2000 Reuters-IUCN Global Media Awards

News Releases - 9 October 2000

Her Majesty Queen Noor Congratulates Winners
of the 2000 Reuters-IUCN Global Media Awards

Amman, Jordan -- Her Majesty Queen Noor of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan today awarded the 2000 Reuters-IUCN Global Media Award for excellence in environmental journalism to Alanna Mitchell of The Global and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper.

The award ceremony, hosted today in Amman by IUCN-The World Conservation Union’s Director General Maritta Koch-Weser and Reuters Foundation Director Maureen Marlowe, was part of the 2nd World Conservation Congress, being held in Amman until 11 October.

Mitchell received the award for her article "From the Vanishing Forests of Madagascar" – a comprehensive look at the growing number of extinct species on this island nation off the East Coast of Africa, which is often referred to as "the land of living fossils."

"’From the Vanishing Forests of Madagascar’ is a particularly thorough and thoughtful examination of a complex web of challenges", said Her Majesty Queen Noor, who was also a member of the Master Jury selecting the winner. "The insights into possible solutions apply not only locally, but also globally."

Mitchell was among nine regional winners chosen from hundreds of entries in 64 countries. The other regional winners, who were also feted at the ceremony, were:

Lu Hong Jian of Yang Jun (China) for "Living Space: a Feature Programme on Animal Protection" – a television documentary about human consumption of wild animals as culinary delicacies;
Boris Zhukov of Itogi Magazine (Russia) for "The Great Cats of Russia" – an examination of measures to preserve the Siberian Tiger, the Far Eastern Leopard and the Snow Leopard;
Souleymane Ouattara of Quotidien du Soir (Burkins Faso) for "Our Friend, Fire", about the unlikely alliance and friendship between a former poacher and a wildlife warden;

Ibiba Don Pedro of The Guardian (Nigeria) for "Life on the Harsh Lane" -- a chilling look at the hardships faced by women because of environmental degradation brought on by multi-national oil companies;

Yasir Mahgoub Mohammed El Hussein of Al Sharq (Qatar) for "An Unwelcome Neighbour in Al-Hilal" -- a series of five articles describing efforts to get a warehouse full of hazardous chemicals moved from a residential neighbourhood;
Oscar Ugarte and Paolo Galarza of Total Quality (Bolivia) for "Crosses in the Forest" -- a television documentary demonstrating that drug trafficking is an environmental problem as much as it is an economic and social problem;
Johanna Romberg of Geo Magazine (Germany) for "The Cosmos In Your Own Backyard", about a one-day search for 1,000 different species on a 12-square-kilometer plot of land in Germany;
Morena Azucena of La Prensa Grafica (El Salvador) for "The Immigrants", which describes parakeets' search for a place to sleep after their trees were cut down to widen a road.


