Environmental non-governmental organizations: key players in development in a changing climate—a case study of Mali

Blanket strategy: A response of environmental groups to the globalising forest industry

Blanket strategy: A response of environmental groups to the globalising forest industry

Local environmental information disclosure and environmental non-governmental organizations in Chinese prefecture-level cities

Environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs) and national governments are key players in the political sphere surrounding issues of climate change and sustainable development. The relationships between the discourse on “climate change” and “sustainable development” and ENGOs and the state in both Vietnam and Bolivia provides a critical look into the ways in which these issues are approached in two highly-vulnerable countries with different political regimes. Live & Learn, the Centre for Marinelife and Conservation, and PanNature were interviewed as ENGO case studies in Vietnam; and Grupo de Trabajo de Cambio Climatico y Justicia and Proinpa were interviewed as ENGO case studies in Bolivia. Comparing the discourse from the ENGO interviews and websites depicting the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s Law on the Protection of the Environment and Bolivia’s 2009 Political Constitution of the State elucidates the gaps left by state policies with regards to the needs of civil society in the context of climate change and sustainable development. The analysis also demonstrates the ways in which different regimes shape the culture of ENGOs and how this impacts climate change and sustainable development initiatives and action. Author’s Note I became interested in the relationship between environmental civil society organizations and government regimes while studying abroad through the School of International Training’s International Honors Program on Climate Change. As a self-proclaimed politics geek, I feel that for any significant movement, the relationship between government and civil society is essential to understanding how the different facets of the policy itself are shaped. In areas where the impacts of climate change are immediate and salient, particularly in the developing world where regimes are different from the United States, this relationship will be critical in the coming years for the process of adapting and responding to a changing Earth.

Sharing victories: Characteristics of collaborative strategies of environmental non-governmental organizations in Canadian marine conservation

The present case study examines whether international actors constitute an obstacle or opportunity for environmental campaigns against the siting of controversial facilities. Drawing upon field research carried out in Beijing, China, from 4 March until 10 April 2013, this article investigates the siting of the Nangong waste incinerator between the project’s announcement (2010) and conclusion of planning (2013). Specifically, this article studies the relations between a group of local environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) and the German state-owned development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau while grounding its inquiry in propositions based on a reading of fragmented authoritarianism. In the course of the analysis, it is suggested that the small potential for de-escalating tensions in the ENGO–international actor alliance is dwarfed by ENGOs’ excessive expectations projected upon international actors, competition over narratives as well as a limited scope for political manoeuvring as a result of diplomatic, contractual and commercial obligations. Consequently, the involvement of international actors in NIMBY (not in my backyard) controversies does not present an opportunity for environmental campaigns.

To what extent do traditional environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) tackle climate change issues? What explains the variation among ENGOs regarding their attention to climate change issues? To answer these questions, we use an original dataset comprising 293 ENGOs that are affiliated with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and based in North, Central, or South America. We find that generalist ENGOs have a higher likelihood of tackling climate change issues and even of indicating them as a priority area of their work. However, we also find that the issue areas of the specialist ENGOs and whether these align with climate action explain variation across ENGOs based in different countries. Compared with wildlife-focused ENGOs, especially those working on nature protection and sustainability are more likely to tackle climate change issues. Interview data confirmed that ENGO leaders make informed decisions on their organization’s goals.

On the ‘ENGO + focal firm’ governance strategies of pollution of small and medium suppliers

