KAZAKHSTAN: ENVIRONMENTAL NGO "GREEN SALVATION" TAKES ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001776

SENSITIVE
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STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, ECA, OES/PCI, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SENV SOCI KDEM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: ENVIRONMENTAL NGO "GREEN SALVATION" TAKES ON
GOLIATH AND WINS

REF: ASTANA 01694

ASTANA 00001776 001.3 OF 002



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The environmental NGO Green Salvation, one of
the oldest NGOs in Kazakhstan, defends the environmental rights of
citizens including with lawsuits, if necessary. It monitors
implementation of the Aarhus Convention that grants citizens access
to information concerning the environment and works with national
parks to help stop illegal hunting and poaching. Its sponsors
include the National Endowment for Democracy and the Open Society
Institute (Soros Foundation). Thirty percent of the lawsuits it has
filed have been decided in their favor, including two cases that
went to the Supreme Court. Opponents have labeled Green Salvation a
"radical" organization "supported by international imperialists."
END SUMMARY.

GREEN SALVATION DEFENDS CITIZENS' ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS


2. (SBU) Green Salvation Director Sergey Kuratov told Regional
Environmental Officer on September 16 that his organization was
founded in 1990 and is primarily focused on the city of Almaty,
although its activities have recently expanded throughout the
country. He said Green Salvation, one of the oldest NGOs in
Kazakhstan, is registered as a commercial organization, but all
profits must be used to cover operating costs.


3. (SBU) Kuratov said Green Salvation has three main objectives.
Its primary aim is to defend the rights of citizens with respect to
the environment through public education and lawsuits, if necessary.
Information is crucial to helping citizens understand their rights
and environmental risks. The NGO's web site
(www.greensalvation.org) disseminates information in Russian and
English, and houses a communal environmental database of more than
70,000 documents. Green Salvation's information campaign is carried
out in accordance with the Aarhus Convention, which Kazakhstan has
signed and ratified in 1998 (reftel).


4. (SBU) Green Salvation also informs citizens, government
officials, and educators about environmental matters of concern
through pamphlets, meetings, and workshops, and seminars. For
example, the NGO publishes the annual "Journal of Green Salvation"
in Russian and English, and produced a video to publicize their
mission and raise awareness about environmental issues in
Kazakhstan. Kuratov said that Green Salvation also works with
national parks to stop illegal hunting and poaching. They help set
up and maintain a two-kilometer sanitary defense zone around the
parks, to protect it from intrusion and exploitation. This has
proven to be a contentious issue, however, because some say that the
zone is too large, while others insist it is too small. In
addition, villagers in the proposed sanitary zones are asked to move
out, but most have been unwilling to do so.

SUPPORT FROM WESTERN DONORS MAY NOT BE ENOUGH


5. (SBU) Kuratov said Green Salvation's sponsors include the
National Endowment for Democracy (NED),the Dutch Humanistisch
Instituut voor Ontwikkelingssamenwe Fund, the Central and Eastern
Europe Bankwatch Network, the Global Greengrants Fund, the Open
Society Institute (Soros Foundation),and the Sigrid Rausing Fund in
the UK. Despite this strong lineup of sponsors, Kuratov said the
organization is still struggling to survive. Green Salvation has
four full-time staff, and six support staff, including an accountant
and a web master. In addition, 20 volunteers help Green Salvation
carry out various activities. He said Green Salvation does not
implement donor-funded projects to generate revenue, since he
considers these projects to be short-term, limiting, and not very
effective. "Once the project is completed," he said, "the support
is gone, but there is always more work to do." Kuratov welcomed
additional U.S. sponsorship, and said that American experts (legal,
environmental, civil society, etc.) often work with Green Salvation.
He stressed that moral support from the United States as it presses
its lawsuits in court is extremely important and helps Green
Salvation and other NGOs "keep the faith" and continue their

ASTANA 00001776 002.3 OF 002


struggle.

SUCCESSFUL LEGAL DEFENSE


6. (SBU) Kuratov said that Green Salvation's most celebrated
activities are the legal defense of citizens who are pressing the
government to observe its own environmental laws. It has an
environmental hotline that citizens can use to call in and express
their concerns. Green Salvation tries to advise and counsel those
who call, but if the caller is not satisfied, the NGO will recommend
that the parties file a lawsuit. At that point, Green Salvation
provides legal assistance throughout the judicial process, drawing
on the expertise of environmental attorneys who offer their services
pro bono. Kuratov said that 30 percent of all lawsuits filed in
2007-2008 (13 in all) have been decided in favor of the plaintiffs,
and of these, 50 percent have resulted in monetary awards. Two of
the four cases involving the Aarhus Convention have been decided in
favor of the plaintiffs, and one case is still pending. Kuratov
said that Green Salvation is the only environmental organization in
Kazakhstan that has won cases in court. He said that other NGOs
often join forces with Green Salvation in order to benefit from its
legal experience.

HAS BEEN CALLED "RADICAL" AND "SUPPORTED BY IMPERIALISTS"


7. (SBU) Kuratov laughingly referred to recent negative articles in
the local press that have labeled Green Salvation a "radical
organization" seeking to subvert and undermine the integrity of the
government. The articles questioned why the NGO has filed suit
against the government, implying that this was unpatriotic. Kuratov
said that Green Salvation was only trying to uphold Kazakhstani laws
and international agreements, and ensure that Kazakhstan followed
the Aarhus Convention, to which it is a signatory. "If defending
citizens' rights is radical," he said, "if protecting their rights
under existing Kazakhstani law is radical, then, yes, Green
Salvation is radical."


8. (SBU) COMMENT: It is inspiring to witness the dedication and
persistence of an indigenous NGO like Green Salvation. With the
OSCE Chairmanship looming in 2010, Kazakhstan would do well to honor
and acknowledge the work of organizations such as this, which
demonstrate the diversity and activism of Kazakhstan's civil
society. END COMMENT.

HOAGLAND