Nagymaros - Visegrád panorama - panoramio

János Vargha (born 1949) is a Hungarian

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

and photographer. He organized opposition in particular against the projected

Nagymaros Nagymaros (german: Großmarosch, sk, Veľká Maruša) is a town in Pest county, Hungary. Etymology The name comes from ''Maroš'', the Slavic form of Marianus. Nagymaros—"Greater Maros" ( Hungarian). The first written mention is ''Morus'' (1 ...

dam in the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

river system. He founded Duna Kör, an environmental movement.

Education and Career

Vargha graduated from the József Attila University, Szeged in 1977 where he took his master's degree in biology. In 1998 he became the chief environmental advisor of the Hungarian government but he left his job in 2000.

Social and environmental activist

Around 1981 ,Vargha was active to save the Danube River and the

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

of over 200 animal and plant species due to the plans of building a dam which would have submerged 150,000 acres of forests. This would have led to transformation the fauna and flora of the Danube river into an industrial site. In order to prevent authorities from building the dam, he founded an association Duna Kör (Danube Circle) in 1984 which was against the project. Vargha's publications on the Nagymaros dam were censored by Hungarian authorities. Despite this fact, Vargha managed to publish information about the potential consequences and dangers of the construction of the dam to the wildlife and local population. He organised a walk with the members of Duna Körthe around the dam site which was suppressed by the police. At that time he was working as an editor in a scientific magazine, a job that he was made redundant of because of his involvement in environmental activities. In order to make the world aware of the plans of building the dam, Duna Körthe organized many demonstrations and an international conference (1988) with the help of the World Wildlife Fun. As a result, over 150,000 people supported the petition for a national referendum on the dam. From 1981 Vargha publishes articles and presents lectures about environmental issues of water management and water constructions.

Awards

János Vargha has been the

Goldman Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

recipient in 1990, and the recipient of the

Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob v ...

in 1985. The Right Livelihood Award was granted to him owing to his commitment to preserving the wildlife of the Danube River and securing access to drinking water for the local population. The Right Livelihood Award Foundation granted the award to Vargha “...for working under unusually difficult circumstances to preserve the river Danube, a vital part of Hungary's environment."

References

External links

János Vargha
Living people Hungarian biologists Hungarian environmentalists 1949 births Goldman Environmental Prize awardees {{Hungary-bio-stub