Testing Air and Water to Protect Communities
Children from St. Teresita, on the outskirts of Lipa City, Batangas Province, Philippines. E-LAW partners at Tanggol-Kalikasan and Pusod are working with the Lipa Medical Socitety and volunteers from De La Salle Lipa schools to monitor air pollution in the Lipa City airshed, which covers St. Teresita and surrounding towns. PHOTO: Ipat Luna
According to the World Health Organization, contaminated drinking water and other environmental menaces kill 13 million people every year[1]. Many E-LAW partners are working in communities where polluted air and drinking water take a terrible toll.
Now, the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide is helping people fight back. We are equipping our partners with state-of-the-art scientific equipment, which enables them to identify the pollutants that are fouling their air and water. With this equipment, they can start cleaning up the air and water, and hold polluters accountable.
"We can send the equipment to communities around the world that suffer from polluted air and water, and give people the power to protect themselves," says Mark Chernaik, E-LAW U.S. Staff Scientist.
With support from the Alice C. Tyler Perpetual Trust and the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation, E-LAW U.S. has provided partners in Malaysia with a hydrogen sulfide gas monitor, partners in the Philippines with an airborne particulate meter, and partners in Liberia with a dissolved oxygen meter, to measure water pollution.
This equipment is already making an impact: the Consumers Association of Penang in Malaysia used the hydrogen sulfide gas monitor to measure toxic emissions from a latex processing plant. This information helped the community convince the company to reduce hydrogen sulfide gas emissions and relocate to a more suitable location. The company has also agreed to purchase its own hydrogen sulfide gas monitor.
"It would have been impossible to make the factory operator enter into a settlement agreement without ... the handheld equipment to measure the emissions," wrote Chai Sin Chong of the Kuala Kuang Anti-Stench Committee.
Personal DataRAM pDR-1000 airborne particulate meter (Thermo Electron Corporation)
Ipat Luna and fellow advocates in the Philippines recently received a pDR-1000 airborne particulate meter, to monitor air pollution. Partners in Jamaica have expressed interest in using the meter when the partners in the Philippines have finished
their work.
Open burning of waste is a huge problem in the Philippines. The burning creates particles made up of a number of components — including nitrates, sulfates, metals, soil and dust — which make breathing a hazard. Once inhaled, these particles can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health problems.
Our partners in the Philippines plan to work with the Lipa Medical Society to test air quality in areas around Lipa City that have been identified as pulmonary disease clusters.
Discussions with the Lipa City Junior Jaycees and other youth groups about air pollution have resulted in pledges from the groups to snuff out garbage fires in their neighborhoods. The particulate meter will also be used in Lipa City to measure air quality in areas around Mabini School and Casa Segunda, where there is heavy traffic.
Alfred Brownell, President of Green Advocates in Liberia, is using equipment to monitor effluent from a large Firestone rubber facility near Harbel, on the Farmington River.
E-LAW U.S. provided Green Advocates with a dissolved oxygen meter to test oxygen levels in the Farmington River. Dissolved oxygen is critical for aquatic life. Many organic pollutants combine to deplete dissolved oxygen levels in water, impairing aquatic ecosystems.
E-LAW U.S. scientists will help partners use this equipment and evaluate the data so communities can protect themselves. By sharing this equipment with partners around the world, E-LAW will help replicate victories and magnify the impact of the equipment.
Footnotes:
- "Preventing Disease through Healthy Environments: Towards an estimate of the environmental burden of disease
," World Health Organization, June 2006.
Nepal Bans Smoking in Public Places
PHOTO: GLOBALink
E-LAW U.S. is helping protect people all over the world from tobacco. In Bangladesh and Uganda, E-LAW U.S. helped partners win similar court victories for smoke-free air.
Prakash Mani Sharma, Executive Director of Pro Public in Nepal, has worked for ten years to protect Nepalese from the dangers of tobacco. In 1997, he asked E-LAW U.S. for help with a Supreme Court case seeking restrictions on tobacco advertising in Nepal`s media.
To make the case for smoke-free air, E-LAW partners need scientific information documenting the hazards of tobacco as well as model tobacco laws from around the world. E-LAW U.S. provided Prakash with critical resources, including information on the effects of advertising on cigarette consumption and teenage smoking, U.S. federal regulations on tobacco advertising, and tobacco use regulations from around the world.
The recent Nepal Supreme Court victory not only banned smoking in public places, but also imposed restrictions on tobacco advertising and ordered public education campaigns on the dangers of tobacco use. The court order must be enforced within one year.
