Travel Notes: Working Exchange Fellows

E-LAW U.S. hosts public interest lawyers and scientists in Eugene to help them gain the skills and resources they need to be more effective environmental defenders.

Meet our most recent Working Exchange Fellows.

Victoria Jamali, Iran

Victoria Jamali
Tehran, Iran

An environmental movement is emerging in Iran. Today, Iran has more than 250 environmental NGOs. Ten years ago there were none.

Victoria Jamali, an assistant professor in the Graduate Faculty of Environment at the University of Tehran, is a leader in Iran`s environmental law movement. Victoria is at E-LAW U.S. this fall to learn how groups in the U.S. and around the world participate in civil society and protect the environment.

Victoria founded Iran`s first environmental law NGO, the Iranian Society of Environmental Law. She is also a founder of the Women`s Society Against Environmental Pollution and a member of the Iranian Society of Environmental Experts.

Victoria first came to E-LAW U.S. in 1999 on a study tour sponsored by Search For Common Ground (Search). In May 2001, Victoria helped Search conduct a workshop at the University of Tehran to develop a graduate program in environmental law. E-LAW U.S. Executive Director Bern Johnson participated in that workshop.

While in Eugene, Victoria is working with E-LAW U.S. staff on environmental challenges facing Iran, including regulations and monitoring of sewage treatment programs in Tehran; citizen enforcement of environmental laws; and the environmental and social impact of a highway from Tehran to the Caspian Sea.

Raquel Gutiérrez Nájera, Mexico

Raquel Gutiérrez Nájera
Guadalajara, México

Attorney Raquel Gutiérrez Nájera has been working for many years to protect Lake Chapala, one of Mexico`s most important watersheds. While in Eugene this summer, Raquel received the good news that the Government of Mexico accepted her draft decree to protect this critical watershed.

At E-LAW U.S., Raquel tapped legal and scientific resources for her work protecting Lake Chapala. She also gathered resources to educate Mexican citizens about toxic emissions from local industries, followed up on a petition her organization filed with the Inter American Development Bank challenging a proposal to construct two 250 megawatt power plants near Sierra del Abra Tanchipa Nature Reserve, and studied English at the University of Oregon`s American English Institute.

Raquel is the Executive Director of Instituto de Derecho Ambiental (Environmental Law Institute), a non-profit organization founded in 1997 to help Mexican communities protect the environment through law. Raquel is also a professor at the University of Guadalajara, where she has conducted research on environmental law since 1986. She received an "Ecological Merit Award" from Mexico`s Secretary of the Environment in June for her work protecting Lake Chapala and other fragile ecosystems.

José Ignacio Pinochet, Chile

José Ignacio Pinochet
Santiago, Chile

Attorney José Ignacio Pinochet is at E-LAW U.S. this fall to study the potential environmental impacts of extending the North American Free Trade Agreement to Chile. He is also reviewing the Environmental Impact Assessment for a proposed multi-million dollar aluminum production plant and weighing the impacts of a proposed Canadian/Chilean project to build hydroelectric plants in Aysen and Coyhaique in southern Chile. In addition to his legal work, José is enrolled at the University of Oregon`s American English Institute.

José is the Executive Director of Fiscalía del Medio Ambiente (FIMA), Chile`s leading environmental law NGO. FIMA has called on the E-LAW network to help challenge U.S. timber giant Boise Cascade and other companies seeking to log Chile`s native forests. E-LAW U.S. is working with FIMA to hold workshops for indigenous communities on citizens` rights and protecting natural resources. In September, FIMA held a workshop in Arica, where children have suffered after being exposed to lead- and arsenic-laced mining wastes abandoned by a Swedish company.