Working Exchange Fellows: Nepal, Indonesia, Honduras

E-LAW U.S. hosts visitors in Eugene to help them gain skills and resources they need to protect the environment, including speaking English, understanding U.S. environmental law, and working with U.S. NGOs and agencies. We have hosted visiting fellows from Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Uruguay, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe.

Prakash Nath Upreti, Biratnagar, Nepal

Prakash Nath Upreti is the Eastern Regional Director of the Forum for Protection of Public Interest (Pro Public), Nepal’s leading public interest law organization. He is the former Vice President of the Nepal Bar Association.

Prakash traveled to Eugene to work with E-LAW U.S. attorneys and scientists on efforts to strengthen the rule of law in Nepal. Pro Public’s Biratnagar office is working to conserve and rehabilitate wetlands around Chimdi Lake, and protect communities from polluting tanneries.

Pro Public has won many court victories protecting the environment and human rights in Nepal. Prakash’s Working Exchange Fellowship is supported by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. For more information about Pro Public, please visit: www.propublic.org.

Windu Kisworo, Jakarta, Indonesia

Windu Kisworo is a staff attorney at the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL). He came to work at E-LAW U.S. after a two-month fellowship at the Center for International Environmental Law in Washington, D.C.

At E-LAW U.S., Windu worked closely with Staff Scientist Mark Chernaik to understand the environmental impacts of dumping mining wastes at sea. Although “marine tailings disposal” is prohibited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, multinational mining companies in Indonesia continue this hazardous practice.

"Proponents of marine tailings disposal claim that heavy metal contaminants stay put in deep water, but studies indicate these contaminants migrate and enter the marine food chain," says Mark. ICEL is using this information to challenge hazardous mining operations and protect local communities.

For the past four years, Windu has managed ICEL’s Environmental Law and enforcement Training Program. The program has worked with the Supreme Court of Indonesia to train 800 judges, 150 police officers, 150 prosecutors, and 200 staff from the Ministry of the Environment.

ICEL has a strong record of protecting the environment and public health in Indonesia, including drafting and passing many laws which have enabled citizens to participate in critical decisions. For example, ICEL helped draft and pass the first Freedom of Information Act, legislation creating a procedure for class action law suits, the Whistle Blower Protection Act, and a law creating a right to participate in and observe decision makers performing their public duties.

Clarisa Vega, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Clarisa Vega is a former environmental prosecutor who now provides legal support to environmental and indigenous rights groups participating in the "Marcha por la Vida." Tens of thousands of indigenous and other Hondurans make this annual pilgrimage to the office of the president in Tegucigalpa to demand land rights and a stop to deforestation and other environmental abuses.

Unsustainable logging, mining, and fishing industries have devastated Honduras and the livelihoods of local communities. “Although Honduras entered a new era of democratic rule in 1981, the government has hardly improved social and economic conditions. There is a concentration of wealth and power, and the indigenous population is marginalized,” says Clarisa.

Clarisa’s ten-week Working Exchange Fellowship includes one-on-one collaboration with E-LAW U.S. attorneys and scientists on efforts to protect natural resources in Honduras, including the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Clarisa is also taking an intensive English program at the University of Oregon’s American English Institute.

Clarisa has shared her challenging work in Honduras with several local groups, including the Bioneers, the West Cascade Peace Corps Assocation, and the Global Trends-Local Choices program. Her Fellowship is supported by the Summit Foundation and the Spirit Mountain Community Fund.

Protecting the Mesoamerican Reef

Photo: Lisa Carne

The biologically rich Mesoamerican Barrier Reef faces unprecedented threats from the shrimp industry, tourism, mega-resort hotels, cruise ships, domestic and industrial pollutants, and global warming. E-LAW U.S. is working with grassroots advocates in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras to strengthen legal protections for this valuable marine resource.

In late September, E-LAW U.S. Associate Director Lori Maddox brought together advocates from all four countries for a workshop in Cancun, Mexico, to learn about the ecology of the Reef and to share legal strategies for protecting the Reef.

A highlight of the workshop was a presentation by Dr. Eric Jordan Dahlgren, a research scientist specializing in the ecology of coral communities at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) in Puerto Morelos. Dr. Jordan helped workshop participants understand the interconnectedness of ocean ecosystems in the Caribbean and the impacts of climate change on the Mesoamerican Reef.

Jeanette de Noack of the Centro de Accion Legal-Ambiental y Social (CALAS) in Guatemala spoke to workshop participants about CALAS’s work representing communities and organizations seeking to protect Punta de Manabique and the Motagua River watershed. The Motagua flows into the Gulf of Honduras at Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. Pollution in this watershed is having a profound impact on the Reef and CALAS is working to hold polluters accountable. Recently, CALAS was successful in shutting down an oil operation that was polluting the watershed.

CALAS is also working with indigenous and rural communities to promote stewardship of natural resources in the states of Peten and Izabal. CALAS recently published a comparative analysis (in Spanish and several indigenous languages) of indigenous norms and Guatemalan federal law related to the use of natural resources. (For more information, visit: www.calas.org.gt.)

Following the workshop, E-LAW U.S. and the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) co-hosted an event to educate the citizens of Playa del Carmen about how to exercise their legal rights to protect Mexico’s natural heritage. Dr. Jordan spoke about the impacts of global warming and unsustainable tourism on the Reef. Gustavo Alanis Ortega and Patricio Martin Sanchez of CEMDA spoke about CEMDA’s work using legal tools to protect ocean and coastal resources in the state of Quintana Roo, and opportunities for citizens to use law to safeguard Mexico’s natural heritage.

The permit to operate this pier in Playa Del Carmen was cancelled. Ferry traffic from the pier to Cozumel island would have damaged the Mesoamerican Reef and other marine habitat.

