Serving society towards sustainability
in European context
Albanian
Environmental
Movement
N
G
I
S
E
D
978- 9928- 114- 02- 0
Shtëpia Botuese ‘Natyra’
isbn 978-9928-114-02-0
Albanian
Environmental
Movement in
European Context
Preface
In his road to development Men have shown extraordinary values,
but in certain phases, is dominated by aggressive behaviour
towards himself and the living environment. In such a context the
statement in1952 of Albert Schweitzer, the German theologian,
organist, philosopher, physician, is very significant.
"When men will learn to respect even the smallest creature, plant
or animal, nobody will need to educate him to love and respect
men itself”
In the beginning of 1990s the Albanian society entered in a new
phase, which was accompanied with dramatic effects in all aspects,
not only on human beings but on nature as well.
Nevertheless, there were many voices and organisations that
started to work for the protection of nature and environmental
values in urban and rural areas. Some of those voices were
personalities in academic institutions direct linked with
environment. Without their role the destructions in Albania would
even have been bigger. They were professors, teachers, specialists
and journalists who, with their authority and contribution, achieved
to raise awareness of students, youth and interest groups in the
community to protect nature values as a treasure for today and
future generations. I would like to highlight three of them.
First the role of Association for the Protection and Preservation of
Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA). In the first transition
decade that involved many intellectuals. Second, Ekolevizja, as an
emblematic form of organisation of the environmental movement
in the second decade. Both organisations played a very important
opponent role towards anti-environmental policies and
environmental education in the past 20 years. Finally, I would like
to mention Prof. Dr. Lekë Gjiknuri as a distinguished pioneer in
Albanian environmental movement.
In strengthening the Albanian environmental movement the role
of the international partners have been of importance, since they
have passed through our experiences in earlier years. Their
financial, organisational and capacity building contribution have (2
been vital in different sectors of NGOs in Albania.
The booklet it is a synthetic summary of the main phases that
environmental movement has passed on in Albania and Europe.
Even though in a limited number of pages the treated themes are
substantial for the functioning of the environmental protection as
the civil society and its environment, building networks,
information and transparency, capacity building and finances.
In the state when the civil society, in its role for the protection of
environment, lacks the political support, its activity has been
difficult and brave. I would like to emphasise that without this role
the Albanian environment would have been damaged considerably.
I'm ending with the idea that when the Albanian politics will
involve more civil society actors with eco-friendly behaviour, then
it will really show maturity in human aspects and care and respect
to simple creatures, plant or animals. This will sign the end of
transition in Albania and its entrance to the civilisation path.
Besnik BARE, Member of Parliament Albania
(3
Introduction
This booklet describes lessons learned about building civil society
for the environment within the project, 'Strengthening Albanian
Civil Society for an Improved Environment' (SACSIE), conducted
in Albania from 2007 to 2010. The project is an excellent
example. The publication will serve the needs of Albanian NGOs
for future network development. It will also be distributed to
other sectors of Albanian society that work on network
development.
The SACSIE project marks a stage in network development of
Albanian environmental civil society, but based on our experience,
this stage is not the final one. The booklet will not only describe
steps, achievements and lessons learned, but will also provide
food for thought regarding next steps to be taken within the
current Albanian environmental movement. The same
recommendations could also apply to other sectors and their
networks, although their current stage might be a different one.
The SACSIE project had all the elements of civil society building
that were developed one by one in earlier projects in other
countries. Currently there is no publication available in this field
that deals with the subject of civil society building for
environment and nature. In the current EU accession process,
funds like IPA support civil society building in many countries.
This publication can help donors, civil society organizations and
interested professionals in forming their opinion and
strengthening their theoretical base for their actions in this field.
The publication is also an excellent way to generalize the
experiences from the past three years in the SACSIE project and
lessons learned after 10 years of cooperation between
Milieukontakt and civil society for nature and environment in
Albania.
(4
Content
1. Civil society for the environment
A short description of the history of civil society with a special
section on Albania and its recent developments placed in the
context of developments elsewhere
2. Building Networks
Experiences with network development and a description of
Ekolevizja and its role within the environmental movement in
Albania, compared with other networks
3. Strategies (Cooperation, Working groups, Information,
Innovation, Confrontation)
Examples of different strategies used by environmental
organizations
4. Capacity building for civil society
Effective and appropriate methodologies
5. How to finance the movement, future of Albanian civil society
on environment
Description of ways to finance environmental organizations,
their advantages and disadvantages
6. Essential aspects of an effective civil society for the
environment, lessons learned in Albania
Wrap up of the content and recommendations
(5
I. Civil society for the environment
A short history of civil society on environment and nature, with a
special section on Albania and its recent developments placed in
the context of developments elsewhere
History of civil society on environment
In general one could say that the history of the environmental
organizations throughout Europe developed from agenda setting
citizens to professional campaign organizations.
While nature protection organizations developed as early as the
19th century and the start of the 20th century, and some
organizations concerned about the environment emerged at that
time, the height of the development of organizations with a
mission to work on environmental protection only started in the
early seventies of the 20th century. At first, concerned citizens
organized themselves on issues like pollution of air and soil from
factories. Later this issue broadened to include energy,
agriculture, consumerism, transport, water and many more
One can distinguish three periods in the emergence of
organizations for the environment. The first period (naturalism and
nature protection) is from 1860 until the Second World War, the
second period (environment under threat) is from 1960 until 1980,
and the third (international networks for the environment) from
1980 until now.
Naturalism and nature protection
The effects of industrialization, developments in natural science
and a changing attitude towards nature in the first half of the 19th
century led to the emergence of biologists, artists, nobleman and
industrialists wanting to preserve natural areas. A famous example
is the action of the the painters who lived in Barbizon (France) who
wanted to preserve the forest of Fontainebleau (1837) because of
its beauty. The forest administration wanted to cut the oldest trees
in the forest to create an open space. The painters managed to
save this area through a lobby. In 1853 the first European nature
reserve was established by the French government. One decade
later, on the other side of the world, President Lincoln signed the (6
Park bill for the protection of Yosemite Park, followed by the
establishment of the first National park in the US in 1872:
Yellowstone Park. In fact, this happened because of the lobbying
and publicity work of entrepreneur James Mason Hutchings and
artist Thomas Ayres. They ran a true publicity campaign in New
York, with articles and exhibitions that attracted attention and even
created tourism to the area. Through lobbying the Congress, they
managed to pass the "Bill on Yosemite Grant".
In the Netherlands in 1904, the authorities of Amsterdam decided
to create a waste dump in the "worthless, barren lakes of
Naardermeer", which in fact was a beautiful wetland full of birdlife.
It was thanks to a teacher from Amsterdam, Jac. P. Thijsse, that
the area is still enjoyed as such. Thijsse managed to lobby with
important people and raised the sum of 155.000 guilders, a
considerable amount at the time, to buy the area. It led to the
establishment of Natuurmonumenten, which, after World Wildlife
Fund, is the biggest nature protection organization in the
Netherlands, with 820.000 members in 2009, owning more than
100.000 hectares of land. The WWF was established in 1961 in
Switzerland under the presidency of the Dutch Prince Bernhard.
Environment under threat
Although there were some organizations dealing with protection of
the environment before the Second World War, only after 1960 was
the issue raised on the political agenda and several organizations
were established. In 1962 Rachel Carson impressed many readers
with her book, "Silent Spring". Rachel Carson described the effects
of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds, causing
thinner egg shells and resulting in reproductive problems and
death. She criticized the use of DDT and the information provided
by the industry. More publications followed, like "Limits to Growth"
in 1968, describing the limitations of the use of commodities in
connection to the fast growing world population, and "Blueprint for
Survival' in 1972 that propagated a transition of modern society
into small scale communities. In the supporters' view, this is the
only way to survive as a planet. Critics say that these publications
were also the start of the doom scenarios often predicted by
environmentalists. Nevertheless, the growing awareness provoked
the establishment of several international organizations and
networks for the environment, based on, roughly speaking, three
paradigms.
(7
The first were the radicals who wanted to change structures in
society because it was the technocratic, large scale, capitalist
structures that caused environmental problems. It was impossible
to solve the environmental problems within these structures.
Friends of the Earth (1971) can be regarded as an example of this
school. FOE was also an example of an organization connecting the
real grass roots movement with international activities. The Dutch
FOE member, Milieudefensie, was established in 1972.
Second were the organizations that tried to create changes within
the system, through lobbying and publicity. A Dutch example is
Natuur en Milieu (1972), a real expert and lobby organization
mainly focused on the national government.
The third kind of organization was those that developed and
demonstrated examples of alternative ways of living in the form of
biological agriculture, saving energy and water and reducing the
level of consumption and waste. De Kleine Aarde (1972) is a
Dutch example in this category. In 2010 De Kleine Aarde ended its
activities after 38 years.
In 1971 a group of Canadian environmentalists, calling themselves
the 'Don't make a wave committee', chartered a boat to sail into
the nuclear testing zone of Amchitka near Alaska. They were
stopped by the U.S. Navy but gained a lot of support and publicity
for their heroic action. They had named their ship Greenpeace and
established an organization with that name in 1972. The
combination of heroism and press coverage turned out to be very
successful: Greenpeace now has organizations in 41 countries all
over the world.
