Legambiente

Legambiente ( to German: Environmental League ) is an Italian environmental group. It was formed in 1980 from a split from the Associazione Culturale Italiana Ricreativa e. Originally, it was ( to German: League for the environment) and Lega per l' Ambiente known, but changed its name to avoid confusion with other organizations.

Characteristics

With more than 115,000 supporters and about 1000 local groups, it is the most important environmental organization in Italy. It is recognized by the Italian Ministry of the Environment and is part of the European Environmental Bureau and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The organization largely dispensed with pyramidal hierarchy structures, whereby local groups relatively much leeway is given in their action planning.

In the 20 years of its existence the Legambiente has a number of environmental campaigns in Italy organized ( goletta Verde, Treno Verde and many others ), as well as targeted cleanups. Among the latter are at the national level, the actions Spiaggia pulite ( in German: Clean beaches ) and Puliamo il Mondo ( in German: We clean the world) become known.

Legambiente is active in environmental education, mobilized against smog and the referendum against the civilian use of nuclear energy. In addition, it has taken action against the illegal constructions and detection of illegal landfills and other machinations of the Ökomafia on.

In addition to these activities Legambiente promotes the use of renewable forms of energy, for a more conscious energy consumption, respecting the protected areas and for the fight against the illegal waste trade. The organization provides annually a detailed analysis of the state of the Italian environment from ( Ambiente Italia ).

Since 2004 Legambiente supports the initiative Voler Bene all'Italia, which advocates the protection and enhancement of small communities of less than 5,000 inhabitants.

Legambiente is the monthly magazine La Nuova Ecologia ( in German: The New Environment) out.

Campaigns

The accident at Chernobyl and the mobilization against nuclear power

See also: Chernobyl disaster

On April 26, 1986, came in the Ukrainian Chernobyl nuclear power plant in a serious accident, were released in the larger quantities of radioactive material. In the days that followed drew a radioactive cloud over much of Europe.

After the disaster, the authorities played down the incident in Italy. Only with the publication of several test results by Legambiente and its affiliated newspaper La Nuova Ecologia at a press conference came to light that large sections of the Italian territory were contaminated with radionuclides in an alarming extent. In the following days, the authorities banned the consumption particularly contaminated foods such as milk and salad. On May 10 there was in Rome for a demonstration with over 200,000 participants. This is generally regarded as the starting point of a strong opposition of the Italian population to the civilian use of nuclear energy, which led a year later in a referendum, and in consequence to a complete phase out nuclear power in Italy.

The mobilization against nuclear power plants in Italy called a turning point in the history of Italian environmental protection. To the referendum over a million signatures were collected in a few months, Legambiente and WWF were able to double their number of members and the Federazione dei Verdi received in the parliamentary elections of 1987, nearly one million votes.