Rhinos in Africa are threatened species mostly because of the trade in rhino horn centred in Vietnam. Can the media play a role in saving the rhino? This study aims to identify and analyse the key frames used by Environmental Non-Government Organisations (ENGOs) in Vietnam in their media campaign to reduce demand for the rhino horn and to evaluate the frames’ effectiveness. The study reviews the literature and addresses three key research questions about the identity of the frames, the cultural and other factors that influence the production of the frames and the efficacy of the frames used in respective ENGO campaigns. It uses a mixed method approach of press release framing analysis and semi-structured interviews to address the research questions. It identifies that four key frames are used almost exclusively by ENGOs, three of which belong to generic framing categories found in the environmental communication literature: “science”, “public accountability” and “attribution of responsibility”. The fourth frame “empowerment” represents a key function of social marketing campaigns in Vietnam. This study finds that the main challenges for ENGOs are proving Vietnam’s responsibility for the rhino poaching in South Africa, creating culture and audience appropriate frames to influence public opinion in order to change the behaviour of buyers and users of rhino horn and advocating stronger enforcement and prosecution efforts in Vietnam. It finds some ENGO strategies and practices potentially problematic - such as the use of consequence and association instead of evidence in the “Responsibility” frame, and the persistent but possibly unintentional enactment of crisis themes in a culture where the consumption of rare wildlife is highly valued. However, it finds that existing strategies such as the use of local staff to consult on cultural issues, using themes that are pertinent to the public, building relationships with selected journalists, interactions with selected elites, indirect gentle consumer-focused communication approaches and the use of graphic photos of mutilated rhinos or rhino family groups instead of photos that capture the animal’s power and majesty may be effective. The study recommends that ENGOs should emphasise the data they have collected that is evidence of Vietnam’s role as a key consumer nation; and become more “frame aware” in their selection, exclusion and emphasis of framing devices in their media outputs. It recommends the ENGOs produce strategic background frames, such as biodiversity education frames to begin the process of competing with existing problematic audience frames. The results suggest implications for further research such as a content analysis and framing analysis of the ENGO’s social media outputs. In a developing country which has a phenomenal uptake of social media and smart phone use such a study would be timely. Also useful would be a study of the dramatic interpretation of frames that ENGOs incorporate in television public service announcements (PSAs), an exploration of the investigative journalism practice into the illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam and a study into the generalisability of key messages and frames used by ENGOs in Vietnam to reduce demand in a selection of key illegal wildlife products. By taking both an internal and external approach to investigating the source strategies and cultural and external factors influencing framing of this emerging environmental movement in Vietnam, this study also illuminates the efficacy of current communication strategies and suggests ways to achieve improved outcomes combatting worldwide threats to wildlife

Environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) are considered key players for engendering good climate change governance to address both climate change and sustainable development. The participation of ENGOs in climate change governance occurs in a four-phase policy cycle. They include (1) identification of policy options, (2) policy formulation, (3) policy implementation, and (4) policy monitoring and evaluation. The ENGOs, however, have been criticized for their lack of effectiveness, and their roles in tackling climate change remain unclear. To date, the study on the roles and activities of Southeast Asian ENGOs in climate change governance has been under-researched. This study, therefore, applies a systematic literature review of 19 published articles from Scopus and Web of Science-indexed journal to understand the current state of the Southeast Asian ENGOs participation in climate change governance based on the four-phase policy cycle. The findings show that the ENGOs in Southeast Asia are involved directly and indirectly in climate change governance. They are significant actors in the implementation of the climate change policy, but they play a minimal role in the formulation of said policy. It implies that they could also be a vital partner to the government in the climate change governance process as they can bring effective policy improvements. Lastly, this review will recommend future avenues of research for scholars.

As non-state actors, environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) are able to influence the governance process in many cases. Although the ENGOs role in climate change governance has been extensively studied over the last two decades, there is a dearth of research relating to Malaysian ENGOs. Accordingly, this study was conducted to compensate for this gap in the literature, and it employs a qualitative approach via analysis of relevant documents and in-depth interviews with eleven ENGO informants operating in Malaysia at national, sub-national and local levels. The informants were selected through purposive sampling, and the interview data were analysed using thematic analysis. The informants described the ENGO roles in climate change governance at national, sub-national, and local levels, and their roles were described in the context of the following six key themes: political, informational, educational, complementary, observational, and innovational. Similar to earlier perspectives, the results of the present study revealed that the government generally accepts the ENGOs’ role to facilitate climate change governance. This article provides insight into the ENGO’s role in assisting the government in governing climate change in Malaysia.

