônia River. Widely recognized as a social entrepreneur, environmental activist, and human rights defender, he has emerged as a leading voice at the intersection of environmental protection and Indigenous rights. Mr. Piyãko founded the Indigenous Ayahuasca Conference, a global platform led by Indigenous peoples to protect the sacred traditions of ayahuasca and the rights of Indigenous communities, while raising Indigenous voices against commercialization and Westernization. He also established the Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute in Marechal Thaumaturgo, Acre State, to restore degraded lands, develop sustainable agroforestry systems, and raise awareness—both locally and globally—about environmental protection and the preservation of Indigenous culture. As a spiritual leader, he established the Yorenka Ãtame Center (Forest Knowledge Center) in 2007, bringing together 80 young people to learn forest conservation practices. Since then, the initiative has grown significantly, with thousands now participating in efforts to reforest and sustainably manage the land. Over the past decade, the center has achieved remarkable results, including the planting of more than two million trees and significant advances in wildlife conservation, protecting species such as turtles, monkeys, wild pigs, tapirs, and bees.

 

By combining traditional knowledge with modern techniques, he has inspired a new generation of environmental leaders. As a guardian of his people’s ancestral traditions, Mr. Piyãko is deeply committed to sharing knowledge of the forest, traditional medicine, and Ashaninka spirituality. He is an influential voice in both national and international forums, coordinating initiatives that strengthen Indigenous communities and protect the environment across Brazil and beyond. He is widely respected for his wisdom, his openness to dialogue, and his steadfast dedication to preserving both ecological and cultural heritage. Mr. Piyãko’s movement fosters a deep reconnection between people and the land. Guided by Indigenous spirituality, he speaks of a profound relationship with the spiritual world, which informs his decisions and actions. His most recent initiative is the development of a medical center that integrates traditional healing knowledge with modern approaches. Cultural and holistic well-being, ecological balance, and the transmission of traditional knowledge remain central to his work.

 

His contributions have been widely recognized. In 2004, he was honored by the Brazilian government for his dedication to human rights. In 2013, he received the Human Rights Award in Weimar, Germany, and in 2020, he was awarded the Culture for Peace Award by the Culture and Diversity Foundation in partnership with the Jacques Chirac Foundation. In 2017, he and the Ashaninka community received the United Nations Development Programme’s Equator Prize for their outstanding environmental initiatives. As founder of the Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute, he has established impactful reforestation programs while advancing education and community development. Through his work, he contributes profoundly to the cause of peace—rooted in environmental stewardship, cultural integrity, and spiritual wisdom—in full alignment with the mission of the Niwano Peace Prize.

 

In conclusion, Mr. Benki Piyãko is a pioneer in the global movement for sustainability and ecological stewardship at a time of profound environmental crisis. Guided by Indigenous spirituality, he focuses particularly on engaging young people in cultivating a more conscious and respectful relationship with nature—one that preserves biodiversity and sustains life. It is for these reasons that the Niwano Peace Prize Committee has selected Mr. Benki Piyãko as the recipient of the 43rd Niwano Peace Prize”