Towards international cooperation
The decade that followed, 1976 to 1986, can rightly be called the
disaster decade for the environment. Big chemical disasters
(Seveso 1976, Bhopal 1984) oil spills (Amoco Cadiz 1978 and at
least 10 other oil disasters) and nuclear accidents (Three Mile
Island 1979 and Chernobyl 1986) are all featured in the
Environmental disaster top ten described by S.M. Enzier at
www.lenntech.com/environmental-disasters.htm
These disasters, in combination with the development of mass
media and the use of communication techniques by the
professionalized environmental and nature protection
organizations, created massive moral and financial support.
Citizens became members and governments started to finance
(8
organizations that had proved to be right. At the height, in the
Netherlands the organizations had a membership base of around 4
million members, 25 % of the entire population!
International networks for the environment
Although international organizations and networks, like
International Union for Conservation of Nature (1960) and
European Environmental Bureau (1974), were already established
organizations in 1980, it was during the past three decades that
the environmental movement developed into international
networks. Civil society had become a respected partner in the
dialogue with governments and the environmental issue had
climbed higher on the international agenda. The UN organized an
historic meeting on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro in
1992. It had a lot of media coverage and many NGOs were
present. A year earlier (1991) in Prague the first conference for
Environment in Europe took place. In this process European
countries discussed mutual policy and cooperation on the
environment. In 1997 World leaders got together in Kyoto to
discuss climate change. These conferences grew bigger and bigger
with a kind of apotheosis at the meeting on climate change in
Copenhagen in 2009, with more than 40,000 participants from
governments, civil society and media. This may have been one of
the reasons for not reaching a satisfactory agreement there;
decision making is quite difficult with so many participants and
such broad media coverage.
Civil society organizations developed international networks like
Transport and Environment (1990), Central and East European
Working Group for the Enhancement of Biodiversity (CEEWeb,
1994), CEE Bankwatch (1995), Climate Action Network (1997) and
Pesticides Action Network (2003).
Another form of international cooperation was between Western
civil society and transition countries that opened up after the
collapse of the Soviet Union. The first contacts in this field from
the Netherlands were between Polish dissident organizations and
Dutch Civil Society. Friends of the Earth was very active in
supporting newly developed organizations. After a (secret) visit to
Polish dissidents, the Dutch minister of Environment Ed Nijpels
started a support program that was implemented by Milieukontakt
Oost Europa (1988), established by, amongst others,
(9
Milieudefensie, Friends of the Earth Europe and Natuur en Milieu.
In the early eighties dissident organizations came tolife in the
slipstream of Solidarnosc, the famous Polish workers union.The first
was the Polish Ecological Club (PKE) founded in Cracow in 1980,
probably the first legally established independent, environmental
non-governmental organization in the former socialist bloc countries
of Central and Eastern Europe. This was followed by organizations
like the ecologists' paper Green Brigades (1989), Green Federation
(1993) and the network Polish Greennet (1995) based on the
example of the Dutch network of Milieufederaties. Similar
developments were taking place in the Czech Republic and Hungary.
With international support, civil society in former communist
countries developed as rapidly as the societies changed themselves.
Environmental organizations in Albania
Albanian environmental groups appeared for the first time after the
overthrow of the totalitarian regime in June 1991, when democracy
created conditions favourable for civil society organizations. There
is a geographic division in the development. The first groups
appeared in Albania's capital Tirana around 1991. In 1994-1995
groups emerged in regional capitals like Shkodra, Korca, Pogradec
and Elbassan. In 1997-2001 there was a boom of NGOs all over the
country, triggered by the Kosovo crises; during this period over
160 NGOs were registered. After 2005 network building for
environmental organizations began with the ekolevizja network.
According to a survey conducted by the Euclid Network on the
development of the third sector in Albania, in 2007 Environmental
and Heritage NGOs were approximately 10% of the total number
of active NGOs registered in Albania (human rights organizations
comprise 43%; economic development 12% and promotion of
democracy 12%). Environmental NGOs are active mainly in big
cities or near areas with special natural values. Among the topics
they cover are biodiversity, urban problems, environmental
education and protection of natural values.
Democracy and the wake of civil society in Tirana (1991-1993)
In Albania environmental problems were the most visible negative
effects of the totalitarian system. Environmental protest was seen
as an expression of anti-communist ideas. In the early days of the
new government the first environmental NGOs were established in
Tirana. The Association for the Preservation and Protection of the (10
Natural Environment of Albania (PPNEA) was the first, officially
established onJune 13, 1991, by a special decree of the Albanian
Academy of Sciences. PPNEA has developed into the most important
voice for the environment outside the government of Albania.
It emerged during a period of turmoil and socio-economic change in
the country and the wider region, a time when environmental issues
were looked down upon and given marginal priority in governing
and policy issues. Following its creation, PPNEA established itself
as a highly active organization, participating in and organizing
many environmental awareness campaigns in Albania as well as
undertaking a vast array of different projects with focus on various
environmental issues. PPNEA is particularly concerned with
conservation and sustainable development issues and its main
areas of interest are wildlife management and endangered species
conservation, local sustainable projects and initiatives, and
landscape conservation. (www.linkedin.com/companies/ppnea)
Within the framework of PPNEA, dozens of NGOs focusing on
environmental protection have come to existence since 1991.
Initially, most NGOs were established in Tirana, Albania's capital,
and their members were limited to specialists in fields related to
the environmental sciences: biology, chemistry, geography. Most
were small groups of fewer than 100 people, though groups with
hundreds or even thousands of members do exist. Although the
organizations were weak, they showed commitment to protecting
the environment. It is not surprising that one of the main events
took place in the capital. In 1993 PPNEA organized a campaign to
protect the Botanical Garden from illegal constructions. Many other
NGOs joined PPNEA in this campaign. The result was not only
termination of illegal constructions, but also raising the awareness
of the public on environmental issues.
Broadening the movement to regional capitals
A few years later NGOs were established with a more broad-based
membership, involving students and support from the general public.
In 1994-95, a large number of NGOs were established outside
Tirana, especially in districts with acute environmental problems,
such as Shkodra, Korca, Pogradec and Elbasan. Those organizations
were branches of national NGOs such as PPNE of Shkodra and
Korca, or Ecological Club of Elbasani, Kruja, Fieri, Lezha, etc.
The number of environmental NGOs in Albania stood at 52 in 1995, (11
including the independent district branches of national NGOs. In
this period members of the Association for the Protection of Natural
Environment in Albania and the Pearl Young Club (est. 1993)
protested against the construction of a Sheraton hotel in the area of
Artificial Lake. Such protests tried to bring nature protection to the
attention of politicians, but unfortunately Albania was a country
under development and the Government was open to any type of
development and investments, and the Sheraton was built. Another
action turned out to be more successful. In 1999 as a result of
public demonstration again organized by PPNEA, the government
annulled the decision of the National Council for the Regulation of
Territory regarding some construction permits in the Tirana Park.
Still, most activities took place in the capital, although there were
some regional actions in cities with significant natural resources.
The successful actions of PPNEA were still unique in Albania
because during the first decade of the movement (from 1991-2000)
there was no wide public support for environmental actions. This in
contradiction to the numerous environmental problems faced by the
Albanian society: severe water pollution, illegal construction and
cutting of forest and garbage occupying even peoples' livelihoods or
destroying public areas. It was very difficult for the organizations
to mobilize Albanian society to fight the heritage of communism
and later to face the consequences of the new consumer society.
Activities had limited participation and organizations few members.
One reason for low involvement of the Albanian public can be the
fact that since 1999 there is no fulfillment of basic needs, like
employment, housing, health care, electricity, food and education.
Maybe these basic needs have to be met before people start
thinking about the environment. For as long as the fundamental
living issues are not resolved, despite the fact that the long-term
requests or goals of the ENGOs support their optimal solution, they
will not sensitize the people who are in need of the basic living
means. A family that doesn't have a house (the demographic
movements have been enormous) will not care if they cut a tree or
a forest, which is needed for their new house, or that the open
sewers represent a health risk.
Besides giving environmental problems low priority, people add to
the problems in the fulfillment of their basic needs. An example is
illegal wood cutting. Most of the households in Albania and all of
the households in the countryside are dependent on wood fuel for (12
heating. Albania has been struggling for many decades with the
problem of providing sufficient heating for dwellings. The recent
reduction in the energy supply caused the shortage to become even
more severe. In the last 45 years, 30% of the forest area has been
destroyed by the clear-cutting activities of Albanian citizens and
foreign companies. In addition, hunting and fishing, as well as the
sale of medicinal plant species, have become popular ways to earn
hard currency. Rare bird species and fish have been exported and
sold for relatively high prices. The hunting practices themselves
often have serious consequences.
The Kosovo crisis and the booming civil society
During 1997-2001, right after the severe economic crises in Albania,
there was a boom of NGOs. The highest ever proliferation of NGOs
in Albania occurred during the Kosovo refugee crisis. At its peak,
there were over 160 new NGOs registered with the central office in
Tirana. Many NGOs started to deliver social services as part of their
activities and they provided a wide range of welfare services.
