Press Release
What's Happening to Russia's Environmental Treasures
October 11, 2007
Peter Matthiessen, experts from the World Wildlife Fund and a leading Eastern European environmental journalist to discuss the fate of pristine and polluted Russia at November 5th Panel
New York, NY – On November 5, 2007, The Paul Klebnikov Fund, the New York University, Department of Journalism and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) will host a dialogue on environmental journalism entitled, Troubled Land: Who's Watching Over Russia's Environment? The panel will be held at NYU's Lipton Hall, 108 3rd Street (at MacDougall). Doors open at 6 pm, with the program scheduled to begin at 6:45 PM.
Led by Serge Schmemann, Pulitzer prize-winning Editorial Page Editor of the International Herald Tribune, the evening will feature Vitaly Lipik, outstanding Belarusian environmental journalist and winner of the 2007 Paul Klebnikov Prize for Excellence in Journalism, as well as Igor Chestin, Chief Executive, WWF Russia.
The speakers' panel will also include Peter Matthiessen, an internationally acclaimed author and naturalist.
"It is vital to discuss both the successes and disasters in the former Soviet Union," said Musa Train Klebnikov, Executive Director of the Paul Klebnikov Fund, named after the murdered U.S. editor of Forbes Russia. "We hope that bringing environmentalists and journalists together can only lead to greater resolve to work for the common good."
About Serge Schmemann
Serge Schmemann is the Editorial Page Editor of the International Herald Tribune. He has served as the New York Times bureau chief in Moscow, Bonn, and Jerusalem, and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for his reporting on the reunification of Germany. He is also the author of the book Echoes of a Native Land: Two Centuries of a Russian Village.
About Peter Matthiessen
Peter Matthiessen is the acclaimed author of numerous works of fiction and non-fiction including Tigers in the Snow, documenting the plight of the Siberian Tiger, and The Snow Leopard, winner of the National Book Award, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and Co-founder of the Paris Review. His latest novel, Shadow Country, will be released this spring.
About Vitaly Lipik
Vitaly Lipik is a scientist, award-winning Belarusian environmental journalist, and author of numerous scientific works. He is also a frequent contributor to a leading Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty. Vitaly Lipik specializes in topics of toxic poisons, waste management and pollution, investigations that frequently lead him into conflict with the authorities. He holds a PhD from the Belarusian State Technological University in Natural Resources and was recently named one of the top Belarusian scientists.
About Igor Chestin
Russian-born Dr. Igor Chestin is the Chief Executive of WWF in Moscow. Dr. Chestin completed his doctoral degree at Moscow State University in 1991 and joined WWF in 1996. Dr. Chestin was named the "Green Person of the Year" and the "Distinguished Nature Conservationist" by the Russian Government and was knighted by HRH Prince Bernard as a member of the Order of the Golden Arc. Dr. Chestin also serves on the panel of civil-society organizations in Russia that meets regularly with President Putin.
More information on WWF can be found at www.worldwildlife.org
About the Fund
The Paul Klebnikov Fund upholds the growth of civil society in Russia by supporting journalistic integrity, the rule of law and the preservation of its cultural heritage. The Fund awards an annual prize to a journalist whose work advances Paul's vision of journalism as a means of social growth.