Winner - Middle East and North Africa

AN UNWELCOME NEIGHBOR IN AL-HILAL The Long Road and Tireless Efforts to Remove a Chemical Warehouse from a Residential Neighborhood By Yasir Mahgoub Mohammed El Hussein, Al-Sharq.
Note: This entry is actually a series of five articles written between September 1999 and May 2000.
The Ministry of Municipalities and Agriculture (MoMA) has formed a committee for the disposal of expired hazardous chemicals. The decision, of which al-Sharq obtained a copy, was based on "safeguarding the public interest and to mitigate the risks of these expired chemicals on the environment and people it has been decided that a committee will be formed to study this issue and decide on how to dispose these chemicals".
The committee was given two months from the date it was established, 1 September 1999, to report back to the Director of Administrative and Financial Affairs in the Ministry.
Al-sharq reported on 3 June that there were expired chemicals inside a storage warehouse in the Al-Hilal area, and called for the transfer of such houses away from residential areas ("A Chemical Warehouse Worries the Residents of Al-Hilal"). Mr. Ibrahim Al-Heedous, vice president of the Central Municipal Council, worked on reforming the situation. He told Al-Sharq that he met with Director of Environment Mr. Khalid Al-Ali, who validated the information and said the warehouse contained expired hazardous chemicals that posed a danger to humans and the environment.
After three months, the Ministry formed this committee, but many people questioned its capacity to produce clear-cut and rapid mitigation since documentation revealed that this case was brought about in 1993.
On 9 June 1993, Mohammad al-Rashid, the former assistant director of Doha Municipality, sent an official letter to the vice president of the Environmental Protection Committee, which was in charge of environmental affairs at the time, describing the presence of nearly 11,000 kilograms of sodium flouro-acetate pesticide that had remained there for "seven years without use". The letter asked for advice on how to "dispose of this material without damaging the environment".
On 9 November 1995, Hamad Mubarak Al-Sleety, the former director of Doha Municipality, sent a letter to the director of administrative and financial affairs in the municipality, requiring the municipality to begin "taking appropriate measures to provide the technical requirements described in the report to comply with the health criteria of international organizations and institutions".
So, after significant correspondence over the last six years, is it wise to form a new committee to " recycle" previous recommendations, or does the issue need a rapid and clear-cut solution?
The Committee for Disposal of Al-Hilal Chemicals entrusts a company to re-export it Al-Sharq has learned that the committee formed by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture last September charged with disposing of expired toxic chemicals at Al-Hilal has decided to entrust a national company to re-export them, according to the Basel Agreement, which Qatar has signed.
More than 11,000 kilograms of solid waste needs to be re-exported, as does 4,283 liters of liquid wastes. The committee was formed to "decide on how to dispose of the chemicals".
The committee was given two months to report back to director of Administrative and Financial Affairs in the Ministry.
Al-Sharq reported on 3 June the presence of expired chemicals in a warehouse in the Al-Hilal residential area, and demanded that the chemicals be transferred and disposed of as soon as possible. Following that, Al-Heedos told Al-Sharq that he met with Al-Ali, who confirmed what Al-Sharq has reported: that the material would be re-exported in compliance with international conventions. This came just three months after the issue was first raised by Al-Sharq.
Many more hazardous chemicals still remain in other warehouses, dating back at least to 9 June 1993, when the assistant director of Doha Municipality wrote to the vice president of the Environmental Committee, indicating that there were unused quantities of sodium fluoro-acetate pesticide. The issue has been the subject of numerous correspondences and memos, until the Environmental Director wrote on 20 April 1996 that the best way to dispose of them was to burn them in special incinerators under extreme temperatures. These incinerators are equipped with filters to absorb poisonous gasses. On 27 August 1998, the Assistant Director of the Doha Municipality requested that these chemicals be re-exported to another country that uses them or uses incinerators that do not cause pollution.
The Number of Hazardous Chemical Sites increases to 14 All Over the Country Al-Sharq learned that there are 14 sites all over the country used for dumping expired chemical waste. They are: Al-Shemal municipality; owdat Al- Faras; Al-Khour; Um sallal Ali; Al-Gharafa; Al-Rayyan; Al-Marreikh; Al-Attorieh; Al-Jumeilieh; Jarayan Al-Batna; Abu-Hamour; Al-Wakra; municipality warehouses in Al-Hilal; and considerable quantities in a privately-owned residential area.
Several experts have warned about the dangers of the expired chemicals, with Al-Sharq taking the lead in covering the issue in recent months, after many residents in Al-Hilal area complained about chemicals inside municipality warehouses. The vice president of the Municipal Council Ibrahim Al-Hedroos noticed the risks of these chemicals, and the Ministry of Municipality and Agriculture decided to form a committee to dispose of the chemicals. The committee said the state does not have the required technical capacity, and that such materials should be re-exported in line with international conventions.
At the end of last year, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture entrusted a national company with the responsibility of re-exporting the chemicals, an undertaking that needs experience and high technical expertise. Nothing, however, materialized until now.
Al-Sharq has learned that one company proposed transferring this hazardous chemical in three phases, but the Ministry opted to entrust three companies, each of whom would implement one step. The hazardous waste deposits are still in the 14 sites until the Ministry decides which company will do the re-exporting.
This prompted a member of the Municipal Council to raise the subject during the last council meeting, but it was postponed due to a lack of time.
Many organizations concerned about environmental issues believe that the roblems and the slowness in solving them stem from the lack of independence of the agency responsible for environmental protection. It is linked to the Ministry of Municipalities and Agriculture, which in most cases is the guilty party, such as this case with the chemicals.
In this situation, the environmental management is not acting as a monitoring body. Thus, there has been a call to make the environmental management body more independent, and to link it to the Ministerial Council.
Among the reasons that environmental law has not been an issue until now is the fact that the Ministry of Justice has had the draft law before it for three years, and has not made it a priority. The Ministry of Municipalities prepared the proposed law, and it includes 98 articles that create an authority for environmental protection, but the goal is for the authority to be autonomous from other executive authorities, and to be linked directly to the Ministerial Council.
The Central Municipal Council is now facing a true challenge and a difficult test in its ability to influence the events since this case is highly sensitive and worrisome for the citizens. To come up with quick and affordable recommendations is the minimum the council has to do. Will it succeed, or will the issue remain captive to ministerial memos and correspondence?
Hazardous Chemical Warehouses Remain with No Enforcement of the Decision to Transfer The Central Municipal Council has received a memo from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture regarding the arrangements for the hazardous chemical warehouses. The Minister's office sent a memo to the Director of Doha Municipality, saying that the minister agreed with Council's recommendations.
Al-Sharq has learned that the Ministry is prepared to choose a company to re-export these chemicals. It was pointed out last year that the warehouse in the Al-Hilal residential area poses a risk to the health of the citizens.
Al-Sharq later reported that 14 sites all over oha contained hazardous chemicals. The committee formed by the ministry explained that the state does not have the necessary technical capacities to get rid of these poisons, and the only option was to re-export them.
Al-Sharq's has learned that the nomination of a company to carry out the task was finalized several weeks ago, and was sent to the Minster's office for orders to begin implementation. This has yet to happen.
The recommendations of the Municipal Council focused on several points: transferring all warehouses, especially those owned by the government, way from residential areas; preparing a plan to clarify how to deal with damages caused by such chemicals; making use of the measures used by the Ministry of Municipal ffairs and Agriculture in storing and disposing of such chemicals; and acting swiftly in disposing of the expired chemicals.
Minister of Municipalities Orders the " Liquification" of all Ministry's Warehouses The Minister of Municipalities and Agriculture Ali Ben Mohammad Al-Kahter issued a decision to " liquify" all of the Ministry's warehouses.
The decision also transfers the warehouse division to the Ministry headed by Ghanim Al-Suwaidi.
Al-Sharq reported yesterday that the government's hazardous chemical warehouses are located in residential areas despite the ministry's approval of recommendations to transfer them to other sites.
Al-Sharq has reported continuously in the last year about the dangers posed by the presence of such warehouses that contain poisonous and hazardous wastes in the middle of residential areas. The Municipal Council asked the ministry to take all necessary measures to transfer these warehouses and their contents.


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