Growth of Eco NGOs in Albania
160
1991: start of establishment of
environmental NGOs;
140
1994: limited number of NGOs
in Tirana with branches in big
cities;
120
100
1996-7: boom of small NGOs
in cities covering local
problems;
80
1998, '99: events in the
Balkan region impacted
development of civil sector in
Albania;
60
40
2000: sustainability and
growing citizen protests …
20
0
90-91 94-95 95-96 2000 2005 2010
(13
Sustainability of ENGOs and Growing citizens' protests against
unsustainable foreign investments (Since 2000).
After the year 2000, environmental actions were covered more
intensively by the mass media following new investment plans. An
example is the Narta project. 'No Oil' was the motto of the
campaign organized in 2002 by environmental organizations and
covered by the mass media in order to stop the plans for oil drilling
in the Narta Lagoon by the Ina Naftaplin Company. This initiative
was supported by young groups and many associations in the
region. Another example is the construction of an incinerator by an
Italian Company, Albania Bag (May 2004). This plan faced protests
by a coalition of NGOs (environmental and human rights), in which
Ekolevizja was a leading force. For a few months many activities
were organized against the importation of waste from Italy to
Albania. For the first time, citizens were part of the protests and
obliged the government to withdraw from the commitment and
investment.
More and more citizens spoke out against planned investments,
and not only in Tirana. A plan for a hydrocarbons terminal adjacent
to the southern Albanian harbor town of Vlora was conceived by
the Albanian government in 2001. The project was approved in
2003, and a year later a concession agreement with an Italian
investor - La Petrolifera Italo Rumena - was signed on the basis of
an unsolicited proposal. Part of the agreement included a set of
generous incentives, enabling the Italian company to purchase
183,000 square meters of the project area for a symbolic price of 1
euro. In addition, the concession granted the company the right to
be the sole operator in the Bay of Vlora. Despite government
backing for the project, Vlora's citizens have strongly opposed it,
initiating a petition (supported by 14,000 signatures), two requests
for a local referendum and numerous civic actions. The first request
for a local referendum against the energy and industrial park was
presented by the Civic Alliance for the Protection of the Vlora Bay
(est. 2005) to the National Election Committee in 2005. The second
request for a referendum about the terminal was submitted by the
Vlora City Council in October 2007. Both requests were rejected on
formal grounds.
The street protests against the terminal intensified following the
commencement of the construction work. The protests at the turn
of the year and in spring 2008 were met with police repression.
(14
A protest organized in May saw the arrest of six Vlora citizens;
three Civil Alliance members were kept in prison in inhumane
conditions and are currently awaiting trial. This issue has been
raised not only on the national level but also through a policy
paper prepared by EDEN Center as partner of CEE BankWatch. It
was presented at a World Bank meeting in London.
In 2008 Albanian environmental NGOs contested the
environmental impact study by Italian company Enel of its Porto
Romano coal-fired thermal power plant, demanding that the
government either revise or cancel the project. The Ekolevizja
movement and EDEN Centre, as front organizations composed of
several Albanian environmental NGOs and supported by CEE
Bankwatch network, accused the Italian energy giant of ignoring
Albanian laws in its environmental impact study of the plant, of
misrepresenting the nation's energy strategy and providing
misleading information on the application of technologies for
carbon capture emissions. According to Ekolevizja and EDEN,
Enel's environmental impact study does not give a clear evaluation
of carbon emissions by the plant during production.
Environmental groups estimate that if the Albanian government
proceeds with the project proposed by Enel, its carbon-fired
thermal-power plants will increase carbon emissions in Albania by
6 to 7 million tons every year, doubling current emission levels. In
the end, Albanian Environmental NGOs succeeded in canceling
such technology.
As we can see, the number of NGOs engaged in real policy
dialogue with the Government also increased during this period.
Watchdog activities were increased in number.
In 2010, in the framework of the program, "Strengthening the
Albanian Civil Society for an Improved Environment", the Albanian
environmental movement managed to present clear position
papers on the issues of air, water, waste and public participation.
The papers received serious attention from the Ministry of
Environment and can be used as a mutual guideline and lobbying
instrument by the organizations.
(15
(16
(17
II. The development of networks for the
environment
Description of the development of networks for the environment
with a special section on Ekolevizja and its role within the
environmental movement in Albania, compared with other networks
There are many ways an environmental movement can develop. To
a large extent, this is connected to the financial basis of the
movement. There is a big difference between a country like The
Netherlands where the environmental organizations started to
develop with financial support from businessmen and land owners,
later taken over by private supporters, now around 4 million, (Vara
Vroege Vogels 2010 supporters list) and
government support.
Sustaining
Environmental
movement
Development
of networking
and
participation
Internal NGO
capacity
development
Emergence of
environmental
CSOs
In many countries the organizations are mainly financed by foreign
donors. There is a small membership base and hardly any support
from the local or national government. In Milieukontakt's
experience, organizations in former communist countries are much
more internationally oriented than Dutch local organizatons.
Although different, many civil society networks on environment have
similar characteristics. Milieukontakt developed a practical theory on (18
the support of environmental networks using these characteristics.
Stage 1
In most countries, concerned professors, teachers and citizens start
to produce publications on the state of the environment. Groups
of committed students, mothers, nature lovers and scientists are
formed and start being active in their community or country.
Stage 2
Many of these groups develop into organizations that meet
regularly to discuss new activities. Often they are helped by seed
grants from (international) donors and start writing project
proposals to get more activities funded. To do this properly, they
need a computer, communication tools and people with different
qualities in the fields of proposal writing, project management,
communication and of course expertise in various environmental
subjects. A personal experience of one of the authors of this book
was in the early nineties in Poland. In Cracow there was a very
active group of young people who managed to mobilize a group of
50 bikers for an environmental action within two days. They used
to meet each other in the evenings in the cellar bars in the centre
of Cracow. It was a lively and very motivated movement. After 4
years of support, the author visited the office that was established
in Cracow and found his Polish partners working on project
proposals, sitting behind computers, having meetings on the
structure of their organization and formulating goals and activities.
The movement had become professional and although people were
still very motivated, along the way something of the happy early
times had been lost.
Stage 3
When these organizations have an office, run projects and gain
visibility in their country, they often start to connect with others,
first with similar organizations, at least if they can get along.
Sometimes the environmental movement is not connecting at all
and all organizations fight with each other or have found a way to
ignore each other. But when networking takes place the
organizations can be effective in lobbying the national government.
Again, in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and recently in
Albania, there are some excellent examples of this kind of
development. Lobbying on the national level also means connecting (19
with other parties outside the movement, like authorities, unions,
agriculture, industries and many others affecting the environment.
Thus the organizations really start to become a part of the
structures controlling or exerting power; this is the stage of
networking and participation.
Stage 4
The final stage can be categorized as a sustainable and visible civil
society that has strong financial independence. The current
situation in The Netherlands shows that for a long time we thought
the movement was sustainable and strong, an example for others.
In 2010 almost all the organizations had to downsize their staff by
between 30 and 60 % because of severe budget cuts from
government. Some, like De Kleine Aarde, even had to close their
doors. It shows their strong dependence on government funding
and their vulnerability in this respect.
In Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans, organizations will also
suffer a huge financial loss as a result of budget cuts in all
countries in Western Europe. This is another example of the risk of
dependency on one source of financial support. Unfortunately,
organizations do not always have a choice. Greenpeace is one of
the few organizations that has always refused work with
government funding and has successfully managed to do so.
If you would
make a
graphic
picture of
environmental
movement
networks, it
would very
much look like
this:
(20
Different umbrella organizations connecting different local groups,
organizations connecting on issues (Climate Change Network) or on
regional cooperation (Milieufederaties in The Netherlands) or within
a structure (Mama 86 in Ukraine, Ekolevizja Albania and Friends of
the Earth Europe) and still there are some organizations or even
individuals operating on their own in their own country but
connecting with partners in other countries. There are grass roots
community based organizations, regional support structures and
national committees, platforms, umbrellas, and international
organizations with partners in many countries (EEB, Transport and
Environment, Bankwatch etc.). To make it even easier, there are
many different topics like gender and environment (WECF),
development and environment (Both Ends), climate change,
energy, sustainable living and maybe hundreds of other themes.
Some people joke that in The Netherlands every animal has his
own organization. At least this is true for birds, mammals, badgers,
hedgehogs, butterflies, amphibians, seals, bears, elephants......and
monkeys!
What is a similar experience in all countries is that one day
questions come up about membership, representation, organization
and communication in the network. These questions often give rise
to emotional discussion on the level of organization of the network
needed, procedures for voting and representation and membership.
If you want to turn down organizations that want to be part of the
network, you will need criteria, and if you want representation you
will need procedures and protocols. Establishing such policies
requires tactful leadership because you are dealing with deeply felt
values of democracy, trust and consensus on the one hand and the
striving for, and maintenance of, power on the other. Discussions
tend to get very personal, falling back on long lasting conflicts and
bad experiences.
