On Earth Day, Revenge Is… wants to celebrate some of the eco-heros who are making the planet a better place. The 2009 winners of the Goldman Environmental Prizes were recently announced. The Goldman Environmental Prize, now in its 20th year, is awarded annually to grassroots environmental heroes from each of the world’s six inhabited continental regions and is the largest award of its kind with an individual cash prize of $150,000. The winners are selected by an international jury from confidential nominations submitted by a worldwide group of environmental organizations and individuals. www.goldmanprize.org The remarkable people honored this year are:
Maria Gunnoe, 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. Her advocacy has led to the closure of mines in the region and stricter regulations for the industry. She has continued her advocacy despite threats on her life, harassment of her children, news of a planned arson attack on her home, the fatal shooting of her daughter’s dog and “wanted” posters of her being posted in local convenience stores.
Marc Ona Essangui,Gabon: In Gabon, a country without a culture of civic engagement, Marc Ona led efforts to publicly expose the unlawful agreements behind a huge mining project threatening the sensitive ecosystems of Gabon’s equatorial rainforests. His efforts led to an unprecedented victory for civil society in Gabon, with the government adopting new environmental oversight regulations and significantly reducing the size of the mining concession. Ona faces considerable personal risks in campaigning for environmental and social issues. Ona and his family were recently evicted from their home. The federal police have refused to let Ona travel out of the country, without explanation. In December 2008, Ona and several other civil society leaders were arrested and Ona was charged with possession of documents allegedly for dissemination and propaganda with intent to incite rebellion against the state authorities, a charge which he denies. After media reports about the unlawful arrest from outlets in Africa, the EU and the US, the government released Ona, though the charges have not yet been dropped.
Rizwana Hasan, Bangladesh: In Bangladesh, decommissioned ships from around the world are sent to Bangladesh and dismantled by hand on the beaches by unskilled workers who are often paid less than one dollar per day. Aging vessels are sold to ship breaking yards and taken apart piece by piece with torches and other small tools, resulting in toxic contamination of the coastal waters and serious health hazards for the 20,000 workers. The ships, laden with asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead, arsenic and other substances, leach toxic chemicals into the environment, which has polluted ecosystems and maimed or killed hundreds of workers. Working to reduce the impact of Bangladesh’s exploitative and environmentally-devastating ship breaking industry, leading environmental attorney Rizwana Hasan spearheaded 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 successfully transformed the NGO community in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) into a potent, participatory force working to identify and eliminate the Soviet legacy of toxic chemicals in the environment. Together in equal partnerships with NGOs all over the region, she has focused on phasing out toxic chemicals and reducing harmful exposures to human health and the environment. Her leadership and the collective efforts of thousands of people are helping to turn around a legacy of pollution with impunity to one of proper care and attention. The EECCA NGO campaign towards a toxic-free future succeeded in pushing the national governments to ratify the Stockholm Convention, which would eliminate the release of persistent organic pollutants into the environment; 9 of 12 countries in this region ratified the Convention and now participate as full Parties at its global meetings.
Yuyun Ismawati, Indonesia: The lack of adequate, safe and sustainable waste management is one of the most critical environmental challenges facing the world’s developing countries; island nations in particular must grapple with growing consumption and finite space for waste disposal. Municipal infrastructure that is the norm in developed nations, including proper sanitary landfills and recycling facilities, remains largely absent in countries such as Indonesia. This has led to pervasive environmental problems and health risks, especially for communities living adjacent to open waste dumps and for poor urban settlements without organized waste management systems. As waste management problems mount throughout the Indonesian archipelago, Yuyun Ismawati implements sustainable community-based waste and sanitation management programs that provide employment opportunities to low-income people and empower them to improve the environment.
Wanze Eduards & Hugo Jabini, Suriname: Wanze Eduards and Hugo Jabini, members of a Maroon community 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. Based on evidence that Jabini and Eduards collected, the Inter-American Court, a legally binding body of which Suriname is a member, held that resource exploitation concessions may only be granted in indigenous or tribal territories subject to four conditions: indigenous and tribal peoples’ effective participation must be secure; there must be reasonable benefit-sharing; there must be a prior environmental and social impact assessment; and states have a duty to implement adequate safeguards and mechanisms in order to ensure that these activities do not significantly affect the traditional lands and natural resources of indigenous and tribal peoples.
