News 2002-2005

Ecological Society «Green Salvation» has prepared a textbook «Green lens»

20.11.05

For those who would like to create films as a means to protect nature, the editorial staff of the Ecological Society «Green Salvation» has prepared a textbook «Green lens» in Russian language.

The author, Leonid Timofeevich Kuzminsky, is a professional cinematographer, director and camera operator. He graduated from The All - Union State Cinematography Institute in 1976 (N.N. Kudryashov’s studio). During his forty-year film career, he has participated in the creation of nearly 70 documentary films, 26 of which he has authored. Since 1996, Kuzminsky has been passing on his knowledge to students at the T. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Art.

memorandum on Mutual Understanding

17.10.05

 The Memorandum on Mutual Understanding is concluded between the Republic of Kazakhstan Ministry of Environment Protection, West Kazakhstan Oblast Akim, and Karachaganak Petroleum Operating bv jointly referred to as the Parties. The scope of the Memorandum is to acknowledge the intention of the Parties to continue to improve the ecological situation in the Karachaganak Field.

Green Salvation’s appeal to Karachaganak Petroleum Operating

22.08.05

Green Salvation’s appeal to Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) to publish the text of the Memorandum on Mutual Understanding signed by the Republic of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Akim of Western Kazakhstan Oblast, and KPO.

The Meeting of the Parties Made a Decision Regarding Kazakhstan’s Compliance with the Aarhus Convention

13.06.05

The second meeting of the Parties to the “Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters” took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 25-27, 2005. One of the results of the meeting was a decision on Kazakhstan’s compliance with the Aarhus Convention in regards to information requested from НАК “Kazatomprom” and in regards to the construction of the high-voltage power line in the Gorny Gigant (Mountain Giant) District and the MVD Settlement (Almaty).

For the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention

23.05.05

“For the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention” is a supplement to the issue of the “Green Salvation” Bulletin timed to coincide with the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention in Almaty, May 25-27, 2005.  The materials in this publication are a continuation of the topic raised in the 17th issue of the “Green Salvation” Bulletin on “Environmental and Human Rights”.  It includes materials we expect to be of interest to those who defend the human rights to a healthy environment, and access to information, decision-making processes and justice.  Specifically, this publication includes commentary on the national report on implementing the Aarhus Convention, examples from our experience filing lawsuits in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and materials about lawsuit complaints. The publication is available in Russian and English.

The seventh meeting of the Compliance Committee

14.03.05

The 6th Meeting of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee

25.12.04

On December 15-17, the 6th meeting of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee was held in Geneva (Switzerland). For the first time since the Committee began its work, the question of considering appeals sent by the public, in accordance with the Convention's provisions, appeared on its agenda.

TO THE BRIGHT MEMORY OF SEMEN BORISOVICH SVITELMAN

30.11.04

On November 22, 2004, Semen Borisovich Svitelman, a member of Green Salvation, our friend and brother-in-arms, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 65.

The World Bank reply

09.11.04

Thank you for the continued attention and detailed comments you provided in your letter. We note that your letter further develops the dialogue that you and your colleagues have on the proposed project, including, most recently, a meeting in Washington DC on April 26, 2004, and meetings in Almaty on June 3 and 7, 2004. We have also appreciated you/ earlier help in correcting factual errors in the draft versions of the Bank report entitled "Kazakhstan - Forest Sector in Transition: The Resource, the Users, and Sustainable Use". (The World Bank reply)

The Green Salvation Herald 2003-2004

04.11.04

The materials found in the Herald 2003-2004 cover the range of Green Salvation’s activities over the course of 2003-2004: expert analyses, official letters and appeals, and the text of two award-winning documentary films. All of these activities are devoted to accomplishing the organization’s primary mission: defending the right of Kazakhstan’s citizens to a healthy environment, working with state bodies and non-governmental organizations to improve the environmental situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan and beyond, and spreading environmental awareness and appreciation among people of all ages.