On the other hand, it is an asset if a network can speak with one
voice and be visible and understandable to the authorities, the
public, media and other stakeholders. Some ways to avoid the
above mentioned conflicts are:
1.
You can try to develop a clear mission for the network, like:
We are organizations and individuals that work together on a
sustainable society respecting nature, environment and social (21
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
justice without the use of violence and with respect for
democracy. All members should subscribe this mission and
their own mission must not be contradictory.
Stick to representation on content: If you develop common
positions on transport, energy, waste or other subjects, it will
be the people who have a lot of knowledge on these subjects
who will naturally develop as spokespersons for these issues.
Their responsibility is to make others proud of being part of a
network with such excellent spokespersons.
Have a serving network secretariat: Let people who are
good at organizing and who have excellent communication
skills serve the network with information, meetings and
communication tools. Their responsibility is to make it
attractive to be part of the network.
When there is a national strategy meeting or forum, take care
to have a neutral facilitator. The role of the facilitator is to
give all participants an equal chance to present their opinions.
If they are representing an organization or more than one
organization, let them speak on their behalf.
If voting or decision making is planned, be very clear and
explicit about the procedures and ask participants before the
meeting if they agree with the procedures, and follow those
procedures exactly during the meeting.
Criteria for membership should be very short to avoid
complicated procedures. Non-violent, non-commercial, nongovernmental non-religious organizations with sustainability,
nature or environment in their mission rules out most of the
organizations you do not want in your network.
Develop levels of membership, like subscribers to the
network magazine, financial supporters of the network, civil
society organizations, members with a right to vote and nonvoting members. There are many ways to attract members to
an organized network without losing sight of the mission.
The main challenge, however, is to make and keep the
network attractive to the members. This is, by the way, a
responsibility for all members of the network, but a network
also needs 'champions', people who put energy into
communication and mobilization of members and supporters.
Do not be afraid of differences of opinion on strategy, methods
or activities. Diversity may be one of the strengths of a
network. Try to build consensus in case of dispute, but if this (22
can not be achieved, you can agree to disagree and respect
each other's intentions. One thing you should avoid is having
contradictory actions. It is always bad if one member is
negotiating while the other is using a destructive
confrontational strategy. This could be a reason for a very
tough discussion and maybe exclusion of one of the members,
which by the way also requires a procedure.
10. Develop supporting instruments like national strategy
meetings, a portal or a website, a platform for discussion.
Ekolevizja, the Albanian Network
From the beginning of civil society development in Albania, there
were a few attempts to establish forums of environmental NGOs.
The first attempt was in 1994 and the second in 1999. They have
not been successful because the establishment of the network had
no real objective or issue to work on. From the other side, NGOs
were not ready and open to such initiatives. The Ekolevizja network
was a successful case accepted not only by organizations but also
by government institutions and the wider public in general. It
began as a means to access and disseminate information.
According to the Albanian Constitution of 1998, Albania recognizes
everyone's rights "to be informed on the environmental situation
and its protection" and "to participate in decision making
processes", but environmental information was lacking.
In May 2000 the Regional Environmental Center (REC) started to
scan a number of daily newspapers in order to collect all news
about nature conservation and environmental problems. They
named their newsletter 'Mjedisi Sot' (Environment Today) and
every day the newsletter was sent via e-mail to 300 subscribers
and biweekly in hard copy to an additional 250 subscribers who did
not have access to e-mail. Gradually the idea developed to turn the
newsletter into a more interactive news and discussion forum. The
first step to put this into practice was to involve reporters from
different regions of Albania with an NGO background, asking them
to contribute news to both versions.
In 2003 a group of six environmental NGOs decided to take over
the initiative from REC and to change the focus of this publication.
Instead of a simple newsletter, the publication would focus on
(23
addressing the most pressing environmental issues and would try
to involve a more general public. This initiative broadened and by
the end of 2003 a group of 11 NGOs took over the newsletter. The
group was named "Ekolevizja" (Eco-movement) and began operating
in January 2004 with the support of Milieukontakt Oost Europa and
later with funding from other donors, such as Regional Environment
Centre, World Bank and Organic Agriculture Association.
In the National Meeting of the Environmental Associations held on
April 25, 2003 in Durrës, a working group discussed the need to
transfer the newspaper "Environment Today" to the direction of
Environmental Associations. The ideas the working group discussed
were as follows:
NGOs must have their voice, and having their own written media
will help to advance their institutionalization. A single association
is neither able nor suited to do this. Therefore, it can be suggested
that a group of associations take this initiative, together. This
would be an organization like a forum. The capacity among NGOs
linked with the logistics, experience and human resources, does
exist and guarantees a qualitative environmental movement
through formulation and implementation of the right policies.
On October 22, 2003, 11 environmental associations expressed
direct interest in contributing to the creation of the group
"Ekolevizja" with the same name as the newspaper. The aim was to
strengthen the joint voice and willingness to build up the synergy
and undertake concrete actions by civil society to exert demanding
pressure on the decision makers at this stage of the development
of the country, to prevent negative impact on the environment and
to sustain environmentally friendly development.
In September 2005 the "Ekolevizja" (Eco-Movement) Group was
legally registered. Registration was necessary for the following
reasons:
Ÿ A considerable and growing number of organizations joined
the network;
Ÿ There was knowledge available on organizing activities and
generating funds that could be shared with (other) members;
Ÿ Specialists and capacities within the network could also be
shared;
Ÿ There was the willingness and interest of the members to
(24
become a network;
(25
Ÿ There was an increased need for coordination and information
exchange.
In recent years, the number of members of Ekolevizja has grown
from 11 ENGO members in 2003, to 24 in 2006, 32 in 2008 and in
2009, 39 members.
Through the years, "Ekolevizja" became known to the public
through the biweekly newspaper, which published professional
environmental information and powerful investigative articles on
environmental issues. Now the "Ekolevizja" newspaper is widely
distributed and the number of its subscribers has risen from 150 to
600. The newspaper has been a reference point for different
independent daily newspapers whenever they are investigating, or
publishing articles about, environmental problems.
Public awareness of the network has been increased by organizing
joint actions like national campaigns on diverse issues:
Ÿ The import of urban waste from Italy to be incinerated in
our country. The campaign succeeded in making the
government reverse its decision.
Ÿ GMOs in Albania demanded improvement of the GMO law.
The law was suspended and a new revised law was resent
to the parliament for approval.
Ÿ Protection of natural amenities, such as the Black Lake,
where there was a plan to build a hydropower station in a
protected area. "Ekolevizja" newspaper published the news
and then went on to investigate the problem and confront
the responsible persons with the actual law that does not
permit constructions of any kind in protected areas, and a
TV debate was organized with the specialists and the
representatives of the project to be implemented in the
protected area of the lake.
Ÿ The protection of inhabitants from industrial pollution in
Elbasan. The main purpose of the campaign was to create
communication channels with the local government and
support from the civil society.
(26
Ÿ Greening local elections and Ekolevizja together with its
members was active in raising the importance of
environmental issues such as water and sewage, urban
planning and protection, and improvement of the
environment, in the local political agenda.
Ÿ Against the construction of a Thermo Electrical Power Plant
in Vlora Energetic Park.
Ÿ Illegal dumping in Sharra and support to local communities
for improvement of the actual landfill.
Ÿ Porto Romano which blocked approval of the EIA for the
Thermo Electrical Power Plant in Porto Romano.
Ekolevizja also developed alternatives for dealing with
environmental problems in cooperation with other actors.
Ÿ Study on the problems of Tirana Lake and its management plan.
Ÿ Study on the problems of hills around Tirana and proclaiming
them to have special protected landscape status.
Ÿ Best experiences - wetlands in Tirana River for the cleaning of
sewerage water from local population living nearby.
Ÿ Training of journalists on investigative journalism and their
involvement in publishing many articles on environmental issues.
What all of these aforementioned topics have in common is the
explicit or implicit involvement of government officials. Most
national newspapers are closely linked to political parties and
therefore will not report on environmental issues when
representatives of that party are involved. Even so, Ekolevizja
Group has advocated economic development based on sustainable
use of natural resources.
The effort of the EkoLevizja group to press for more democratic
and transparent procedures in environmental decision-making is
clearly striking a chord. On the occasion of Urban World Day, Eko
Levizja received the '2004 Albanian Leadership for Civil Society'
award. And in winter 2010 Ekolevizja was recognized by Bells
movement as Environment Ambassador.
(27
III. Strategies
Examples of different strategies used by environmental
organizations
Environmental organizations and networks are not very wealthy
and in most cases are non-violent. Their strategies are mostly
based on communication, mobilization, influencing law
development, stimulating law-enforcement, and policy making.
Within these four areas, one can distinguish a range of possible
sub-strategies, from cooperative to confrontational. One
environmentalist organization can be a partner in a project with
government and business, while members from another
organization can chain themselves to a fence or have a sit-down
strike in front of a train containing nuclear waste. Sometimes this
creates conflicts within the movement because in the perception of
the public, it is 'the environmental movement', and not a network
of very different organizations.
