The modern environmental NGO is an organisation that features heavily in the news nowadays, especially around times of major environmental conferences or disasters. But what do they actually do? Are they simply groups of concerned environmentalists who organise demonstrations, climb aboard oil tankers and talk to news anchors, or do they run deeper than that?
This article will look at some of today’s organisations and assess if they really are a force for change, explaining how they work, and what they do. There is often a vaguely hidden sneer on the face of others when the names of environmental NGOs are invoked, but no matter one’s feelings toward them, they cannot be ignored. There have been whole books written on this subject, so please bear in mind that this is simply a rough guide.
What is an NGO?
First of all, environmental NGOs are those organisations we are always hearing about in the media, often in connection with environmental conflict. Some of them we know very well, such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and The Union of Concerned Scientists. Others are a bit more of a surprise, for instance The Christian Ecology Link or even the Women’s Institute – who do run a number of environmental campaigns. NGO stands for Non-Governmental Organisation. As the name would suggest, an NGO is not affiliated to any government. They do work with governments, but unlike QUANGOS (quasi non-governmental organisations) they are rarely called upon to advise the policy makers and make a point of not being too closely associated with the state. NGOs are also non-profit organisations; any surplus cash that is generated may be distributed to others, but not to themselves.
NGOs operate on numerous different levels and are massively varied in their size and operation. The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), for example, is a global NGO with offices and volunteers operating in many different countries and tackling numerous campaigns simultaneously. Others are UK-based organisations with probably very few full-time staff and only fighting a very limited number of campaigns.
Pigeonholing an NGO can be quite a difficult task as the boundaries can sometimes become confused. For example if an NGO is called upon to advise an MP, at what point does it become a QUANGO? Can other non-profit, non-governmental organisations, such as the Church of England or the Labour Party, be classified as NGOs? Or at what point does a one-man operation, trying to stop a housing development while working out of a backroom office become an NGO?
Whilst the above questions may be relelvnt, they are not essential. Whether or not an NGO is labelled as such will not stop it doing the job at hand. In the case of environmental NGOs, this will be in connection with an environmental issue, be it global climate change or the expansion of a small domestic airport.
What do they do?
The scope of what an NGO actually does is very broad indeed, but in essence an NGO will “try to influence the policies of target organisations” [1]. These target organisations will include: governments, multinational corporations and local authorities. Once a target organisation and campaign has been chosen, say for example an effort to stop deforestation in Brazil, the NGO will begin an advocacy campaign. This is basically another way saying that you want to persuade somebody else to do something that you feel is right and just. An advocacy campaign uses various tools and methods, which I will cover later on.
The types of policy that environmental NGOs will attempt to influence are those that they see are resulting in an adverse effect on the environment or the creation of new policies that would halt an existing practice that is having a deleterious effect. For example, the former may be a campaign to change the policy of allowing oil companies to prospect for oil in Alaska or the Gulf of Mexico. The latter may be the creation of a legally binding agreement to lower carbon emissions; The Kyoto Protocol or the Climate Change act, to name but a few. NGOs will also get involved in single stand-alone incidents, one of the most famous being the Brent Spa episode in the 1990’s. This incident is well-known for a number of reasons: it saw David (Greenpeace) beat Goliath (Shell); it was a milestone in regards to environmental conflict and media coverage; and in the end, large portions of the Greenpeace scientific research was proved wrong, but the outcome remained the same.
Are NGOs really powerful enough to influence policy making?
Usually the power that an NGO can wield will be relative to its size (but not always). If power is measured as simply an account of the resources you have at your disposal, from where do NGOs get their power? To begin with, they are very good at networking. This network may include politicians; businesses; celebrities; members of the voting – and consuming – public; and of course other NGOs. In many of the larger campaigns NGOs will come together to form an alliance or a collation for the duration, disbanding when the campaign has run its course. A good example of an NGO coalition is the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition [2], this fluidity of allies and the ability to quickly strike up alliances is a major asset to all NGOs.
An effective NGO will also be competent at dealing with the media. This competence revolves around not just the most effective means of utilising this tool, but also making contacts and securing allies within the various media organisation.
