Staff

Anna Cederstav

"I couldn't work for the chemical industry giants. I wanted to do something that seemed more meaningful, and I trusted that with some creativity and luck, I could forge my dream job...."

I remember clearly the day I began my career as an environmental scientist. I was alone on a busy street corner in Mexico. Having recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a Ph.D. in Chemistry, it was time to make a decision. I picked up the pay-phone and dialed the number back to the States. "But is there a better offer we might be able to match?" asked the voice on the other end, after I had declined what to many chemists would be a dream job. There wasn't. "And what will you do instead?" he asked. I had no idea. But I did know that, regardless of the position or the terms, I couldn't work for the chemical industry giants. I wanted to do something that seemed more meaningful, and I trusted that with some creativity and luck, I could forge my dream job.

Anna with her husband Adam at Machu Picchu in Peru

Shortly thereafter I moved to Lima to volunteer for the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA). While in Peru, I helped assess the potential impacts of Shell Oil's plans to develop the Camisea gas fields deep in the Amazon. I also began to learn Spanish and to comprehend what life is like for the millions who migrate to developing nation capitals in search of a better life.

Anna and AIDA co-director Astrid Puentes in Tulum, Mexico

Like so many cities around the world, Lima is full of contrasts. Toddlers beg on the streets in bustling commercial and financial districts. Up-scale neighborhoods flaunt wealth, while others are built of cardboard. One can taste the pollution in the air, and the sunset over the Pacific is spectacular. Outside of the capital, Peru is home to some of the world's greatest archeological treasures and biodiversity. But, the country is also rich in natural resources that foreign companies vie to extract, often at high cost to the environment. Sadly, destitute city-dwellers may seem fortunate compared to rural villagers whose means for survival are threatened by so-called "development" projects or extractive industries. In countries like Peru, balancing environmental protection in the long term with the immediate needs of the poor is no small task.

Anna descending a South African goldmine

After five months abroad, I returned to San Francisco intent on continuing to provide technical assistance to Latin American environmentalists. I particularly wanted to work with lawyers because my experience had convinced me that the combination of law and science is the best tool for ensuring lasting environmental protection. Coincidentally, at that time Earthjustice and four other law groups were founding AIDA -- the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense -- a new international environmental law organization intended to develop international legal strategies and facilitate international collaboration on casework in the Americas. As luck would have it, Earthjustice was willing to hire a scientist to help start AIDA.

Earthjustice staff scientist, Anna Cederstav

Eight years with Earthjustice and AIDA have greatly expanded my horizons. My work on mining issues has brought me 2,000 meters below ground to see South Africans working long days in superheated tunnels, blasting rock that eventually yields our gold wedding bands. It has also taken me 4,000 meters above sea level in the Andes, to where the Cerro de Pasco pit mine expands daily, swallowing abandoned homes teetering on the edge of the gaping hole in the earth. I have studiedthe impacts of salmon farming along the Patagonian coast, and learned how our car-dependent lifestyle and global warming threaten the Inuit indigenous people in the Arctic Circle. Along the way, I have been fortunate to play a part in many important environmental victories, ranging from halting offshore petroleum exploration in the Costa Rican Caribbean, to stopping large-scale logging in southern Chile.

My work has been an exciting combination of analyzing data, drafting policies and proposals, editing Spanish-language legal briefs, and working with the media. In all of these capacities, I have met with concerned citizens and NGOs, government officials at all levels, and corporate CEOs. Most importantly, I have had the honor to work with many thoughtful, compassionate, and intelligent colleagues dedicated to preserving precious ecosystems and protecting the human right to a healthy environment. These friends and the successes we have seen give me faith that even faced with seemingly insurmountable environmental problems globally, and against the exorbitant powers of corporations and multinational institutions, we can use science and law to build a more democratic and sustainable future.

Dr. Anna Cederstav was born and raised in Sweden. In 1980, her family moved to Connecticut where she attended Greenwich High School and Yale University. She holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. Anna has a broad background in organic and environmental chemistry, environmental engineering, and environmental policy. She is fluent in Spanish and Swedish. Anna joined the Earthjustice International Program as Staff Scientist in 1998. She is also Program Director of the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), a hemispheric environmental law group of which Earthjustice is a founding participating organization. In 2001, Anna served on the global assurance committee for the Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Development project, and she is currently on the Board of the Center for Science in Public Participation. When she is not traveling, Anna and her husband Adam spend their time renovating their fixer-upper California bungalow, cooking, practicing yoga, entertaining their parrot, or enjoying the great outdoors.

Created: January 3, 2006