It should be noted that there is no such thing as one good
strategy. Every cause needs its own mix of strategies and in every
society cultural differences will determine whether a strategy is
useful or not. What is important to say is that building trust and
good relations with stakeholders can take many years, but they
can be destroyed in a day. This should be taken into account when
choosing the right strategy for a cause.
There are some historic examples of strategies that were
successful in certain cases.
Agenda setting
The best example of environmental agenda setting is Al Gore's film
and book, 'An inconvenient truth'. Gore was already famous for not
becoming president of the United States. He managed to put the
climate change issue at the top of the international agenda, mainly
by showing the hockey stick graphic showing the rapid rise of CO2
emissions causing Global warming. Later many attacks were made
on his credibility and that of the IPCC, and even the hockey stick
graphic was put up for discussion by so-called climate sceptics, but
the issue was definitely on the agenda.
The tools Gore used were celebrity, strong communication
(28
techniques, scientific support and focus on a serious global issue
Mobilizing the public against a multinational
While some specialists say it might have been the least harmful
for the environment if they had just dropped the Brent Spar oil
drilling platform into the sea at the time of the actions of
Greenpeace, this was a lost cause for Shell. Shell UK wanted to
sink the platform, still containing an amount of oil, into the deep
sea. Greenpeace decided in 1995 to oppose this and occupied the
platform for three weeks. The occupation made for exciting
television, and daily reports were broadcast by news stations all
over the world. Finally, Shell, convinced by the risk to its
reputation, and not because of environmental concerns, decided
not to dump the construction. Currently, parts of it are used in the
harbour of Stavanger in Norway. During the action, consumers
boycotted Shell, and Greenpeace gained an enormous amount of
positive publicity. The strategy can be characterized as a
confrontational mobilization campaign. The tools used were media
coverage, occupation and consumer mobilization.
Watchdog role:
Preventing road development by legal force
The Dutch government adopted Road 19 in the national highway
plan of 1957. It was a road between Delft and Schiedam
connecting The Hague with Rotterdam. Because of procedures
from local citizens and environmental organizations, the actual
development of the highway was blocked until 2006, when the
government decided to build the highway partly as a tunnel,
costing 700 million euros for 7 kilometers. Work is expected to
begin in 2011. The highway has opposition but also its own fan
club, 'Friends of the A4', (with about 12,000 members!) with their
own website accusing Milieudefensie of false information and
giving artists' impressions of the new road and counting the days
until the work will start. In this legal confrontational strategy,
Milieudefensie, in cooperation with local organizations, mainly
used media attention, and support to local organizations and their
legal rights to oppose to the highway.
(29
Supporting citizens' initiatives
A very positive but also difficult strategy is the mobilization of
citizens. Many methodologies have been developed to encourage
citizenparticipation. Partners of Milieukontakt have developed the
'Green Agenda' methodology. Green Agenda has two goals: on the
one hand, it is a participatory process through which common
agreement, communication and cooperation of various local actors
can be achieved;on the other hand, the outcome of the process is
equally important: an action plan to improve the quality of life by
means of sustainable development.
The method consists of 17 steps divided into 5 phases. The
coordinator and initiator of the process is a local civil society
organization (CSO). The main work is carried out by working
groups involving all the different sectors in a local community. The
working groups involve local stakeholders' representatives: local
authorities, companies, CSOs and individuals. Because it involves
a large number of participants, the process takes time. Depending
on the size of the community, number and size of working groups,
and motivation of the participants, results may be achieved within
10 to 18 months. It is a cyclical process: the ending of one
process does not necessarily mean the ending of Green Agenda.
It can also mean the beginning of the new cycle based on
previous experience and results. In that case, phase one is the
evaluation of the previous cycle. New citizens and participants can
be invited to the 'start-up meeting' of a new cycle, and existing
working groups can elaborate their values, or new working groups
can be established. In this way, Green Agenda can continue to
include citizens in the definition and implementation of a policy of
sustainable development in their community. It is important to
note that a Green Agenda document is an agreement among the
citizens and only bound by their limits of time and budget. It is
not a contract with an external party, with a deadline and financial
obligations.
In Albania, Green Agenda has been implemented in 3 communes:
Preza, Dajç and Voskopoja. Local stakeholders worked in thematic
working groups on, for instance, touristic potential, biodiversity
and cultural heritage, and formulated strategic plans as well as
short term pilot projects. PPNE of Shkodra, Albanian
Permaculture Association, Transborder Wildlife, EDEN trainers and (30
Milieukontakt supported them during this process. It was truly
inspirational to see how local communes were able to use a project
to build a bridge to the future: in Dajci, a new position was created
within the commune for preserving natural and cultural heritage,
in Preza tourists will be welcomed by trained guides and
information panels on the main sites of interest, and in Voskopoja
a new recreational area was created in the center of the
commune. All of these things, and many more, will remain and will
serve as stepping stones for future sustainable development of
these beautiful communes.
Showing examples of good practice
Sometimes, when there seem to be many real or virtual barriers to
solutions of environmental problems, setting an example may be a
good idea. In 1996, Greenpeace developed the SmILE, to
demonstrate how fuel efficient a car can be. The name stands for
"Small, Intelligent, Light, Efficient'. De Kleine Aarde in the
Netherlands is an example of the previously described 'exemplary
organizations' whose mission is to demonstrate solutions to
policymakers and public. Milieukontakt applied this strategy in
working on obsolete pesticides. After many years of debate on the
issue of obsolete pesticides in former Soviet countries, there
seemed to be a deadlock, in the sense that many talked about
solutions but no-one really acted. Together with two experts,
Milieukontakt initiated a program to inventory, collect and repack
obsolete pesticides, with model projects in Moldova, Georgia and
Kyrgyzstan. These examples showed that although it was not easy,
repackaging was possible without the input of more than two or
three western experts.
Being in charge
Nature organizations often buy pieces of land to add them to their
network of natural areas. This puts them in charge of protection of
the area and less dependent on government decisions or the
cooperation of private owners.
Awareness raising
Almost all organizations have some kind of awareness raising
(31
strategy. Sometimes it is just awareness raising on the problems
the organization is working on, which could even be called agenda
setting. In other cases organizations really try to make people
conscious of the effects of their behaviour on the environment.
Most times it is best to organize awareness raising on very
concrete solutions, like prevention of the use of too much water,
waste or energy. Awareness raising for the longer term, like
adoption of a sustainable life style, has to do more with
environmental education, which also is a widely applied strategy.
The effects of awareness raising are often hard to measure,
especially when it is a long term goal.
When they were first established, the main scope of the activities
of Albanian civil society organizations on environment was to
increase awareness of the need for environmental protection.
Organizations have increased in numbers, specialized and
diversified their scopemore towards lobbying, protection of natural
resources and development of strategic plans. Although there is a
tendency to cooperate with (eco-friendly) businesses, the main
role and support continues to be on environmental education and
awareness raising.
Blaming and shaming
Through advertisements, articles, and radio commercials,
environmental organizations sometimes draw the attention of the
public to a company that is behaving badly for the environment.
Supermarkets that sell very cheap meat from industrial farms and
energy companies building coal fueled installations are examples.
It is best to practice this strategy only after a long process of
negotiation in which you impress the opposite party with the
possibility of negative publicity, or even legal action, if it is not
willing to change its policy.
Combining lobbying and campaigning
Both lobbying and campaigning are employed by many
organizations. WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth all have
organized famous campaigns for or against a certain subject. A
good campaign needs a clear marketing strategy that defines
goals and target groups, and includes professional use of media.
Sometimes a scandal or disaster helps to put a campaign at the
(32
centre of attention.
It is wise to combine campaigning with lobbying, because if
attention is high, politicians will move. Lobbying is a form of
organized and conscious influencing of decision makers by giving
them good arguments at the right time. This requires knowledge
of the playing field and being present when necessary. This means
that you have to be there almost all the time because you can
never pick the right moment. A good Albanian example is the
Project Strengthening Albanian Civil Society for an Improved
Environment. For the first time in Albania, environmental sector
NGOs and specialists came together and developed a position
paper on specific issues (water, waste, air pollution and public
participation). In the paper, they stated conclusions and gave
specific recommendations to address problems and offered
alternatives. These position papers have been developed by a
multi stakeholders group and have been consulted and agreed
upon by many organizations. Finally, the position papers were
endorsed by government institutions as the result of a national
campaign. "Act Now - For an improved environment" was a slogan
that brought together 15 NGOs in direct awareness raising
activities. In addition, many other individuals were approached,
ranging from LGUs and ministries to companies and citizens. Due
to very good internal coordination of the campaign team and
cooperation with other initiatives, the campaign reached out
successfully to a large audience of different target groups and
managed to achieve much in terms of awareness raising,
involvement in decision making and concrete actions.
Clever organizations apply a mixture of strategies. This means
you need different kinds of people with different skills. It is always
good to know a lobbyist or to have one of your own. Some
enthusiastic practical people are always needed for organization
and support. A clever campaigner is often needed, and legal
experts are always good to have around. Also, you have to know
the experts on all the topics you work on because if you are
successful, journalists and decision makers will test your
credibility on the subject at hand.
