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bat researcher vs. Putin: In exile for fighting for wildlife (transferred from LBN_
(Posted earlier today in LBN, moderator decided that it did not belong in LBN-therefore transferred here))
This article from New Scientist is an interview with Russian zoologist and bat researcher Suren Gazaryan. Now living in Germany, he just won the Goldman Environmental Prize for Europe.
Bat man and Putin: In exile for fighting for wildlife
Excerpt from interview:
They call you Russia's top bat researcher.
I worked at the Russian Academy of Sciences studying bats of the western Caucasus – that's where I grew up, in Krasnodar near the Black Sea.. . .
But you are also known as a conservationist. How did you get involved in that?
. . I found that caves and forests where bats lived were being destroyed. So in 2005, I drew up an action plan for protecting the 35 species of bats in the Caucasus. I initially collaborated with Russian government agencies, but since then they have gone completely against the advice in the plan.
What caused the shift in policy?
Well, the big problems began when Vladimir Putin became president in 2000. He put environmental protection within the remit of the Ministry of Natural Resources, which is in charge of exploiting nature, and weakened environmental laws. In the Caucasus, the authorities started taking public lands – including parts of the Sochi National Park, a world heritage site – for tourist developments, roads and projects for the Sochi Winter Olympics.
. . . . .
What made you decide to flee Russia?
We were given three-year suspended sentences and a curfew. Then, soon after, I was charged with threatening members of private security services guarding a palace connected with Putin. They had tried to take my phone when I photographed an illegal marina. My lawyer said I would go to a penal colony if I was convicted. So I fled the country in December 2012, leaving my family behind. . . .
I worked at the Russian Academy of Sciences studying bats of the western Caucasus – that's where I grew up, in Krasnodar near the Black Sea.. . .
But you are also known as a conservationist. How did you get involved in that?
. . I found that caves and forests where bats lived were being destroyed. So in 2005, I drew up an action plan for protecting the 35 species of bats in the Caucasus. I initially collaborated with Russian government agencies, but since then they have gone completely against the advice in the plan.
What caused the shift in policy?
Well, the big problems began when Vladimir Putin became president in 2000. He put environmental protection within the remit of the Ministry of Natural Resources, which is in charge of exploiting nature, and weakened environmental laws. In the Caucasus, the authorities started taking public lands – including parts of the Sochi National Park, a world heritage site – for tourist developments, roads and projects for the Sochi Winter Olympics.
. . . . .
What made you decide to flee Russia?
We were given three-year suspended sentences and a curfew. Then, soon after, I was charged with threatening members of private security services guarding a palace connected with Putin. They had tried to take my phone when I photographed an illegal marina. My lawyer said I would go to a penal colony if I was convicted. So I fled the country in December 2012, leaving my family behind. . . .
Read more: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229670.300-bat-man-and-putin-in-exile-for-fighting-for-wildlife.html#.U26S5ii0w0A
More info on Gazaryan at http://www.fastcoexist.com/3029742/meet-the-russian-environmentalist-standing-up-to-putin-to-save-the-countrys-ecosystem