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[http://www.iucn.org] www.epl.org.ua >> LATEST NEWS Head of EPL's Legal Unit, Attorney Olya Melen, received the Goldman Environmental Prize 2006 for Europe. ‘Olya Melen is a firebrand attorney who used legal channels to temporarily halt construction of a massive canal that would have cut through the heart of the Danube Delta, one of the world’s most valuable wetlands. For her efforts, she was denounced by the notoriously corrupt and lawless pre-Orange Revolution government’, Goldman Foundation said in giving her the award. ‘Olya richly deserves this award for her leadership to save the Danube Delta and its biodiversity from the destructive effects of a navigation canal originally planned by the pre-Orange Revolution Ukrainian government’, said Svitlana Kravchenko, President of EPL. More about the Danube case. The Goldman Prize ceremony to honor six environmental heros took place on April 24th the Opera House in San Francisco. The other five winners are Craig E. Williams, USA; Silas Kpanan’Ayoung Siakor, Liberia; Yu Xiaogang, China; Tarcisio Feitosa da Silva, Brazil; Anne Kajir, Papua New Guinea. About the Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize allows individuals to continue winning environmental victories against the odds and inspire ordinary people to take extraordinary actions to protect the world. The Goldman Environmental Prize was created in 1990 by civic leaders and philanthropists Richard N. Goldman and his late wife, Rhoda H. Goldman. The Goldman Environmental Prize winners are selected by an international jury from confidential nominations submitted by a worldwide network of environmental organizations and individuals. Prize winners participate in a 10-day tour of San Francisco and Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony and presentation, news conferences, media briefings and meetings with political, public policy, financial and environmental leaders. Greetings accepted at: Environment-People-Law (EPL) Olya Melen, Head of Legal Unit molya@uoregon.edu tel: +380 322 722746 fax: +380 322 971 446 Lenin Rayon Court of Mykolaiv City did not protect the right to freedom of expression of thoughts and ideas of citizens On February 2006 the Lenin Rayon Court of Mykolaiv City made a decision on the case in the action State Enterprise National Nuclear Energy-generating company “Energoatom” against O. Malytsky on protection of honor, dignity and business reputation and compensation for moral damage, caused by spreading the unreliable information in the newspaper article. The article, written by O. Malytsky, was about such socio-important objects as South-Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant and Tashlyk Pumped Storage Hydro Station. The author criticised the exploitation of the Nuclear Power Plant and expressed his doubts according to purposefulness and economic benefit from reconstruction of Tashlyk Pumped Storage Hydro Station. “Energoatom” asked O.Malytsky to compensate moral damage in the amount of 100 thousands grivnas. In its decision the court estimated the amount of moral damage, made by O.Malutsky, in 2,5 thousand grivnas and obliged O.Malytsky to consider several phrases as incorrect ones. The court recognized incorrect the following phrases: 1) no any nuclear reactor has license; 2) - in the process of insight with South-Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant by President Kushma it was established that the technical operating life of SU NPP was used up and it will be used up completely by the year of 2000; 3) reactor tanks of SU NPP work loosely during night period (they are really not regulated and during night, when all people slip, they continue to generate energy “to the wind”); 4) in such way atomists fulfill secret constant unsanctioned “blowing-off” - bleeding of used industrial water; 5) temperature and chemical composition of water in the Tashlyk reservoir does not allow to user it further, as refrigerant - metal of NPP compensator is rupturing. The defendant is planning to protect his Constitutional right to freedom of expression of thoughts and ideas, dissemination of information and challenge this decision in Higher Court. From November 1, 2005, “Environment-People-Law” (EPL) started to implement project “Greening the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), Ukraine” . One of the aims of the project is to promote sustainable development and environmental integration within the ENP process. The main activities within the project include preparation of report (assessment on the key environmental issues), round tables for NGOs and mass media events, creation of a network of NGOs and state bodies to discuss problems and find ways for their solution in the ENP context. We invite environmental NGOs and organizations active in the field of the EU integration as well as other stakeholders to express their interest in participation in the network and round tables. For the further information, please, contact: Nataliya Andursevych Project Leader, “Greening the ENP, Ukraine” E-mail: natalia@elaw.org Phone: +39 (0322) 72-27-46 Address: Krushelnytska str. 2, Lviv 79000 UKRAINE For further information about the project see: http://www.epl.org.ua/a_greening_ENP.htm The first meeting of the task force on public participation in internal forums The Task Force on Public Participation in International Forums (PPIF) held its first meeting on 24-25 November 2005 in Geneva. The ECO-Forum delegation supported the plan, and successfully advocated the inclusion of a number of international forums into the lists for more intensive consultation, such as the International Monetary Fund, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, and a range of regional banks. Andriy Aòârusevych, EPL’s International Affairs Officer, was member of the ECO-Forum delegation. Documents of the first meeting of the Task Force (English only) are available at http://www.unece.org/env/pp/ppif.htm Environment-People-Law © 2003-2006 All rights reserved. Use of materials is authorized, provided the source is acknowledged.