Join the Environmental Resource Center and Sun Valley Institute for Resilience for a special presentation on “Heroes for the Global Environment”. Bern Johnson, Executive Director of Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, U.S. (ELAW U.S.), will highlight several grassroots environmental advocates around the world, the inspiring work they are doing, and the victories they are winning against long odds.
One story Johnson will share is that of Alejandra Serrano Pavon, who leads the Southeast office of the Mexican Environmental Law Center (CEMDA) in Cancun. She helped defeat a scheme last year financed by Mexican and Chinese investors that proposed a mega-commercial complex in the Puerto Morleos Reef Natural Protected Area. The proposed complex would have destroyed more than 550 hectares of mangrove-lined coast to make way for an exhibition center for Chinese goods, with 4,000 shops, 700+ homes for Chinese exhibitors and suppliers, plus an import terminal on the coast. ELAW Staff Scientist Meche Lu reviewed the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and revealed that the EIA lacked information about the scope and size of the project, the location of coastal wetlands within the project area, the impact of paving on the water quality of coastal wetlands, and more. With ELAW’s help, more than two years of public outcry, and Alejandra’s legal claims, the government canceled the project and assessed fines of nearly $1.5 million for damage to the area.
Johnson has a B.A. in Political Economy from Williams College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School and has served as ELAW U.S.’s Executive Director since 1993. Johnson directs the work of ELAW and develops initiatives to protect the environment through law and science. His work has taken him to the former Soviet Union, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the South Pacific, and Central and South America. ELAW helps communities speak out for clean air, clean water, and a healthy planet. It is a global alliance of attorneys, scientists and other advocates collaborating across borders to promote grassroots efforts to build a sustainable, just future. For more information on Johnson and ELAW, please visit (www.elaw.org).
For more information on this event, call 208.726.4333 or email hadley@ercsv.org. Details: www.ercsv.org or Facebook: ERC Sun Valley.
