A picture taken in April 1999 shows Wangari Maathai (L) challenging hired security people in the Karura Forest, in the Kenyan Capital Nairobi, during a Green Belt Movement operation aimed to plant trees. Prof Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 8, 2004, becoming the first African woman to be awarded the prestigious prize since it was first handed out in 1901. Maathai, who served as Kenyan Assistant Minister for the Environment since 2003, founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977, the largest tree planting project in Africa, aimed at promoting biodiversity and at the same time creating jobs and giving women a stronger identity in society. AFP PHOTO / FILES SIMON MAINA