Goldman award for Ballantine

Forest and Bird, Issue 281, 1 August 1996, Page 7

Goldman award for Ballantine

MARINE RESERVE proponent and Forest and Bird member Bill Ballantine was a recipient in April of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. Six environmental activists were presented with the awards on Earth Day by the San Francisco-based Goldman Environmental Foundation,

for their grassroots work in protecting the world around them. Bill’s award was for his work over more than 20 years as a marine biologist promoting the establishment of no-take marine reserves in New Zealand and internationally. Author of the seminal Marine Reserves in New Zealand, Bill was also instrumental in the passage of New Zealand’s Marine Reserves Act. Today, because of Ballantine’s efforts, there are 13 reserves and another 25 under consideration. The other winners of this year’s awards were: >» Edwin Bustillos, for efforts to protect Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental, a rainforest region home to many endangered species. » Marina Silva, a close associate of Chico Mendes before his assassination in 1988, who has continued his campaign to end Amazonian deforestation. » Mahesh Chander, winner of some 40 landmark environmental judgments from India’s Supreme Court. » Amooti Ndyakira, an environmental journalist in Uganda. » Albena Simeonova, who has worked to raise environmental awareness in eastern Europe, particularly in her native Bulgaria. As part of their award, each winner received a cheque for US$75,000 from Richard Goldman, president of the Goldman Foundation.