Приз The 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize

Дорогие читатели!
Сегодня, в 5.00 в Сан Франциске в здании Оперы и балета пройдет торжественный вечер, посвященный ДНЮ ЗЕМЛИ, где группу лидеров из НПО будут премированы почетным призом The 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize.
Среди награжденных всем нам известная лидер НПО Эко-Аккорд Ольга Сперанская.

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> > **We send our warmest congratulations to our sisters in GAIA — Olga from
> > Eco Accord, Russia; Rizwana from BELA, Bangladesh and Ibu Yuyun
> > Ismawati, Balifokus, Indonesia for the very important recognition given
> > to them — the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize.

> > May this achievement inspire more people to continuously work for a just
> > and toxic-free future despite the frustrations and challenges.

> >
> > *SAN FRANCISCO, SAN FRANCISCO, April 19, 2009 *— The 2009 Goldman
> > Environmental Prize recipients are a group of fearless grassroots
> > leaders taking on government and corporate interests and working to
> > improve the environment for people in their communities.

> > This year’s recipients include Maria Gunnoe, a born-and-bred West
> > Virginian who faces death threats for her outspoken activism to stop the
> > coal industry’s plunder of Appalachia via mountain top removal and
> > valley fills. Another recipient, Marc Ona, a wheelchair-bound civil
> > society leader from the West African country of Gabon, faces arrest,
> > imprisonment and public character assaults for his unyielding campaign
> > to stop a destructive mining concession in a protected national park.

> > Other recipients include a Russian scientist connecting NGOs across
> > Eastern Europe and the Caucasus to identify and safely remove toxic
> > chemical stockpiles; two Saramaka leaders, members of a Maroon community
> > in Suriname founded by freed African slaves in the 1700s, whose legal
> > struggle to protect their tribal land rights led to a binding decision
> > for all indigenous and tribal peoples in the Americas; Bangladesh’s
> > leading environmental attorney, whose legal advocacy led to tighter
> > regulations on the environmentally-devastating and exploitative ship
> > breaking industry; and an Indonesian woman developing community-based
> > waste management systems to stem her island nation’s overwhelming waste
> > infrastructure problems.

> > “This group of Goldman Prize recipients are as impressive as ever,
> > taking on seemingly insurmountable struggles and achieving success,”
> > said Goldman Prize founder Richard N. Goldman. “In this, our 20th year,
> > we are pleased to bring attention to their courageous work.”

> > *Maria Gunnoe, Bob White, West Virginia, USA:* In the heart of
> > Appalachia, where the coal industry wields enormous power over
> > government and public opinion, lifelong resident Maria Gunnoe fights
> > against environmentally-devastating mountaintop removal mining and
> > valley fill operations.

> > *Marc Ona, Libreville, Gabon:* In Gabon, a country without a culture of
> > civic engagement, Marc Ona led efforts to publicly expose the unlawful
> > agreements behind a huge Chinese mining development project that
> > threatens the sensitive ecosystems of his country’s equatorial rainforests.

> > *Rizwana Hasan, Dhaka, Bangladesh:* Working to reduce the impact of
> > Bangladesh’s exploitative and environmentally-devastating ship breaking
> > industry, leading environmental attorney Rizwana Hasan led a legal
> > battle resulting in increased government regulation and heightened
> > public awareness about the dangers of ship breaking.

> > *Olga Speranskaya, Moscow, Russia:* Russian scientist Olga Speranskaya
> > transformed the NGO community in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and
> > Central Asia into a potent, participatory force working to identify and
> > eliminate the Soviet legacy of toxic chemicals in the environment.

> > *Yuyun Ismawati, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia:* As waste management
> > problems mount throughout the Indonesian archipelago, Yuyun Ismawati
> > implements sustainable community-based solutions that provide employment
> > opportunities to low-income people and empower them to improve the
> > environment.

> > *Wanze Eduards and Hugo Jabini, Pikin Slee Village and Paramaribo,
> > Suriname:* Wanze Eduards and Hugo Jabini, members of Maroon communities
> > originally established by freed African slaves in the 1700s,
> > successfully organized their communities against logging on their
> > traditional lands, ultimately leading to a landmark ruling for
> > indigenous and tribal peoples throughout the Americas to control
> > resource exploitation in their territories.

> > *About the Goldman Environmental Prize *
> > The Goldman Environmental Prize was established in 1989 by San Francisco
> > civic leader and philanthropist Richard N. Goldman and his late wife,
> > Rhoda H. Goldman. It has been awarded to 133 people from 75 countries.

> > Prize winners are selected by an international jury from confidential
> > nominations submitted by a worldwide network of environmental
> > organizations and individuals.

> > Previous Prize winners have been at the center of some of the world’s
> > most pressing environmental challenges, including seeking justice for
> > victims of environmental disasters at Love Canal and Bhopal, India;
> > leading the fight for dolphin-safe tuna and fighting oil drilling in the
> > Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

> > Since receiving a Goldman Prize, eight winners have been appointed or
> > elected to national office in their countries, including several who
> > became ministers of the environment. The 1991 Goldman Prize winner for
> > Africa, Wangari Maathai, won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.