This study describes the emergence, development and functions of Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (ENGO) and addresses their role and impact in Natural Resources Management Extension (NRME) in Iran. The study also attempts to describe the collaboration and support of government organizations managing natural resources, mainly National Forest and Pasture Organization (NFPO) and Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO) and locally based ENGOs in this country. Quasi-Experimental research method is used in this research. Statistics population used concern committee members of 204 registered ENGO from which 65 ENGOs participated in the call up for research meeting. Questioner used in field research to attained necessary data consisted of 60 questions. The validity coefficency of this questioner (Cronbach's alpha coefficient) was α=92.17. In this research, 18 independent variables and one dependent variable were measured. In reviewing the research results, 100 types and over 2500 ENGO are identified from which close to 9% are registered. The average level of ENGOs relations with NFPO and its effect upon their activities scored at low and very low respectively and they rarely receive expert services from NFPO. Similarly, the impact of ECO upon the activities of ENGOs and relationship between them both were rated at medium level. The overall average rank of ENGOs success in NRME was at medium level which is less than hoped. At the end of this research, few hypotheses dealing with the effect of independent variables upon dependent variable were tested and some recommendations for better use of ENGOs with respect to NRME in Iran are presented.

Climate change is an increasingly significant problem in Malaysia and has attracted the attention of Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations (ENGOs) to advocate climate justice. The activities performed by the ENGOs to tackle climate change issues indicate that their roles are becoming more critical than ever. However, limited academic documents record their activities in the context of climate change issues in Malaysia based on newspaper reports. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse the media coverage of the activities of ENGOs in addressing climate change issues in Malaysia. The study utilised the content-analysis method to analyse relevant articles that portray ENGO initiatives concerning climate actions published in two mainstream national newspapers. The findings from the analysis provide an overview of the roles played by ENGOs in addressing climate change issues and offer insights into the role of newspapers in public awareness about ENGOs’ activism in Malaysia.

Normative judgments on sustainability underpin concepts that shape the supply scenarios of timber consumption. The modern understanding of sustainable forest management is shaped by a diverse spectrum of social demands, going beyond the principle of sustainable yield management. Rival stakeholders compete to incorporate their ideas and interpretations of sustainable forest management into policy institutions. Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) have emerged as one of the dominant stakeholders in the forest-based sector. We set out to explore ENGO-specific conceptualizations of sustainable forest management and investigate differences in understanding among various ENGOs. By conducting a frame analysis of ENGO press releases, we identified two master frames: environmental justice and environmentalist frames. A difference in the emphasis placed on procedural and distributive justice as well as a different standpoint in the commons versus commodity debate emerged as the main divergences between the master frames. The results of our study demonstrate how the differences between the master frames underpin different conceptualizations of sustainable forest management. On the one hand, the ENGOs associated with the environmental justice master frame advocate for the broader implementation of community forest management based on power-sharing. On the other hand, the ENGOs associated with the environmentalist master frame promote a wide range of approaches associated with ecosystem management and social forestry paradigms. Moreover, the ENGOs associated with the environmentalist master frame challenge the concept of sustainable forest management as defined by the Helsinki and Montreal process by advocating for ecosystem management. The ENGOs associated with the environmental justice master frame reject the mainstream concept of sustainable forest management in any guise. Future research on ethical issues underlying forestry concepts may provide more conceptual and operational clarity for both forest managers and policy-makers.

The article examines peaceful assemblies as one of the tools of environmental political parties and NGOs in the context of their impact on political processes in Ukraine. It is established that the specifics of organizational aspects, slogans and other features of peaceful assemblies of Ukrainian environmental parties and NGOs have changed since the late 1980s and during the years of the independence of Ukraine. In particular, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was a powerful stimulus for their intensification and peaceful protest rallies. As of 2021, the range of issues that are the cause and reason for peaceful assemblies is very wide. One of the most pressing is the problem of mitigating the effects of negative climate change and adapting to them. The study does not reveal any significant differences between the specifics of the use of peaceful assemblies by environmental parties and environmental NGOs. All significant differences are related to the different status of these organizations and their connection to the electoral process. Instead, the scenarios of peaceful protest-type gatherings (demonstrations, marches, pickets), as well as positive actions (cleaning, landscaping, planting trees, etc.) for environmental parties and NGOs are identical in their characteristics. On the eve and during the election campaigns, there is an intensification of environmental parties and NGOs in holding peaceful assemblies. Their specificity depends on the type of elections: during national elections, such actions are both local and national. During local elections, peaceful assemblies are predominantly local and address local issues. Popular types of actions during the election period are protests with slogans and demands to the government, as in the vast majority of cases environmental parties in Ukraine are in opposition or critically evaluate actions of the government: both at the central and local levels. Environmental NGOs, in accordance with their status, provide advice and formulate requirements to election participants and encourage them to include environmental aspects and commitments in their programs, in particular in the form of an «environmental agenda».