Secondhand Smoke is Deadly
Secondhand smoke contains a complex mixture of over 200 poisons, including more than 43 chemicals that are known cancer-causing agents.
| Chemical | Commonly Found In |
|---|---|
| Acetone | Nail Polish |
| Acetylene | Fuel For Torches |
| Ammonia | Window Cleaner |
| Arsenic | Deadly Poison |
| Benzene | Pesticides/Fuel |
| Butane | Gasoline |
| Cadmium | Batteries |
| Carbon Monoxide | Auto Exhaust |
| Cyanide | Rat Poison |
| Formaldehyde | Embalming Fluid |
| Lead | Paint |
| Methanol | Antifreeze |
| Nicotine | Insecticide |
| Phenol | Disinfectants |
| Propylene Glycol | De-icer |
| Toluene | Paint Thinner |
| Urethane | Solvent |
American Lung Association of Oregon [www.lungoregon.org]
Prakash spoke about the Nepal victory with the Indo Asian News Service:
"I welcome the verdict … This is something that the government ought to have done years ago … The ban would come as a reprieve for people compelled to be passive smokers. A healthy younger generation would mean a strong nation." (June 14, 2006)
Pro Public Attorney Raju Prasad Chapagai says nearly one-third of Nepalese children are exposed to secondhand smoke, and low-income families can spend as much as 10% of their household income on tobacco products. Every year nearly 15,000 people die of tobacco-related diseases in Nepal.
In 1992 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classified secondhand tobacco smoke as a "Group A" carcinogen, with no level of safe exposure. Advocates in the U.S. have worked hard to put in place federal and state regulations protecting citizens from secondhand smoke. Now E-LAW U.S. is helping advocates around the world replicate victories over tobacco.
E-LAW U.S. helped partners at the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) win a Supreme Court victory for clean air. In response to a case filed by BELA in 2000, the Bangladesh Supreme Court ordered a ban on smoking in public places, placed restrictions on tobacco advertising, and required that warning labels in local languages be printed on cigarette packs.
In Uganda, E-LAW U.S. worked with attorney Phillip Karugaba and his organization, The Environmental Action Network, to win a High Court victory in 2002 banning smoking in public places. Uganda is one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to impose such a ban.
Following the victory, Phillip said: "E-LAW is where it all began. You gave me the cases and the support. You made it happen."
E-LAW U.S. congratulates Prakash and the staff at Pro Public for their recent victory for the health of all Nepalese. We are pleased that our work protecting the people of Nepal, Bangladesh, and Uganda from deadly secondhand smoke is reverberating around the globe.
2006 Goldman Prize Winners
2006 Goldman Prize winners Annie Kajir and Olya Melen
Olya was recognized for her fearless work defending wetlands in the Danube Delta, while Annie was recognized for a decade of work helping indigenous communities protect tropical forests from illegal loggers.
Olya says she was inspired by "first-day-in-court" stories that she heard from E-LAW partners at the 2003 E-LAW Annual Meeting. Following that meeting, Olya went to court for the first time and challenged government plans to build a navigation canal that would have cut through protected wetlands in the Danube Delta, one of the most valuable wetlands in Europe.
For her efforts, she came under critical scrutiny by officials in the notoriously corrupt pre-Orange Revolution regime, under which few spoke out against the government.
Olya directs the legal unit at Environment-People-Law (EPL) [www.epl.org.ua] in Lviv. In May, she traveled to Eugene and spoke at the E-LAW U.S. 15th Anniversary Celebration.
Annie uncovered evidence of widespread corruption and complicity in the Papua New Guinea government that allowed rampant, illegal logging that is destroying the largest remaining intact block of tropical forest in the Asia Pacific region. In 1997, her first year practicing law, Annie successfully went to the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea to force the logging interests to pay damages to indigenous land owners.
Annie is the CEO of the Environmental Law Centre and has collaborated with E-LAW since 1996.
Following the April award ceremony, Olya and Annie traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress and the National Press Club. While in D.C., Olya responded to a flood of e-mail congratulations that she and Annie had received from colleagues around the world through the E-LAW network:
"I was overwhelmed while reading your e-mails. It`s a big honor for us and we were thinking about all of the public interest environmental lawyers . . . all of you who are doing great job!! I was inspired by you during annual meetings and I recall first-time-in-court stories that gave me more strength to start court practice . . . Your inspiring example made considerable contribution. Only all together will we make an impact on Planet Earth!!"
