{{Short description|Mexican environmental activist}} {{Infobox person | name = Leydy Pech | native_name = Leydy Araceli Pech Marín | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1965}} | birth_place = Hopelchén, Campeche | citizenship = Mexico | occupation = Environmental activist, beekeeper | awards = Goldman Prize (2020) }}
'''Leydy Araceli Pech Marín''', known as '''Leydy Pech''', (born 1965) is a Mexican beekeeper and environmental activist of Mayan origin. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2020 for her work against the planting of transgenic soybeans in the Yucatán Peninsula.<ref name="Rodríguez 2020" /><ref name="GEF" />
== Beekeeping work == thumb|''Melipona'' nest in a hollow log Leydy Pech is primarily engaged in beekeeping. She keeps a variety of stingless bee called ''Melipona beecheii'', which has been raised as a part of traditional Mayan culture in several communities for centuries.<ref name="Rodríguez 2020" /><ref name="Pastrana"/> ''Melipona beecheii'' creates its hives inside hollow logs. While most beekeepers prefer to use the species ''Apis mellifera'', Pech and her community use ''M. beecheii'' in an effort to preserve the tradition of using the ''melipona'' variety of the species in the region, which is locally known as Xunaan Kab (the Lady of Honey).<ref name="Animal Político" />
Pech owns two hectares of land on which she cultivates honey in this traditional way. Pech's organization seeks to develop a sense of community through the collective work of raising the bees and collecting their honey. She seeks to emulate the nearby community of Ich Eq, where families work together and support each other to survive.<ref name="Pérez 2014" />
== Environmental activism == Pech became involved in environmental activism in 2000, at the same time as Monsanto began cultivating transgenic soybeans in Campeche. The level of cultivation continued to increase, and by 2012 agribusiness was occurring on a larger scale. This increase in the cultivation of transgenic soybeans negatively impacted honey production in the state, reducing yields and contaminating honey harvests. This decrease in the productivity of the bees directly put local Mayan communities at risk, as beekeeping was their primary way of putting food on the table.<ref name="Rodríguez 2020" />
For this reason, Pech founded the Muuch Kambal coalition and the Colectivo Apícola de los Chenes,<ref name="Quintanilla 2018" /> two groups that sued the government to stop the cultivation of this type of transgenic crop. In 2015, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that indigenous communities must be consulted before the cultivation of any transgenic crops occurs. In 2017, Monsanto's permission to grow genetically modified seeds was revoked in Campeche, Yucatán, and five other states in Mexico.<ref name="Rodríguez 2020" />
Because of her activism and the success of her community, Pech received the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2020,<ref name="Rodríguez 2020" /> an award which is viewed as the environmental Nobel.<ref name="Indignacion" /> The organization which presented the award noted that Pech was discriminated against by Monsanto and its lawyers, who alluded to their disbelief that a woman had defeated them.<ref name="Pledge Times" /> According to Pech, the award "represents a recognition of the work of the Mayan communities of the Chenes (a region of Campeche) and of the unity of the Mayan territory." During the ceremony, which was held virtually, she said:"<ref name="Pastrana"/> {{Blockquote|text=The award gives me the opportunity to tell the world that the territories of indigenous peoples are being dispossessed for the imposition of megaprojects, extractivism, agribusiness, tourism and others that strengthen a capitalist model that affects natural resources and our means of employment.<ref name="Aristegui Noticias" />}}
== References == {{Reflist|1=
<ref name="Rodríguez 2020">{{Cite news|last=Rodríguez|first=Darinka|date=30 November 2020|title=Leydy Pech, la apicultora indígena que detuvo la siembra de soya transgénica de Monsanto|language=es|trans-title=Leydy Pech, the indigenous beekeeper who stopped Monsanto's GM soy planting|work=Verne|url=https://verne.elpais.com/verne/2020/11/30/mexico/1606768464_792041.html|access-date=19 April 2021|archive-date=23 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423085838/https://verne.elpais.com/verne/2020/11/30/mexico/1606768464_792041.