John Tinker

Jon Tinker is founder and President of the Panos Institute, an independent international NGO working in partnership with others to develop greater understanding of sustainable development. Panos produces information itself, and helps NG0s and media in the South to strengthen their information capacities. He founded and directed Eartliscan, Panos's predecessor, 1974-86, was environment and development editor of New Scientist Magazine 1969-77, and is a former member of the UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and a former Winston Churchill Memorial Fellow.

Siti Aminah

 

Siti Aminah is Head of the environmental NGO, Yayasan Solidaritas Bangsa (LSB) in Indonesia, which has received a Global Environment Facility (GEF) biodiversity grant. The aim of the 24-month project is to bring the mangrove forest back to the Semangat Baru Area in Labuhan Mapin fishing village. LSB, mobilized by two young women and led by Ms. Aminah, has already gained the trust of local communities and authorities. The Forestry Department has even requested that their fishermen trainees obtain direct guidance and training from the two women on how to prevent land degradation, manage land erosion areas and explore the Sumbawa coastal areas to improve local community skills and income-generating capabilities. LSB started its activities by planting mangrove saplings, which they collected from an uninhabited island. With their determination and enthusiasm they have brought back the fish and crustaceans to their breeding areas along the shores; increased local people's awareness in preserving the environment; trained people who can promote this effort in other areas; and contributed to the emergence of new groups who will rehabilitate more critical areas in Sumbawa and other islands in the Lesser Sunda Islands. At 25 years of age, Ms. Aminah has established herself as an informal leader of the community and has been accepted without any friction by a society where most leadership positions are traditionally held by men.Siti Aminah

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service is the world's leading international broadcaster. Surveys indicate that it is regarded, by its listeners and viewers around the globe, as the most trusted broadcaster compared to its local, national and international rivals. Both World Service Radio and World Service Television have been at the forefront of broadcasting on sustainable development and environment issues. A good example of this is the BBC World Service Radio Education Department's major initiative Green World. This programme involved the creation and transmission of 25 series of radio programmes, produced in 22 languages, which examined the hopes and fears for the environment together with possible solutions - numbering some 249 individual programmes, covering 40 countries. The Green World initiative was on air for four months between September and December 1996. As a result, vital information was conveyed to millions of listeners who otherwise have little or no chance of accessing such information from any other source. Green World has received support from international organizations and individuals such as Jonathon Porritt and David Attenborough - both Global 500 winners. More than 50,000 special leaflets were mailed to environmental agencies and NGOs and the project was also promoted through the Internet. Feedback from listeners already suggests a very positive response to the various series, and many NGOs are now using copies of the programmes for their own educational and awareness training.BBC World Service Education Department

Centro Salvadoreño de Tecnologia Apropiada

Centro Salvadoreño de Tecnologia Apropiada (CESTA) is the most influential environmental institution in El Salvador. Founded in 1980, it has a staff of 60 and a membership of 3,000. It has an environmental page in a national newspaper and a quarterly journal. CESTA has stopped the destruction of the El Espino Forest which would have affected water availability to the 1.5 million inhabitants of the Capital, and saved the El Pescadito de Oro waterspring from being exploited by Government and industry. It has stopped 3 million tons of ash and 400 tons of used tires from being brought into the country. CESTA has a school which develops technologies to improve sanitation, reduce energy consumption, improve nutrition and make transportation environmentally-friendly. Thousands of bicycles, pedal-powered garbage collectors, water pumps, solar cookers and dryers, water filters and environmentally-friendly roof tiles have been produced. CESTA has Eco Centres in 21 communities involved in garbage recycling, reforestation, water cleaning, reduction of soil erosion, harvesting and processing of medicinal plants, production of biodegradable pesticides and firewood-saving stoves and turtle harvesting. CESTA has created a forest in the name of the 75,000 people who died during the war. Thanks to CESTA, there is now a legislative department, an ombudsman, an attorney and a police force dealing with the environment, and laws on agro-chemicals, industrial effluents, wildlife protection and the use of unleaded gasoline.

Joon-Yuep Cha

 

Joon-Yuep Cha is an environmental activist and chairman of the Earth Eco-Friends movement in Korea which he set up to encourage the Government to join the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) - a step which he deemed important since the tradition in Korea is to use the parts of a number of endangered species for medicinal purposes. Cha succeeded when Korea joined CITES in October 1993. During the ninth session of CITES in Florida, he went on a hunger strike to encourage his Government to protect wildlife. As a result, the Asia Conservation Alliance (ACA) was formed. In the spring of 1991, he went on another hunger strike to protect an 800-year old gingko tree at the foot of Mt. Pukhan in Northern Seoul which was going to be cut down to make way for high-rise apartments. Thanks to his efforts, the height of the apartments was lowered to allow the tree to bask in enough sunshine, and two buildings were not constructed in order to allow enough space for the roots to grow. He also initiated a movement to protect Kwangnung Arboretum, home to the Korean Redheaded Woodpecker, which was going to be yet another victim of the boom years in Korea. He organized some 20 non-governmental organizations to protest the construction of a 19-story apartment building and an amusement park. As a result, the development plans were abandoned, and the Government has begun a study to determine whether special legislation is needed to protect the Arboretum.