(33
IV. Capacity building for the environment
Being an environmentalist working for a civil society
organization requires many skills. Management,
communication, environment, urban planning, energy,
water, and law are only some of the issues you encounter
in daily CSO life. Often people with love for nature get lost
in projects, reports, meetings and finances, spending much
more time behind the computer than in the field. Capacities
need to be maintained and developed. This also goes for
the organization as a whole.
There are, roughly speaking, three ways to develop capacities
within civil society organizations.
The first is to attract them from outside. If you do not have good
financial skills, get a professional involved, either paid or as a
volunteer. Many educated people are willing to spend some time
for civil society organizations as long as they are respected for
what they do and have a certain freedom in the way they do it.
The second way to improve skills is through the maintenance of an
education budget for volunteers and professionals to give them
the opportunity to develop their skills in an external course or an
in- house training.
The third possibility is to develop a supporting structure within the
CSO network that facilitates training and learning. In many
countries, Milieukontakt supported the development of such a
structure in the form of trainers' teams providing different training
events.
Methodology
Members and employees of civil society organizations are often
highly educated professionals in their field. They bring a lot of
knowledge and experience to each meeting. Another important
aspect is a kind of eagerness to be practical and to work towards
results. Thirdly, there is a strong tradition of equality and informal
relations within the CSO movement for the environment.
These three elements impose certain requirements for
methodologies used in training sessions.
(34
Participative learning
In the development of capacities within CSO networks,
Milieukontakt uses a strong participatory approach based on the
adult learning cycle of Kolb and introduced to us by Simon van
Koolwijk from Facilicom Consult. (www.facili.nl)
The cycle:
1. Direct Experience
2. Reflecting on
Experience
4. Application
3. Generalization about
Experience
In the vision of Kolb, learning is the transformation of information
into useful knowledge. The learning cycle requires the learner to
progress through four different phases of the learning process.
Effective learning requires the ability to apply the things you learn
in phase 3, where you form principles based on your analysis in
phase 2 of an experience you had at phase 1. This does not come
easily for everyone, especially those who are used to learning from
lectures. Adult learning requires the active participation of the
learner in the learning process. The role of the trainer, then, is to
help the learner through this process of learning. A good trainer
must have the competence to understand what goes on at each
phase and to facilitate the learning process.
Another important aspect of the participative learning methodology
is that participants in training learn from each other, most times
more than they learn from the trainer, who has more of a
facilitating role and who analyzes and summarizes in the
generalization phase what happened within the group. In each
session, each phase has its own specific goals and working
methods.
Experience
Participants have an experience or remember experiences
(35
connected to the subject at hand. Sometimes the experience is
created, for example, in a role play, or when the trainer asks
participants to remember an experience they had. The experiences
are communicated within the group.
Reflection
Participants reflect on what happened in the exercise and discuss
the subject. The trainer asks question like, "What did you observe
in the role play, how was it like when you had this experience, what
reactions did you get?".
Generalization
The subject is taken to a higher level. Participants share their
vision on the subject and the trainer provides a broader context.
Sometimes the trainer or an experienced participant gives a lecture
with theoretic background referring to literature on the subject.
Application
In an exercise, participants apply the acquired knowledge.
Since 2005, several training
The Milieukontakt International
modules have been
Trainers’ Team is a network of
developed within the
trainers specialized in participatory
Milieukontakt
methods that seeks to achieve a
International trainers' team
sustainable world through
MITT. All modules are based empowering civil society. Its vision is
on a number (6 to 10) of
a proactive and responsible civil
sessions going through the
society with a noticeable impact in
learning cycle.
the achievement of a sustainable
Green Agenda
Milieukontakt developed the
Green Agenda method as a
way to guide the process of
involvement of citizens in
shaping a sustainable future
for their community. The
method is laid down in an
world. Members of the trainers’ team
are trained and selected on the basis
of a shared level of trainers’ qualities,
methodology and approach. Based on
shared skills and values, the new
curricula are developed within the
network and offered as trainings to
interested partners. The trainers of
the network come from more than 6
countries in Europe and Central Asia.
(36
extensive handbook, first developed in Croatia, which gives a
step-by-step introduction to the whole process. Since 2000,
Green Agenda projects have been initiated with success in about
25 communities in 4 countries. In the period 2007-2010, 18
communities in the Western Balkans went through a Green Agenda
process with support from Milieukontakt and the MITT.
Public Participation
This training course is designed to give CSOs on local and subnational levels the tools to participate in decision making processes
concerning the environment. It is based on the pillars of the Arhus
Convention, without focusing primarily on the jargon or the legal
instruments. The training is organized around a central role-play of
an (imaginary) environmental conflict.
Result Based Programming
When you design a project or program, you usually have a lot of
dreams of what should be achieved. In the process of translating
your dreams for a sustainable future into concrete results, it is
important to plan well and to already plan for monitoring moments
in which you can assess whether the project/program is still on
track. This is often forgotten, or seen as yet another donor
obligation. However, quality monitoring will provide you with
excellent input to improve your performance and, better yet,
afterwards prove this to your target groups and donors.
In this two-day training course, participants learn how to develop
a result based program, based on the 10-steps Result Based
Monitoring and Evaluation model used by the World Bank.
Participants learn how to design a basic result based monitoring
and evaluation plan.
Mediation
Conflicts are part of daily life when working for civil society. Within
the organization, the network and with stakeholders outside the
network, you run the risk of being in conflict. In the mediation
practice, methods have been developed to manage conflicts and
mediate between conflicting parties. During the training,
participants experience their own role in conflicts and play the role (37
of mediator. The training is an introduction. Becoming a mediator
will require much more knowledge and skills that can be learned in
other courses.
Tailor-made Facilitation
Trainers from MITT can facilitate meetings of clients, assessing the
goals and output of the meeting in close contact with the client,
adding facilitation tools and participatory discussion methods to
arrive at good results.
Curriculum development
This training teaches you about your own preferential learning
style as a trainer and how to recognize the learning styles of other
group members. The training provides insight on how to set up
curricula that will cater to the needs of participants with various
learning styles. The theoretical background of this training is
provided by the Learning Cycle of Kolb. It teaches participants
how to set up sessions step-by-step and develop a training with
several sessions. This training is obligatory for all MITT members.
Project Proposal Writing
In our experience it is not always easy to structure your thoughts
when writing a project proposal at the last possible moment.
However, a good proposal is not only the key to getting that welldeserved grant, but also to successful project implementation.
During the training participants are guided through the different
phases of project proposal writing. Participants are trained to write
a successful project proposal going through all phases of writing,
starting with problem analysis, goal setting, strategy
development, and formulating a management and monitoring
plan.
Most of the training modules were applied in Albania and several,
such as result based programming and mediation, were developed
in close cooperation between Albanian and Dutch trainers from the
MITT.
(38
V. How to finance the movement
Description of funding strategies
Financial sustainability has always been and will always be an
issue for civil society working on environment and nature. This
applies to the established organizations as well as to the volunteer
groups on the grass roots level. There are roughly three sources
of financial means:
1. Government support
2. Private money
3. Own generated income
It is important to note that dependency on only one source of
income is bad for the sustainability of a civil society organization.
In the case of government funding, policies may change overnight
and budget lines disappear. Private funders can get tired of your
organization once the innovativeness is gone or when you have
bad publicity. Depending fully on own generated income makes
your organization a business and puts you out of the realm of civil
society. Also, within one of the three categories it is important to
spread the risk and have funding from different governments and
budget lines, support from business and many private donors, and
to have several different partners you work for.
Within the three main categories we can define several sub
categories:
1. Governments
a. Project based financing
b. Institutional funding
c. Tenders
d. Assignments
2. Private money
e. Private donors
f. Lotteries
g. Sponsoring
h. Private funds
3. Own generated income
I. Selling services or products
j. Trust Fund
(39
Government: project based financing
Project based financing is often based on government budget
lines with open calls for proposals. CSOs submit proposals for
projects according to the criteria set by the call. Often these calls
are answered by many more organizations than can be granted.
This means that if you want to succeed you have to follow some
more or less basic rules:
1. Always follow the terms of reference exactly; do not try to be
too creative or you will be kicked out of the procedure for not
following the rules.
2. Behind the terms of reference there is a policy. Try not only to
follow the rules but also the policy behind it. For example,
sometimes a budget line is presented as development
cooperation towards meeting the development goals but turns
out to be an export promotion tool.
3. It is always good to know the people behind the budget and
those who are responsible for the policy behind it. Although
many times procedures are fair and transparent, sometimes it
helps....
4. Be careful with what you promise, both in the results and the
budget. At the end, a project may have cost the organization
more than it brings.
Advantages
Disadvantages
There is a certain freedom in
developing your own
proposal.
It keeps you innovative and
sharp.
Selection criteria are
sometimes not very clear.
Projects force you to make
strategy, goals, work plan
and budget explicit.
Financial support is
temporary, so it is hard to
create sustainability based on
projects.
Most times project results
are made explicit because
they have to be reported
and evaluated.
Some funders expect you to
have impossible results in a
one year project.
It is a lot of work with limited
chance of success.
(40
Projects force you to have
sound management and
external control of your
finances.
Many funders do not allow
fees much higher than the
ones you need to survive as
an organization.
