ISAR | Goldman Environmental Prize

“Kaisha Atakhanova is a scientist, activist, facilitator, and civil society leader all wrapped into one. A rarity anywhere,but especially in Central Asia. She achieved scientific results in Semipalatinsk that won MacArthur Foundation support; she organized an NGO when NGOs were virtually unknown in Kazakhstan; she recognized the nationwide threat of radioactive waste and helped lead a campaign to oppose it; and most unusual of all, she has understood that the best way to use power is to share it with others.”

-Eliza Klose, ISAR Board Member and Former Executive Director

Since Kazakhstan's independence, the Karaganda EcoCenter, founded and directed by Kaisha Atakhanova, has played an important role in building civil society in the largest country in Central Asia. Atkhanova and the EcoCenter are known in the region and in the country at large, not only for their expertise in the field of nuclear safety, but also for their work in third sector development. The organization serves as a resource and training center for different NGOs, including those working on environmental issues. Its activities include biological monitoring, biodiversity protection, environmental education, ecological management and ISO standards, as well as support for women’s NGOs.

The EcoCenter has used local, regional and international partnerships with NGOs, the government and industry to combat the deleterious effects of an unhealthy environment on human populations. The organization also served as one of the key members of the NGO coalition that recently led a successful campaign to block the import of nuclear waste into Kazkahstan. The two-year campaign, which involved a country-wide effort to educate government, business, private citizens and the media, ended this January when the nation’s parliament withdrew from consideration the proposed bill permitting the commercial import of radioactive waste into Kazakhstan.

Kaisha Atakhanova has been ISAR’s partner for more than a decade. One of her first grants was from ISAR’s USAID funded Seeds of Democracy Program in the 1990s. She quickly proved to be an innovative and effective grassroots leader able to garner support from American, European, and domestic grant-makers.

The Goldman Environmental Prize allows individuals to continue winning environmental victories against the odds and inspire ordinary people to take extraordinary actions to protect the world. The Goldman Environmental Prize was created in 1990 by civic leaders and philanthropists Richard N. Goldman and his late wife, Rhoda H. Goldman.

The Goldman Environmental Prize winners are selected by an international jury from confidential nominations submitted by a worldwide network of environmental organizations and individuals. Prize winners participate in a 10-day tour of San Francisco and Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony and presentation, news conferences, media briefings and meetings with political, public policy, financial and environmental leaders.

ISAR: Resources for Environmental Activists was founded in 1983, as the Institute for Soviet and American Relations, to encourage citizen diplomacy and facilitate exchange between the US and the Soviet Union. ISAR’s network includes ISAR offices in Moscow, Novosibirsk and Vladivostok, Russia and Minsk, Belarus as well as local NGO partners in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Western NIS.

ISAR: Resources for Environmental Activists' mission is to support citizen activists and grassroots nongovernmental organizations in their efforts to create just and sustainable societies by building advocacy skills, supporting community environmental problem-solving initiatives, galvanizing international environmental campaigns and increasing public participation in environmental decision-making.