Another very important asset for an environmental NGO is professional and scientific expertise. If an NGO is to lobby a targeted organisation, they will more often than not be well versed in the science and research behind what they are campaigning for or against.
So, we can see that NGOs are not just groups of people who have come together to demonstrate against what they feel is an unjust policy or practice. They are often well organised, well connected and well informed. But once they have assembled this power, how do they use it?
Tools of the NGO
Lobbying - This is probably the most common tool in an NGO’s toolbox. Lobbying is really a fancy name for harassing someone in a powerful position to get him or her to do what you want. For instance, I can go and lobby my MP if I want. To gain leverage with him, I will put my vote on the table and offer it to the MP if he does what I want him to, perhaps to vote for a certain bill in parliament. Naturally my vote being on the table is not explicitly so, just more of an unmentioned norm. When an NGO goes to the negotiating table, however, they have far more at their disposal than just a single constituent’s vote; although an MP who is lobbied by an NGO will be acutely aware that they do have influence over the vote of their members. As previously mentioned the NGO will have friends and allies, media contacts, scientific evidence and probably backing from a number of other professional bodies. All of this will be used as leverage to make the other person listen and hopefully act on what the NGO is lobbying for. Just a quick note here: It is not only environmental NGOs who lobby policy makers. The oil companies, car manufacturers, building developers and just about every other organisation with a stake in environmental policy with have well-trained, active lobbyists.
Direct action – This is the headline-catching method. Demonstrations form part of this method and are effective as mouthpieces to show the amount of support for a campaign. The other, rougher side to direct action is what Greenpeace are famous for. In this case direct action means getting involved in trying to change a harmful practice by actually, physically attempting to stop it. Swimming around in front of super tankers, pulling up GM crops, busting into airports, halting nuclear waste trains and ramming whaling ships are all forms or direct action. While this may be seen as simply a publicity stunt, it is nevertheless a very effective one as it burns the image into the minds of the public, and an image is a very powerful thing.
Boycotts - A slightly blunter weapon than direct action this one, but effective nonetheless. In terms of a politician, the boycott will come in the form of votes – or lack of them. If dealing with a politician he or she will be aware that what an NGO advocates can have a powerful effect. This includes whom to vote for. When dealing with a private company, the boycott will generally be of the company’s product. Boycotts will not just hit companies in their wallets; they may also damage the brand. In some cases, where the brand has been carefully nurtured and crafted over many years, this can hold more fear for a company that a temporary drop in profits. It’s worth noting here that NGOs can have particular influence over those organisations that are accountable to the public.
Scientific research - Many NGOs have their own scientists and will undertake new areas of research. Any new discoveries will be used as leverage to bring either bring targeted organisations round or ambush them – often in the media.
War of position - The war of position is little spoken about in the literature on NGOs, but it is nonetheless a valuable tool. The majority of an NGO’s work is on advocacy campaigns, lobbing target organisations and trying to influence environmental policy. Whether successful or not this constant presence of an NGO coupled with what it’s allies and supporters may or may not do will soon begin to feature in the plans of the policy makers. This is the war of position and it is a protracted long-term tool, which may be responsible for many multinational corporations seeing NGOs as a thorn in the side.
In summary then…
The next time you are out and somebody working for an NGO comes up and asks you for a few minuets of you time, please do feel free to tell them that you very busy shopping and don’t have time to be harassed for your hard-earned cash. However, do also bear in mind that the money they are trying to get from you will do some good and won’t simply be used to finance a demonstration or leaflet campaign. It will also go towards lobbying those with the power to make a difference or furthering scientific research. These guys do wield a bit of power from time to time and are well worth supporting if you don’t already.
There are a plethora of interesting and sometimes upsetting news articles on the work of environmental NGOs. If you want to learn more, do go and have a look at them. You will soon see that many campaigns do not have the desired effect, but every now and then we are told of a victory. It’s these little victories that justify the environmental NGO’s place in society and why we must not write them off as being useless. They are very far from it.
If this article has got you thinking about environmental issues then why not take a look around our selection of informative articles in our learning portal, or better yet ask us a question directly!
References
[1] Potter, D. (1996) Non-governmental organisations and environmental policy: Environmental Policy in an International Context. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Oxford.