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="GEF">{{Cite web|title=Leydy Pech|url=https://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/leydy-pech/|access-date=19 April 2021|website=Goldman Environmental Foundation|archive-date=22 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422015715/https://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/leydy-pech/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Pastrana">{{Cite web|last=Pastrana|first=Daniela|date=6 December 2020|title=Los pueblos indígenas tenemos una forma distinta de mirar el desarrollo|trans-title=Indigenous peoples have a different way of looking at development|url=https://piedepagina.mx/los-pueblos-indigenas-tenemos-una-forma-distinta-de-mirar-el-desarrollo-leydy-pech/|access-date=19 April 2021|website=Pie de Página|language=es|archive-date=22 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422000655/https://piedepagina.mx/los-pueblos-indigenas-tenemos-una-forma-distinta-de-mirar-el-desarrollo-leydy-pech/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Animal Político">{{Cite web|date=28 November 2020|title=México: esto sucede cuando se tumba selva en el territorio maya|trans-title=Mexico: this is what happens when the jungle falls in Mayan territory|url=https://www.animalpolitico.com/2020/11/mexico-esto-sucede-cuando-se-tumba-selva-territorio-maya/|website=Animal Político|language=es|access-date=19 April 2021|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419160921/https://www.animalpolitico.com/2020/11/mexico-esto-sucede-cuando-se-tumba-selva-territorio-maya/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Pérez 2014">{{Cite news|last=Pérez Salazar|first=Juan Carlos|date=31 July 2014|title=Los indígenas mexicanos que le ganaron una batalla al gigante Monsanto|work=BBC News Mundo|url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2014/07/140729_mexico_monsanto_mayas_miel_soya_transgenicos_jcps|access-date=19 April 2021|archive-date=22 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422171602/https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2014/07/140729_mexico_monsanto_mayas_miel_soya_transgenicos_jcps|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Quintanilla 2018">{{Cite web|last=Quintanilla Sangüeza|first=Quintanilla Sangüeza|date=10 December 2018|title=Leydy Pech, the guardian of the bees|url=https://aida-americas.org/en/blog/leydy-pech-the-guardian-of-the-bees|access-date=19 April 2021|website=Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427102947/https://aida-americas.org/en/blog/leydy-pech-the-guardian-of-the-bees|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Indignacion">{{Cite web|date=30 November 2020|title=Premio Goldman, resultado del trabajo colectivo comunitario en defensa del territorio y el ambiente sano en la región de los Chenes, Campeche|trans-title=Goldman Prize, result of collective community work in defense of the territory and a healthy environment in the Chenes region, Campeche|url=http://indignacion.org.mx/premio-goldman-resultado-del-trabajo-colectivo-comunitario-en-defensa-del-territorio-y-el-ambiente-sano-en-la-region-de-los-chenes-campeche/|access-date=19 April 2021|website=indignacion.org.mx|language=es|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419155132/http://indignacion.org.mx/premio-goldman-resultado-del-trabajo-colectivo-comunitario-en-defensa-del-territorio-y-el-ambiente-sano-en-la-region-de-los-chenes-campeche/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="ABC">{{Cite web|date=9 December 2020|title=Leydy Pech, la "guardiana de las abejas" contra los transgénicos|url=https://www.abc.es/sociedad/abci-leydy-pech-reina-abejas-cuando-david-mujer-humilde-indigena-pero-gana-goliat-202012091231_noticia.html|trans-title=Leydy Pech, the bee keeper against GMOs|access-date=19 April 2021|website=ABC|archive-date=25 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425152811/https://www.abc.es/sociedad/abci-leydy-pech-reina-abejas-cuando-david-mujer-humilde-indigena-pero-gana-goliat-202012091231_noticia.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Pledge Times">{{Cite web|last=Mandalia|first=Bhavi|title=Leydy Pech: the queen bee of a Mayan hive against Monsanto's GMOs in Mexico|url=https://pledgetimes.com/leydy-pech-the-queen-bee-of-a-mayan-hive-against-monsantos-gmos-in-mexico/|access-date=19 April 2021|website=Pledge Times|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419155420/https://pledgetimes.com/leydy-pech-the-queen-bee-of-a-mayan-hive-against-monsantos-gmos-in-mexico/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="Aristegui Noticias">{{Cite web|date=1 December 2020|title="Hoy es un día histórico para el pueblo maya": Leydy Pech al recibir el premio de Fundación Goldman|url=https://aristeguinoticias.com/0112/mexico/hoy-es-un-dia-historico-para-el-pueblo-maya-leydy-pech-al-recibir-el-premio-de-fundacion-goldman/|access-date=19 April 2021|website=Aristegui Noticias|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419155419/https://aristeguinoticias.com/0112/mexico/hoy-es-un-dia-historico-para-el-pueblo-maya-leydy-pech-al-recibir-el-premio-de-fundacion-goldman/|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pech, Leydy}} Category:Mexican environmentalists Category:Goldman Environmental Prize awardees Category:Mexican beekeepers Category:Women beekeepers Category:1965 births Category:Living people