E-LAW Advocates Win Environmental Prizes
May 16, 2001 — The Mercury News (San Jose, California) reports that Rakesh Jaiswal was honored by the Dalai Lama as an "Unsung Hero of Compassion" at a San Jose award ceremony organized by San Francisco`s "Wisdom in Action." The award was given to 50 individuals "who, through their loving kindness and service to others, have made their communities and our world a better place." E-LAW U.S. is working with Rakesh and his organization Eco-Friends in Kanpur, India, to clean up the Ganges River.
In celebration of this year`s World Environment Day, E-LAW advocates P.B. Sahasranaman of Kerala, India and Raquel Gutierrez of Guadalajara, Mexico also won environmental awards. P.B. won a "Bhoomi Mitra" award from the Association for Environment Protection for his "outstanding contribution to the field of environmental protection" and Raquel received an Ecological Merit Award from Mexico`s Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources for her work protecting Mexico`s environment.
South African environmentalists seek moratorium on incinerators
May 15, 2001 — The Inter Press Service reports that nine medical waste incinerators are being proposed in Gauteng, South Africa`s most densely populated and heavily industrial province. E- LAW advocate Ellen Nicol, a lawyer at the public interest law firm Legal Resources Center, says that once granted, permits to operate incinerators often are renewed even when companies fail to comply with their contracts. In the United States, more than 280 incinerator proposals have been defeated or abandoned since 1985 due to public opposition.
E-LAW U.S. has worked with Ellen since 1998 to protect communities in South Africa from the dangers of hazardous waste incineration.
Titanium mine threatens coast of Kenya
May 9, 2001 — The Daily Nation (Nairobi) reports that plans by Canada-based Tiomin Resources Ltd. to prospect and mine titanium in Kwale District on Kenya`s coast are being challenged in High Court by Attorney Gikandi Ngibuini, representing 205 local farmers. Ngibuini argues that Tiomin Kenya has not submitted an adequate environmental impact assessment (EIA). The court issued a temporary injunction stopping the company from mining.
E-LAW U.S. Staff Attorney Jennifer Gleason and E-LAW U.S. Information Technology Manager Glenn Gillis met Gikandi in Mombasa during an outreach trip to East Africa in May. They were joined by Vincent Shauri of Tanzania`s Lawyers` Environmental Action Team. E-LAW U.S. Staff Scientists are critiquing the EIA for the mine.
PNG wilderness laid waste by corruption
May 2, 2001 — Australian television`s SBS Dateline featured E-LAW advocate Annie Kajir in "PNG Wilderness Laid Waste by Corruption." Dateline reporter John Bennett details the corruption and violence which underlie every aspect of logging operations in PNG.
Annie represents indigenous communities challenging logging companies in Papua New Guinea. She works at the Center for Environmental Law & Community Rights in Port Moresby. E-LAW U.S. has worked with Annie since 1998.
Green power grows south of border
April 29, 2001 — The Los Angeles Times reports that environmental activists in Mexico are using more sophisticated techniques to protect the environment, including legal remedies to address border pollution. E-LAW advocate Carla Garcia Zendejas says: "There is a change in the way things are being done... It`s not just about going up and throwing trash in front of the municipal building. It`s about learning about the law."
Carla provides free services to women working in maquiladora factories along the border. She has worked with E-LAW U.S. since 1998.
GM foods banned in Sri Lanka
April 27, 2001 — The Island (Sri Lanka) carried an op-ed article by Charmini Kodituwakku and Priya Monagurusamy of the Environmental Foundation Ltd. titled "GM ban — timely." Charmini and Priya report: "In our country the indifference of the consumer must no longer be an event to be monopolised by the multinational companies engaged in trading off genetically modified material." E-LAW advocates in Sri Lanka helped push for their nation`s ban on the import of genetically modified foods. Sri Lanka is the first country to impose such a ban.
E-LAW U.S. has worked with advocates at Sri Lanka`s Environmental Foundation Ltd. and the Public Interest Law Foundation for over 10 years.
Mexico cancels hotel project to help turtles
April 20, 2001 — Reuters reports that the Mexican government has revoked permission for a Spanish chain (Sol Melia) to construct five hotels on nearly 165 hectares of beach in Xcacel- Scacelito, 67 miles south of Cancun. The area of the planned hotel development is home to endangered turtles and Mayan ruins.
E-LAW advocates at Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) represented communities in Mexico opposing the hotel project. E-LAW U.S. has worked with CEMDA since 1995 to protect marine environments.
Kenya forest plan sparks outrage
April 15, 2001 — The Los Angeles Times reports that plans by the Kenyan government to log 167,000 acres of woodlands, in the guise of a resettlement scheme for landless Kenyans, has resulted in widespread anger among environmentalists, politicians and concerned citizens.
E-LAW U.S. is working with Kenyan attorney Nixon Sifuna, who filed suit in the Kenyan High Court in Eldoret and won a temporary injunction blocking the planned deforestation. E-LAW U.S. Staff Attorney Jennifer Gleason and E-LAW U.S. Information Technology Manager Glenn Gillis traveled to Kenya in May to meet with Nixon and attend the first hearing of the case. (See article, page 2.)
Belize dumps landfill site
April 4, 2001 — Greater Belize Television reports that the Cabinet has decided that a sanitary landfill slated for mile 27 on the Western Highway will now be re-sited at mile 24. The turnaround came after strident opposition from a coalition of environmental groups and local residents. Prime Minister Said Musa said: "we decided it would be best politically as well as environmentally to move ahead on the mile 24 site."
Advocates at the Belize Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (BELPO) asked E-LAW U.S. to review the environmental impact assessment for the mile 27 site. E-LAW U.S. staff found numerous omissions and flaws.