The award ceremony for the forty-third Niwano Peace Prize was held at the International House of Japan in Tokyo on May 12, 2026. Dr. Hiroshi M. Niwano (left), chairperson of the Niwano Peace Foundation, presented one of the recognition awards to Mr. Benki Piyãko, the 2026 recipient of the peace prize.
The 43rd Niwano Peace Prize shall be awarded to Mr. Benki Piyãko in recognition of his immense efforts to defend the land and culture of his people, the Indigenous Ashaninka people of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. The reason for selection by Somboon Chungprampree, chair of the Niwano Peace Committee, follows.
Mr. Benki Piyãko is an Indigenous spiritual leader of the Ashaninka people of the Amônia River, and he widely recognized as a social entrepreneur, environmental activist, and human rights defender. In his capacity, he 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, as well as the Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute, in Marechal Thaumaturgo, Acre State. Through these engagements he is leading efforts focused on reforesting degraded areas, developing sustainable agroforestry and farming systems, and raising awareness amongst local and global societies about environmental protection and the strengthening of Indigenous culture.
As a guardian of the ancestral traditions of his people, Mr. Benki Piyãko is committed to sharing knowledge about the forest, traditional medicine, and Ashaninka spirituality. He is an influential voice in national and international forums and coordinates local and global initiatives focused on environmental protection and the strengthening of Indigenous communities both in Brazil and in other countries. In addition, he is widely recognized for his wisdom, his ability to engage in dialogue, and his unwavering commitment to preserving the planet’s environmental and cultural heritage.
As a spiritual leader, Mr. Benki Piyãko created the Yorenka Ãtame Center (Forest Knowledge Center) in 2007, by bringing together eighty young people and educating them in forest preservation. Soon others joined them and by now thousands of people are collaborating to reforest and manage the land. The center has led to remarkable achievements over the last decade, planting over two million trees, and making huge strides in animal conservation, protecting species such as turtles, monkeys, wild pigs, tapirs, and wild bees, by mobilizing large groups of young leaders and communities and combining traditional knowledge with modern techniques. The vision exemplified and taught by Mr. Benki Piyãko will play a vital role in securing a peaceful and sustainable future.
His movement is connecting people to the land and the land to its people. He himself believes that he is connected to the spiritual world, which guides him through signs of yes or no, good or bad. His latest initiative is the creation of a medical center that will join traditional sciences with the spiritual and healing knowledge of the forest. Cultural and holistic well-being, ecology, as well as traditional knowledge and training are among his key priorities in serving his people.
He was previously honored by the Brazilian Government for his dedication to Human Rights in 2004; he received the Human Rights Award of the city of Weimar, Germany, in 2013; and he was awarded the Culture for Peace Award, jointly awarded by the Culture and Diversity Foundation and the Jacques Chirac Foundation in 2020. Additionally, he and his Ashaninka community received the United Nations Development Programme’s Equator Prize in 2017 for their collective environmental program.
To conclude, Mr. Benki Piyãko is a pioneer in the sustainability and ecology movement at a critical time when the environment and the physical world are in crisis. He is guided by indigenous spirituality and focuses his work – especially with young people – on creating a more conscious relationship with nature in a way that respects the earth and preserves its biodiversity. As founder of the Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute, he has established reforestation projects, whilst also focusing on education and community building. In this way, Mr. Benki Piyãko is contributing immensely to the cause of peace through environmental stewardship rooted in traditional wisdom, culture, and spirituality, in alignment with the mission of the Niwano Peace Prize.
It is for these reasons that the Niwano Peace Prize Committee selected Mr. Benki Piyãko to receive the 43rd Niwano Peace Prize.