Your financ ing is depending
on government decisions.
The project cycle brings a lot
of uncertainty and makes
long term strategy difficult
for your organization.
Examples
Project financing is currently one of the main sources of
government funding for civil society.
Governments: Institutional funding
Although nowadays they are hard to find, sometimes organizations
are supported in a structural way by government sources. Based
on an annual work plan and report, the organization receives
institutional funding. This is a good basis and gives sustainability,
especially if the support is guaranteed for many years. On the
other hand, a civil society organization supported in this way is
very much dependent on the source and may lose its
independence. Another risk of this kind of funding is the fact that
one can get used to being financed this way and you do not realize
the luxury of such an arrangement. One day the government may
change its policy and financial means are cut or even disappear.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Financial sustainability of
your organization.
Dependence on the source of
financing.
Good basis for development
of other financial resources.
Sometimes the government
applies certain rules, like not
allowing the establishment of
a financial reserve for your
organization.
Possibility to develop and
implement a long-term
strategy.
(41
Examples
The EU DG environment has a budget line for European Networks on
Environment. These networks can apply annually for core funding to
support office costs and some staff. In the early years of its existence,
Milieukontakt International had an annual budget per country,
provided by the Ministry of Environment. But usually that means that
those that apply can by the Ministry of Environment. But usually that
means that those that apply can profit from this budget line and
NGOs that are part of the network will be financially supported for
attending meetings or developing strategies. There is an awareness
of ENGOs from the Balkan region to decentralize this type of budget
onthe local level, which has been articulated as establishing a core
funding programme in DG Environment for environmental NGOs from
the candidate and potential candidate countries with the aim of
supporting implementation of the EU environmental acquisition.
Governments: Tenders
When governments have projects or assignments they want to have
implemented, they often put out a tender. This is a more or less
clearly defined assignment on which organizations or consortia can
reflect. In many cases there are several rounds. First you send in
your c.v.s and organization description and portfolio. A short list is
made of five to three organizations that can apply. Then according
to certain criteria, one organization is chosen for negotiation,
mostly on the basis of price.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Applying is often easier
than with project proposals,
because of the short listing.
There is even more
competition than with project
proposals. Many businesses
apply and in many cases, as
with the World Bank,
competition is worldwide.
Reporting is in most cases
much easier than with
project funding.
Often you deal with shortterm assignments and you
have little influence on the
content.
Sometimes you can have a
reasonable or even high fee.
Sometimes you don’t know
the amount and limit yourself
.
(42
Often there are a lot of
papers and forms to be filled
in. Once you have applied, it
is easier the next time.
Examples
International Institutions like the Word Bank and EBRD have
regular tenders. Also, Sida has a programme/policy of going
through tenders. Many national institutions apply this method.
Governments: assignments
When it is below a certain amount, governments do not have to
tender for an assignment but can directly give it to an
organization. This can be anything: research, stakeholder analysis
or involvement, training, facilitation or just participation in a
conference. Be aware that there are often possibilities within the
government budget for financing these kinds of arrangements.
When you are asked to participate in a meeting, there may be a
financial benefit attached.
Again, in doing this kind of work, be careful about your
independence. Doing a lot of these assignments makes you a
consultant and may drive you away from the mission of your
organization.
In Albania the government budget for supporting organizations is
very low or even non-existent. The Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Water Administration (MoEFWA) does not have a budget for
such assignments for NGOs. Ekolevizja movement, in its attempts
to institutionalize communication with MoEFWA through a MoU, has
asked for a budget for (parts of) projects, (different projects that
Ministry is implementing) to be allocated to NGOs for awareness
raising, or organizing campaigns, etc.
Advantages
Disadvantages
The content is entirely
determined by the
government giving the
assignment.
Good negotiation skills can
make for good payment.
If you are successful you
may lose your status as a
civil society organization.
Taxes may be different for
this kind of work.
(43
It might be a start for new
assignments.
Examples
Sometimes fees are paid for joining a meeting or participating in
an advisory board. You can organize a stakeholder meeting or an
information campaign.
Private money: Private Donors
All big environmental organizations have private supporters,
citizens who pay an amount each year to support the
organization's mission. During the past decade, annual support
shifted more towards specific support per campaign. This financial
source has two big advantages: First, the supporters may bring an
enormous amount of money together; secondly, they give your
organization legitimacy. The Dutch organizations for nature and
environment have around 4,000,000 supporters altogether, which
makes them well respected and a political force. The back side of
financial source is that you need a strong marketing department to
attract all the supporters. Sometimes these kinds of organizations
develop into a big marketing machine, gaining lots of supporters
but putting less emphasis on the 'product' they have to deliver.
Marketing can also be outsourced to professionals who are not part
of your organization. It also can limit your policy because with
more supporters you have to be more mainstream and less critical
of certain policies, for example, sensitive issues like mobility and
car use.
Organizations also have to beware of scandals or a damaged
reputation. If the money from donations is not spent well, or
supporters have that impression, your income and support may
drop considerably. Many countries evaluate and grade these kinds
of organizations, so that supporters can rely on the fact that the
money is well spent.
Organizing events, like dinners, fairs, flea markets, benefit
concerts, etc., are ways to get private money from the market.
Another method is to collect money on the streets or door-to-door,
a work intensive method that can bring in a huge amount of money
In Albania there is no culture of philanthropy in the environment
sector. There is a good example: SOS Kinderdorf village whose
main core funding is from private donations (Albanian and
international), but this is a charity service.
(44
Advantages
Disadvantages
Independence.
Requires good investment in
marketing of your
organization and mission.
Supporters mean money and
power.
Every private donor will need
investment that is paid back
after two or more years.
The strategy combines
fundraising with visibility of
your organization.
You have to be even more
careful about your corporate
image than you already are.
Examples
The Live Aid concert on July 2007 is a spectacular example, charity
dinners for the AIDs victims, collections for animal welfare.
Private money: Lotteries
Lotteries are very popular and combined with charity make
gambling a feel-good option. In the Netherlands, in 2011 the
Postcode Lottery supported 83 organizations with 2.070 million
euros. The lottery was established by the former marketing
manager of NOVIB, the biggest development cooperation
organization in the country. For some people, the whole marketing
strategy supporting a lottery in which you can win such prizes as
cars and flight tickets to exotic places to support the poor and
needy is a bit contradictory. The lotteries reply that people gamble
anyway, so they might as well be gambling for a good cause.
To become a beneficiary of a lottery, certain conditions apply and
good connections may help. When you are in, it is a nice
contribution to your annual budget. This may be an area that
Albanian NGOs can explore and should use in the future.
Advantages
Disadvantages
It is (often a lot of) private
money with not too much
administration attached.
You have to accept the rules
of the marketing department
of the lottery.
(45
Example
Postcode Lottery, Netherlands
Private money: Sponsoring
There are many ways companies can sponsor a civil society
organization. Sponsoring may be connected to a product or
service. For every SMS sent, your organization may receive
0.000005 eurocent from the phone company, or for every female
product, you help a mother in Uganda, an example of cause related
marketing. Another way is free of charge services, equipment or
products; for example, a Dutch organization organizes an annual
day for a good cause, when employees from business do something
for your organization. Sometimes a local company donates the use
of a tractor or caterpillar for a day. Supermarkets daily give tons of
food to the food banks in many countries. The bank transfers the
food to people in need. Other examples of sponsoring are (the big)
companies that donate money for activities or facilities like an
education centre or an office. Some tips:
Ÿ Be specific and clear about your proposition.
Ÿ Treat the sponsor well but do not exaggerate.
Ÿ Give a good visual report so the sponsor can demonstrate
success.
Ÿ Make sure it is a success.
Ÿ Do not bring in long stories, proposals or reports.
Ÿ Your idea must be fresh and connected to the mission of the
company.
Advantages
Disadvantages
If you have the right
connections, it is easy to
realize.
It doesn’t require a lot of
reporting.
It needs a lot of networking,
i.e. time investment.
You can get things done
that may cost a lot of
money.
Sometimes the time
investment is so high that it
is cheaper to pay for the
service.
You must be able to leave
behind your ‘project
language’ and communicate
on the same level with the
sponsor.
(46
Example
If you buy certain female hygiene products from Libresse, you
support Sudanese girls' school attendance through Oxfam/Novib,
WWF and a huge energy producer cooperated in the promotion of
green energy.
Private money: Private funds
Many rich people want to do something good with their money,
either while they are still alive or after they die. Sometimes
millions are put in a special fund with a certain mission. Again,
these funds have criteria and you must apply with project
proposals to get in. These kinds of funds are also established by
banks, companies and religious institutions.
Advantages
Disadvantages
In many cases these funds
are less bureaucratic.
It is often hard to get in.
Examples
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Soros Foundation,
Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation.
Own generated income: Selling services or products
Civil society organizations often have capacities or brands that
can be capitalized on, or, in the best sense of the term, exploited.
If you are good at stakeholder involvement or analysis, have
experts on law, climate change or water, you can easily transfer
information through a national network or have a bulletin that has
a lot of exposure, other parties may be interested paying for
these products or services. The Dutch organization for the
Wadden Sea used to put their logo on all kinds of shirts, towels,
cups, books and many other products that were at one time quite
popular and made good money. Others sell their capacity in legal
affairs or urban planning.