The Goldman Environmental Prize has given recognition, visibility, and credibility to Olya, Annie, and five other E-LAW partners for their important work with communities seeking to protect local environments:
 M.C. Mehta (India, 1996) |
 Albena Simeonova (Bulgaria, 1996) |
 Samuel Nguiffo (Cameroon, 1999) |
 Vera Mischennko (Russia, 2000) |
 Harrison Ngau Laing (Malaysia, 1990) |
Congratulations to the newest Goldman Prize winners, Olya and Annie!
Victory for the Rule of Law in Jamaica
Pear Tree Bottom in 2005, before development (PHOTO: Wendy Lee)
In May, a high court ruled that a Cancun-style resort under construction at Pear Tree Bottom near Runaway Bay on Jamaica`s north coast violates Jamaican law. Undeveloped beaches in this area offer one of the few remaining spots where Jamaican families can enjoy the beach and local fishermen can launch their boats. The resort threatens to block access to these beaches and destroy unique coastal ecosystems.
A Spanish hotel chain is building the 1,900-room Bahia Principe resort in a relatively undisturbed coastal site that includes a dry limestone forest, freshwater marshes, a river, coastal wetlands, wildlife habitat, and one of the best remaining coral reefs on Jamaica`s rapidly developing north coast.
E-LAW U.S. is working closely with the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) to ensure that this enormous project does not violate local law and respects principals of sustainable development.
E-LAW U.S. scientists reviewed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed development and pointed out its flaws, such as the failure to explain how sewage would be treated and the failure to conduct an assessment of rare and endangered species on the site.
E-LAW U.S. is also collaborating on legal strategies, reviewing draft pleadings, and helping respond to government arguments. E-LAW U.S. Staff Attorney Jennifer Gleason has traveled to Jamaica to work with JET, and Jamaican lawyers have traveled to Eugene to work with E-LAW U.S.
Following the recent victory, JET Executive Director Diana McCaulay wrote: "As you can imagine, this has caused the most incredible excitement... We are being deluged with messages of congratulations and support. Thank you thank you for all the magnificent help from E-LAW U.S. and the network."
Following the decision, the hotel developers and their EIA consultants filed an application to the court to be heard as affected third parties. On June 23, Justice Bryan Stykes ruled that phase one of the hotel could continue on the current permit, but made six strong declarations that the environmental regulatory bodies breached their own procedures and laws in the approval process.
This ruling is a huge win for Jamaica`s environment and the rule of law. For the first time, citizens have successfully modified shortsighted development in Jamaica through the court. With the help of E-LAW, JET will continue to monitor subsequent phases of the hotel development at Pear Tree Bottom.
Congratulations to JET for this inspiring win and for motivating E-LAW partners around the world.
Oil Development Threatens Indigenous Lands in Belize
E-LAW Launches Unity Tour
E-LAW partner Antoinette Moore is a member of the legal team working with the Sarstoon Temash Institute of Indigenous Management (SATIIM) to challenge the oil exploration in court. Antoinette worked with E-LAW partners in Belize, Costa Rica and the U.S. to inform communities in Belize about the real impact of oil development and steps communities can take to protect indigenous lands and natural resources.
Antoinette sent the following report:
Sarstoon Temash was designated a protected area in 1997 and joined the Ramsar list of Wetlands of International Importance in 2005. For the last decade, the indigenous Maya who live around the park have restricted their entry into and use of the Park`s resources, in accordance with the law governing protected areas.
E-LAW partners Candy Gonzalez of Belize and Emily Yozell of Costa Rica met with members of SATIIM in the Toledo District of southern Belize to offer their experience. SATIIM, which is led by Garifuna and Maya community members, co-manages the Park with the government of Belize.
Emily Yozell and Enrique Joseph of Costa Rica shared their strategies fighting oil development in Costa Rica. Candy shared her experience challenging the construction of the Chalillo Dam. Emily and Enrique visited surrounding villages and spoke with members of the tourist industry and others concerned about oil development.
SATIIM filed a legal challenge to the oil exploration in May, after learning that the Forest Department of the Belize Ministry of Natural Resources had granted US Capital Energy Belize, Ltd. a permit to conduct seismic testing in the Park. E-LAW U.S. scientists prepared expert affidavits on seismic testing and its potential environmental impacts.
E-LAW U.S. made it possible for Emily and Enrique to travel to Belize and helped SATIIM and others in Belize mount the legal challenge.
On June 8, the Supreme Court of Belize granted an injunction stopping further seismic testing in the Park pending the outcome of the court case, which is set for final hearing in July.