CEMDA has a strong record of protecting the environment through law in Mexico. We reported last year that CEMDA won a preliminary victory restricting ferry traffic from a proposed pier in Playa del Carmen to service Cozumel. Traffic from the pier would have damaged the Reef and other marine habitat. The permit to operate the pier has since been cancelled. CEMDA’s victory sends a message to developers that they must obey Mexican law, evaluate environmental impacts, and protect marine resources.

For more information about CEMDA’s pioneering work, visit: www.cemda.org.mx.

E-LAW advocates in Belize are also working to protect the Mesoamerican Reef. Following the workshop, advocates at the Belize Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (BELPO) drew support from the E-LAW network and filed a petition with the UNESCO World Heritage Commission in Paris to elevate the status of World Heritage Sites on the Reef to sites "In Danger."

E-LAW U.S. thanks the Summit Foundation for supporting this work in the Mesoamerican Reef Ecoregion.

Managing Bolivia’s Forests

Left to right: Diego Gutierrez, Executive Director, Sociedad Boliviana de Derecho Ambiental, and Bern Johnson, Executive Director, E-LAW U.S.

Where the eastern slope of the Andes meets the Amazon rainforest is the small town of Ixiamas, Bolivia. The surrounding area and nearby Madidi National Park hold tremendous biological diversity. Unfortunately, short-term slash and burn farming threatens to destroy the forests around Ixiamas.

Bern Johnson,E-LAW U.S. Executive Director, traveled to Ixiamas in October to work with grassroots attorneys at the Sociedad Boliviana de Derecho Ambiental (Bolivian Environmental Law Society – SBDA). SBDA attorneys Diego Gutierrez and Mauricio Aguilera are working with local villagers who want to manage local forests sustainably so that they can support their families for generations to come. Bern participated in a workshop with representatives of local communities who are trying to harvest timber sustainably and prevent the destruction of these rich forests.

Ixiamas workshop participants

Bern says, "People walked and rode their bikes for miles over dirt roads to come and work with us. I was impressed with the people’s commitment to take good care of the forests. Giving local people a real stake in the forests may be the best way to protect them."

E-LAW U.S. thanks the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for its generous support of E-LAW’s work in Bolivia.

Headlines: E-LAW in the News, Autumn 2004

Halting Harmful Fuel Emissions in Pakistan

Oil samples

September 6, 2004 – The Daily Nation (Pakistan) reports that substandard and adulterated engine oil in Lahore’s local markets is wreaking havoc on vehicle engines and filling the environment with polluting emissions. Attorney Hassaan Ghazali brought national attention to Pakistan’s adulterated oil problem after collaborating with E-LAW U.S. scientists to test oil at filling stations in Lahore.

Hassaan and his colleagues are now using their data to initiate legal action to require that motor oil in Pakistan be sold only in pre-packaged containers, a measure implemented by the Supreme Court of India that has drastically cut emissions from two- and three-wheeled vehicles in that country.

The Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities, a project of the World Bank and other international donors, has posted the results of Hassaan’s environmental monitoring project on their website. This work was made possible by the Alice C. Tyler Perpetual Trust.

Advocates in Liberia Call for Halt to Iron Ore Shipment

September 6, 2004 – The News (Liberia) reports that the Association of Environmental Lawyers of Liberia (Green Advocates) and other groups are asking the Supreme Court of Liberia to block shipments of stockpiled iron ore, destined for China. Green Advocates alleges the shipments are being conducted without public knowledge, information, or accountability. Although the Supreme Court has issued a “stay order” until the case can be heard, Green Advocates alleges the government is ignoring that order.

Green Advocates is Liberia`s first public interest environmental law organization. E-LAW U.S. has collaborated with Green Advocates since 2001 to protect natural resources, public health, and human rights.

Inside E-LAW U.S.: Origins of E-LAW, Fall Externs

Origins of E-LAW

In 1989, public interest lawyers from ten countries were working together at a public interest law conference at the University of Oregon School of Law. As they talked, they discovered that communities in their countries were facing similar environmental challenges. They realized that if they could share strategies and legal and scientific information across borders, they could promote environmental protection more effectively. This idea became the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide.

E-LAW’s founders agreed to collaborate, replicate successful environmental policies, and learn from each other’s experience. They began their cross-border collaboration in the early days of e-mail.

As the network of public interest lawyers grew, E-LAW became a pioneer in wiring the grassroots. E-LAW brought the first e-mail to public interest advocates in Indonesia and Mongolia. Today, roughly 300 grassroots lawyers and scientists in 60 countries call on the E-LAW network for critical legal and scientific tools.

E-LAW co-founder John Bonine was instrumental in bringing the E-LAW network to life. He serves on the board of directors of E-LAW’s U.S. office and recently published his personal reminiscences of E-LAW’s founding in the Widener Law Review (”Public Interest Environmental Lawyers – Global Examples and Personal Reflections,” Volume X, 2004, Issue 2). You can find John’s report on E-LAW’s website. Go to: www.elaw.org/resources/text.asp?ID=2661

Fall Externs

Neil Weingert

Ryan Casey in Venezuela

E-LAW U.S. thanks its Fall 2004 legal externs – Naomi Melver, Ryan Casey, and Neil Weingart – for helping E-LAW advocates worldwide better protect the environment through law. Last year, E-LAW U.S. launched a formal "externship" program with the Environment and Natural Resources Program (ENR) at the University of Oregon School of Law. Naomi, Ryan, and Neil will all receive academic credit for their work with E-LAW U.S. during the fall term 2004. These externs help make the high impact work of E-LAW U.S. possible. Many thanks to ENR Director Richard Hildreth for making this program possible.