Ki-Chel Choi

 

Ki-Chel Choi was an educator for 40 years until he retired from Seoul National University in 1976. He taught his biology students with great passion, and as a result produced generations of students who have changed the course of biological studies in Korea. At 87, he is still active. In 1993, he founded the Korea Fresh Water Fish Conservation Association. As Chairman of this organization, he leads the country's movement to conserve fresh water fish. The Brachmystax Lenok, which was in danger of becoming extinct from pollution and over-fishing, has been saved since Choi undertook steps to prohibit the fishing of this species and to protect its habitat. Choi has extended his movement to save rivers and streams. In 1993, he led the movement to save the Han River which has been widely acclaimed. In 1995, he succeeded in artificially incubating the Fugu Ocellatus by discharging 40,000 of this fish on the shores of Kanghwa Island. He has been involved in research which has contributed to the country's development. He supervised the Yangyang Pumping Water Power Plant Project and analyzed its effect on underwater ecosystems, thus contributing to the harmonization of environment and development. He regularly holds exhibitions on fresh water fish, and has lectured extensively at various institutes, as well as at primary, middle and secondary schools. He has inspired and guided the nation to protect the environment and fresh water fish in particular.Ki-Chel Choi

Lilian Corra

 

Dr. Lilian Corra is a medical doctor with a strong commitment to environmental education and protection. She was one of the first doctors in Argentina to highlight environmental factors which can cause diseases. She has also promoted environmental epidemiological research in order to reach an accurate diagnosis and to offer preventive action. She is an active participant in environmental education activities focusing on environmental health, both in Argentina and abroad.

Since 1993, she has been a member of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment which comprises some 40,000 members. In 1992, she founded the Asociación Argentina de Medicos por el Medio Ambiente (Argentine Association of Doctors for the Environment), and is today its president. In 1991, she co-founded the Fundación Proteger para el Desarollo Sostenible y la Salud (Proteger Foundation for Sustainable Development and Health). She is a member of the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology and of the Global Environmental Epidemiology Network.

She has participated in a number of international fora, including the Earth Summit (Brazil/1992), City 93 (Belgium/1993), and Food and Human Health (Germany/1994). Since 1991, she has been co-presenter of `Salud Para Todos' (Health for Everyone) - a pioneering radio programme on environment and health.

 

Zsuzsa Foltanyi

Zsuzsa Foltanyi is an expert in environmental protection, waste water and toxic waste treatment. She first worked as a design engineer, then as a journalist and columnist for a scientific bi-weekly. The real change in her life occurred when she became, in 1986, a member of the ELTE Nature Conservation Club - a non-profit organization where she organized forest-saving actions and co-edited the publication Nature Conservation. She was also a volunteer for the Danube Movement and worked with Slovak and Austrian groups to protect wetlands around the river. In 1989, she was one of the initiators of a major Earth Day event, and as a result became a Board Member of the Earth Day Foundation in Hungary. She was also co-editor of the Hungarian version of the State of the World report, published by the World Watch Institute. In 1990, she became project manager of the Panos Institute, Budapest and edited its publication Panos Feedback. In the same year, she founded the Energy Club, an alliance of Hungarian NGOs, whose aim is to develop sustainable energy policies and promote the efficient use of energy resources. In 1991, she initiated an East/West conference on energy and edited a book based on the proceedings and translated it into Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian and Russian. She was director of the Environmental Partnership Foundation which provides technical assistance, small grants and training to grassroots groups. She has been on the Board of various Central and Eastern European NGOs.

In 1967, Jane Goodall established the Gombe Stream Research Centre in the United Republic of Tanzania.

For 35 years, her behavioural and ecological projects, focusing on wild chimpanzees and olive baboons, have provided insight into the lives of non-human primates. In one of her many observations, which amazed the world, Jane Goodall documented chimpanzees making and using tools - a behaviour previously believed to separate humans from other animals.

In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation (JGI) to provide ongoing support for field research on wild chimpanzees. The Institute directly supports or contributes to many programmes and projects including: field research activities based at the Gombe Stream Research Centre; the Chimpanzoo Programme - an international research project dedicated to the study of chimpanzees living in zoos and other captive settings; sanctuaries for orphaned chimpanzees located in the Congo, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda which provide support for the rehabilitation and conservation of chimpanzees; and an international environmental education and humanitarian programme for youth, entitled `Roots and Shoots', which promotes hands-on activities which lead to a better understanding of environmental, animal and community issues in more than 30 countries.

Jane Goodall's tireless dedication has brought wildlife conservation and environmental issues to the attention of millions of people around the world.

 

Edward Solon Hagedorn

Edward Solon Hagedorn was elected Mayor of one of the Philippines' largest cities, Puerto Princesa, in 1992. Immediately upon taking office, he showed that he was a different breed of politician. He is the first Filipino political leader to make environmental protection the centerpiece of his administration. Through his Princesa Watch Program, he stopped the degradation of the City's terrestrial and marine resources caused by logging, slash-and-burn farming, blast, trawl and cyanide fishing. As a result, these resources have been restored. This Programme has earned the City numerous awards, including the Earth Day Award, the Best-Governed Local Government Award and the Macli-ing Dulag Environmental Award. The Operation Plan Cleanliness Program is another project which has earned Puerto Princesa the distinction of being the country's cleanest and greenest city. Mayor Hagedorn has demonstrated that even in a Third World country, an environmental agenda can gain the support of both the people and the policy makers. Having inculcated the environment into the national consciousness, as a means towards sustainable development, many of his programmes are being replicated by other local governments around the country. Mayor Hagedorn's success in environmental management has earned him the Development Management Award of the Asian Institute of Management and the President's Heritage Award. Puerto Princesa is today considered a model city and the country's tourism capital.Edward Solon Hagedorn