Inside E-LAW U.S.: E-LAW at Fifteen, User-Friendly Guides, Welcome Leela Gleason Mixer
E-LAW at Fifteen
2005 E-LAW Annual Meeting, Yachats, Oregon
This year the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide is celebrating 15 years of high-impact victories for environmental justice around the globe! We kicked off this year`s celebrations on May 2 with an evening featuring 2006 Goldman Environmental Prize winner Olya Melen of Environment-People-Law (EPL) in Ukraine. This was Olya`s first public appearance after winning this prestigious prize.
Executive Director Bern Johnson and co-founder John Bonine spoke about E-LAW`s early days, when slow modems delivered bytes to partners in far away places, and how our mission today remains vital to environmental lawyers around the world. EPL founder Svitlana Kravchenko spoke about how E-LAW gave Olya the courage to take her first court case.
Olya showed a video about her work produced by the Goldman Environmental Prize and spoke about the challenges
she faced protecting the Danube Delta. The audience responded with a standing ovation.
Earlier in the week, Olya joined environmental leaders from local high schools for a tour of the West Eugene Wetlands.
We look forward to hosting visiting E-LAW partners from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Panama, and Nicaragua later this year. In November we will host an event featuring David Korten, author of "The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community." Watch for news about events featuring these visitors.
User-Friendly Guides
E-LAW U.S. works with partners around the world to publish user-friendly guides to understanding and enforcing local environmental laws. The General Fisheries and Aquaculture Law of Guatemala is written "Xchaq `Rab `Il Karab`K Ut K`Iiresink Yu` Amha" in the Maya Q`eqchi` language. With support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, E-LAW U.S. and Centro de Acción Legal-Ambiental y Social (CALAS) in Guatemala are educating Maya Q`eqchi` communities on the Atlantic coast about laws that protect fragile natural resources.
Footprints, Leela Gleason Mixer (b. 2006-June-10)
Welcome Leela
Jennifer Gleason and her husband Matt Mixer welcome Leela Gleason Mixer, born in Eugene on June 10, 2006. Jennifer is Staff Attorney at E-LAW U.S.
Working Exchange Fellows: Alfred Brownell and Liza Aleksyeyeva
Alfred Brownell and Liza Aleksyeyeva join University of Oregon law student volunteers, law professors, and others for a day of planting native tree seedlings at Mount Pisgah Arboretum, near Eugene.
Alfred Brownell
Green Advocates, Liberia
Alfred Brownell arrived in Eugene in April, soon after former Liberian president Charles Taylor was arrested for war crimes. Taylor spent more than two years on the lam in Nigeria to avoid facing charges of human rights abuses. Friends of E-LAW, Roz and Paul Slovic, hosted Alfred to speak in their home to a small group of community activists. Alfred expressed relief that Taylor was arrested and hope for the future of his country.
E-LAW U.S. helped Alfred launch Green Advocates, the only public interest environmental law organization in Liberia. Alfred and his colleague Jerome Verdier were awarded "2005 Human Rights Advocates of the Year" by The Analyst, a leading Liberian newspaper.
Alfred`s organization was instrumental in putting in place Liberia`s first environmental laws, which paved the way for Liberia`s new President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, to sign her first Executive Order, canceling all timber concessions in Liberia.
Alfred has made several visits to work with E-LAW U.S., and E-LAW U.S. Staff Attorney Jennifer Gleason has traveled to Liberia to work with Green Advocates.
Liza spent ten weeks at E-LAW U.S. this spring, to study English at the University of Oregon`s American English Institute (AEI) and help secure access to clean drinking water for a community near Lviv.
The water in Drohobych, Ukraine, is contaminated by pollutants from an antiquated oil refinery. Liza worked with E-LAW U.S. Staff Scientist Mark Chernaik to translate an affidavit for presentation in court.
The American English Institute provided Liza, and many other E-LAW partners over the years, a scholarship for intensive English training. Liza says English is the global language of law and science, and to be a more effective advocate for the environment she needs professional-level English training.
Liza tested her English skills as a guest on Air America`s local affiliate, 1600 KOPT. Radio personality Nancy Stapp invited Liza, E-LAW U.S. Education Director Carolyn Sykora, and AEI Director of Program Development and International Outreach Peggy Dame, to speak about E-LAW`s work and the AEI program. Peggy says AEI values the diversity that E-LAW participants bring to AEI`s program and the "good role model that E-LAW partners provide as model community activists."