Adoption is a fairly new product. People can adopt a tree, chicken,
gorilla or any other kind of animal and pay an amount to support
its survival.
(47
Advantages
Disadvantages
Profit on products and
services is money that is
free to spend on other
activities.
If you make too much profit
you may be regarded as a
business, which can bring
certain disadvantages.
Products with your logo can
give broad visibility to your
organization.
Products need investment.
You have to buy and store
them. The investment may
weigh heavily on your
financial balance.
Services can give you entry
to, and knowledge of, other
networks.
If you work on services for
more than 50%, you may
consider becoming a
consultancy.
Examples
The organization for the Dutch Wadden Sea used to apply this
strategy, WWF has a shop and fun page where you can buy books,
calendars and videos, the Dutch Stichting Aarde was very
successful with the action 'trees for cows', where people could
adopt a tree to provide shade for cows in the field.
Own generated income: Live on interest
If you put a huge amount of money in the bank, you can raise
interest. If you have 10 million euros at 5% interest, you have
500,000 euros to spend annually. Some organizations really are
this fortunate.
Advantages
Disadvantages
The allocation of this money
is entirely up to the board.
You cannot use the money
that is in the bank.
Take care that the m oney is
invested in decent causes.
Donors will regard you as a
rich organization.
(48
V. Essential aspects of an effective civil society
for the environment
Lessons learned in Albania and other countries
All that is precious is defenceless', according to a Dutch poet.
Civil society concern for environment and nature is uncertain. In
the end it depends heavily on the motivation and willingness of
citizens to contribute to this cause. Civil society organizations are
small and do not have huge financial reserves. And since we are
non-profit organizations, the ability to run a proper business is
not a core capacity.
On the other hand, in many countries civil society has been
active for 20 to 50 years. If there is no money coming in,
volunteers take over certain functions and keep the organizations
going, and every now and then, new organizations and initiatives
emerge, and of course organizations disappear. Sustainability of
civil society on environment and nature is not directly related to
financial sustainability. It is related to the sustainability of
citizens' commitment to the cause. This commitment, in turn, is
related to awareness of the necessity of a healthy environment
and a consciousness about the intrinsic or extrinsic values of
nature.
It is also apparent that governments need civil society in their
dialogue with society. In a participative democracy you need
stakeholders with the capacity to represent citizens and 'give a
voice to that which has no voice', like nature and environment.
Finally, when things get out of hand because of bad policy or the
irresponsible behaviour of authorities, citizens or companies, and
the quality of the environment, peoples' health and livelihood are
threatened, citizens will organize themselves to defend their
environment.
This being said, it is evident that civil society on environment and
nature will always have limited resources and instruments. This
makes the need for effective use of these resources all the more
important.
At the end of this book we provide some recommendations.
(49
1.
Respect the diversity and the network character of civil society
and do not try to control it from one central body. All
experience in this field turns out to be counterproductive
because of the rise of conflicts about who is in charge and
what strategy should be followed within the network.
2.
Develop a support structure for the organizations. This
structure must be service oriented and deserve its role and
status through added value for the organizations. The role of
the structure can be the organization of network meetings,
facilitating training and education and delivery of services on
demand, like human resource management, interim
management and legal advice. The service does not need
many employees; resources can be taken from organizations
within the network. In this case, the structure is more a
broker between parties than a service centre.
3.
Develop a strong membership base. Members make your
organization and network financially and politically stronger
and form the connection with society. Feedback from members
can tell you whether or not you are on the right track.
4.
Be very conscious of your corporate and network image. You
may be critical but should always be reliable. If you are
working for a (good) cause you must practice what you preach
or have a very good and understandable reason if you don't.
Communication is very tricky. To gain members or subsidies,
you have to promise tangible results. But if you promise too
much you will be confronted with your failure in the long run.
5.
Be sure that the basics in (financial) management are well
organized so that no money of funders, members or sponsors
is lost because of failing management, bad or no decision
making, lengthy meetings and useless conferences.
6.
Keep looking for allies within and outside your own network.
Civil society organizations can hardly achieve results all by
themselves. A nice campaign or an educational activity is
easily organized, but will make little difference if they are not
part of a bigger picture including several powerful
stakeholders in society.
(50
7.
Organize your lobby in parliament on local, national and
international levels if you want to influence decision making.
Some civil society networks have permanent representatives
on the national and international levels and are well known in
their communities.
8.
The diversity of the movement is both its strength and its
weakness. Mixed strategies in influencing policies and gaining
(financial) support are in almost all cases advisable.
After ten years of supporting network activities in Albania, there
are some specific recommendations for civil society on nature and
environment in the country.
1.
Although international financial sources may gradually
disappear, it would be of great value if the organizations
manage to maintain the spirit of cooperation and the
openness in discussions that has been developed.
2.
It cannot be stressed enough: Build up a membership base
for your organizations and the network as a whole. Albania
does not have a strong tradition in this sense, but in the
future membership will be a necessity to sustain organizations
and a network. The fact that there is no tradition can also be
an opportunity; it is new and probably the market is not yet
overloaded with competition.
A growing middle class with the need for a healthy
environment, clean river banks and beaches may also open
up opportunities. Just start small and try hard!
3.
Diversify your financial support. Currently the international
community is the main source of finances for Albanian civil
society. In the coming years this source may become rather
small, so other sources have to be explored.
4.
Find cooperation in environment monitoring, data collection,
research /investigation, and share this information among
each other.
5.
Communicate your actions to media, the public and
authorities in order to be visible in society.
(51
6.
Form the experience on position papers into a tradition in
development of common positions on specific issues, thus
uniting and strengthening the voice of civil society to
maintain your influence on the decision making process.
7.
Develop and include expertise on sustainable alternatives for
government policy.
8.
Keep including relevant stakeholders on hot issues to make
these problems and their solutions common concerns that
require common solutions.
9.
Use mechanisms and programs to actively participate in
drafting and implementing environmental legislation, and join
initiatives undertaken to adapt current Albanian legislation to
EU directives.
10. Keep on connecting the (inter)national level with local
initiatives and vice versa.
11. Promote community participation in environmental protection
through environmental direct actions.
(52
Literature
Ÿ Blueprint for survival, Edward Goldsmith and Robert Allen
Publisher Ecosystems Ltd. Publication , 1972
Ÿ Limits to growth, Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows,
Jørgen Randers, William W. Behrens III, English Publisher
Universe Books Publication , 1972 Pages 205 ISBN 087663-165-0 OCLC Number 307838
Ÿ Toward an applied theory of experiential learning. Kolb. D.
A. and Fry, R. (1975) in C. Cooper (ed.) Theories of Group
Process, London: John Wiley
Ÿ Silent Spring, Rachel Carson Country United States
Language English Subject(s) Environmentalism Publisher
Houghton Mifflin Publication date 27 September 1962
Ÿ Strategies of Dutch Environmental Organizations; Ozone
Depletion, Acidification and Climate Change, Pleune, R.,
Department of Science, Technology and Society, Utrecht
University, Utrecht, 1997, pp. 188 (NW&S No. 97055, ISBN
No. 90 5727 016 1).
Ÿ Environment and democracy in the Czech Republic: the
environmental movement in the transition process by Adam
Fagan, 2004. Elgar, vi + 195 pp. ISBN 1-85898-876-4
Ÿ Money for Earth, J. Haverkamp, M. Verheije, D.Schwarz,
Milieukontakt Oost Europa, 1995
Ÿ Fondswerving, mogelijkheden en instrumenten, J.Donner,
C.Groot, De 12 provinciale Milieufederaties 1998
Ÿ Communication Networks: Toward a New Paradigm for
Research. Rogers, E.M. & Kincaid, D.L. New York: Free Press
(1981).
(53
Authors and acknowledgements
Jerphaas Donner (1961) is director of Milieukontakt International
since 2000. In 1994 he managed his first support
project in Cracow Poland while he was
communication expert and fundraiser for a
provincial umbrella organization on environment
in the Province of Overijssel in The Netherlands.
Before that he worked as a campaign and
communications officer. He is a social scientist with a
specialization in network development. Furthermore he is active
as a trainer and advisor of networks of environmental
organizations in more than 20 countries.
Valbona Mazreku (1972) works for Milieukontakt Albania since
2000 as director of the Milieukontakt office in
Albania. She is president of Ekolevizja Network in
Albania. During the past decade she supported
the development of the Albanian NGO network on
nature and environment as a coordinator and a
trainer. She was initiator, manager and motivating
force in the projects ’’Green Agenda in Albania’’ and
’’Strengthening the Albanian Civil; Society for an Improved
Environment’’ (SACSIE).
This book would not have been written without the support of:
Jac. H. de Raat, translation
Sandra Molenkamp, project manager Milieukontakt international
Rrezearta Ago, project manager Milieukontakt Albania
Valmira Kallushi, financial manager Milieukontakt Albania
The Royal Netherlands Embassy in Tirana, main supporter of the
Sacsie project.
(54