A Path to Sustainable Prosperity in Kazakhstan

27.10.04

By Richard Steiner, Professor University of Alaska, USA

Re: Communications to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee

26.10.04

We would like to inform you that at its fifth meeting (September 2004), the Compliance Committee under the Aarhus Convention decided that the substance of communications ACCC/C/2004/01 and ACCC/C/2004/02 will be considered at the Committee’s sixth meeting, to be held on 15-17 December 2004 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Letter TO the World Bank

08.10.04

In accordance with the Aarhus Convention, the Ecological Society Green Salvation has repeatedly posed the question of the need for increased public participation and transparency in the development of the World Bank’s Forest Protection and Reforestation Project for the Republic of Kazakhstan. In a letter dated January 23, 2004 (No. 007), we noted that Kazakhstani specialists prepared a project report entitled “Survey of the State of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s Forestry Sector.” This report was then transformed by a group of foreign specialists, consisting of Andrey Klushin, Tjaart Schillhorn-Van Veen, and William Satton, into a technical document entitled “Kazakshtan: Forestry Sector in Transition, Resources, Indicators and Sustainable Use,” in which erroneous conclusions were drawn regarding the true state of the forestry sector. (Letter to the World Bank)

The Aarhus Convention's Compliance Committee met yesterday

14.05.04

Friday, May 14, 2004

“Several nongovernmental organizations have charged that European governments subject to a treaty on access to environmental information have not followed through on several key stipulations, the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe announced today.

The Aarhus Convention requires parties to allow the public to have guaranteed access to information, participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.

The convention's Compliance Committee met yesterday and is meeting again today in Geneva to discuss reports of alleged noncompliance in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Hungary and Turkmenistan”.

UNECE release.

New book! HUNGRY CORPORATIONS by Helena Paul and Ricarda Steinbrecher with Lucy Michaels and Devlin Kuyek

05.02.04

The hi-tech agro-chemical and genetic engineering companies now dominate the food chain. This book shows how a handful of companies have:

• Accelerated the industrialization of agriculture and the integration of the global economy

• Penetrated the previously independent world of scholarly research in universities and specialized agencies

• Manipulated public opinion and distorted our understanding of key environmental processes and issues

• Unduly influenced regulatory agencies and national governments

• Pushed the WTO, World Bank, and FAO towards policies favouring corporate growth and profit

• Bullied the governments and farmers of the developing countries to accept their technologies and products

Reflecting on the recent Transparency Initiatives conference held in Almaty, I am left with two somewhat conflicting conclusions. The good news is that there seems to be some progress on the difficult road to democracy in Kazakhstan - the bad news is that there is much, much farther to go. With all respect, Kazakhstan seems to still be a very long way from a truly participatory democracy.

On October 26, the work of the Third Central Asian Festival of Environmental Journalism was concluded in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. On the Kazakhstani side, the Ecological Press Club (coordinator Oksana Tarnetskaya) served as the organizer. Within the framework of the festival, a competition of environmental films, television broadcasts, social clips, and news subjects was held.

THE EIGHTH INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL “GREEN GLANCE”

01.10.03

On October 1, 2003, the Eighth International Environmental Film Festival “Green Glance” concluded in St. Petersburg. The festival’s competitive program included more than 50 films of various kinds and genres from 27 countries of the world.

The Ecological Society “Green Salvation” views the distribution of revenues from the extraction of natural riches, including that performed with the help of the “oil funds” that have been created, from the standpoint of the acknowledgement, observance, and protection of the human right of access to natural resources, and to a healthy environment.

The Green Salvation Herald 2002

26.02.03

The Green Salvation Herald 2002 contains materials covering the range of Green Salvation's activities over the past year-expert analyses, civil actions and campaigns, and even the text of a documentary film. All of these activities are devoted to the organization's primary mission: defending the right of Kazakhstan's citizens to a healthy environment, working with state bodies and non-governmental organizations to improve the environmental situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan and beyond, and spreading environmental awareness and appreciation among people of all ages.

The three main themes touched on in the Herald 2002 are the creation of the National Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its implications; the impact of political and economic developments on environmental human rights; and the concerns raised by a proposal by the state nuclear energy company, Kazatomprom, that radioactive waste from other nations be imported and buried in Kazakhstan.

On December 23, 2002, in the city of Dashoguz, Turkmenistan, agents of the Ministry of National Security took Farid Tukhbatullin, an activist of the Dashoguz Environmental Club, into custody.  The reason given for his detainment was Tukhbatullin’s participation in the conderence “Human Rights and Problems of Security in Turkmenistan,” organized Nov. 3-4 near Moscow by the Memorial Human Rights Center and the International Helsinki Federation.  A serious danger exists that Farid Tkhbatullin, who has never been involved with political activities, will be declared a member of the opposition and suffer repression.  The International Social-Ecological Union and other environmental organizations have begun a campaign for Tukhbatullin’s defense.

Dear colleagues, support the campaign to defend Farid Tukhbatullin!

For details (in Russian), see the following site: http://www.seu.ru/cci/campaign/farid/

On October 28, 2002, a meeting took place between a representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Center in Almaty, Armands Pupols, and residents of Gornyi Gigant district and the MVD settlement.

 Translated into English November 23, 2002

The Battle for the Mountain Giant Continues

02.09.02

Fragment of the transcript of a live broadcast on the National TV channel “Kazakhstan” on September 20, 2002.  The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, was answering questions from Kazakhstani citizens.

 Translated into English November 21, 2002

“First the Problems That Exist in the Country at This Stage Need To Be Solved…”

01.10.02

Green Salvation continues to publish the opinions of Russian specialists regarding the amendments to Kazakhstani legislation proposed by the state nuclear power company Kazatomprom, which would permit the import and burial of radioactive wastes from foreign states on our country’s territory.

We present for your attention an interview with Vladimir Mikhailovich Kuznetsov.  Vladimir Kuznetsov is the director of the program for nuclear and radiation safety of the Russian Green Cross (RGC), a member of the Higher Environmental Council of the Russian State Duma’s Committee on the Environment, a member of an association of independent experts on the safe use of atomic energy in the Russian Federation, a member of the International Technical Committee for Standardization of TK-322 (“Atomic Technology”), and an active member of the Russian Environmental Congress.  Translated into English November 23, 2002

Legacy of the Nuclear Age

23.10.02

In August 2002, the Ecological Society Green Salvation, together with the Eremurus Environmental Club, working within the framework of the anti-nuclear campaign by Kazakhstan’s non-governmental organizations, prepared the film “Legacy of the Nuclear Age” (length: 30 minutes). The film is now available in Russian, Kazakh, and English.

The film is devoted to the legal, economic, technical, and, finally, moral problems that Kazakhstan will encounter if the ban on the import and burial of foreign radioactive waste on the country’s territory is lifted.

Orders for the film may be sent to the coordinators of the anti-nuclear campaign:

Kaisha Atakhanova – Eco-Center, Karaganda

tel. (3212) 562922, <kaisha@nursat.kz>

Gulsum Kakimzhanova – IRIS Regional Public Association, Semipalatinsk

tel. (3222) 624062, 622591, <iris@relcom.kz>

REPLY BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE FOR ATOMIC ENERGY

We fully share your concerns regarding the radiation situation in our country, and we are actively seeking means for its improvement.  With regard to the questions raised by members of non-governmental organizations in their appeal to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, I.N. Tasmagambetov, on May 24, 2002, we report the following.

Chairman T.M. Zhantikin

APPEAL TO PARLIAMENT AND THE PRIME MINISTER
OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

Non-governmental organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK) are concerned by the country’s difficult radiation and sanitary-hygienic situation, and by attempts to introduce amendments to Kazakhstan’s legislation hat would permit the import, storage, and burial of foreign radioactive waste on our country’s territory.

In connection with these facts, an appeal by the public was sent to the Parliament and Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan on July 19, 2002, with the aim of organizing parliamentary hearings and receiving information regarding the implementation of state policy in the field of radiation safety.

NUCLEAR MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF A NON-NUCLEAR POWER

We, the children of the 21^st century, are not left in peace by the glory of our ancestors, who left us a rich heritage of mythology.  Unfortunately, our age has no Homer to call its own.  People have changed, and subjects as well.  The ancient Greeks created myths to glorify their gods and their native Hellas.  Modern mythmakers create them in order to absolve themselves of all responsibility and to sell off their own country more cheaply.