| International Biodiversity | Population & Consumption |
Domestic Biodiversity
Alaska Wilderness League was awarded funding to craft and introduce the Tongass National Forest Conservation Bill. This legislation will provide the strongest protection possible for watersheds with important biological, social and other values throughout the Tongass, restore high-value watersheds and streams previously damaged by logging and development, and permanently transition the timber industry from a reliance on old-growth logging to a sustainable second-growth timber program. While they build their campaign towards permanent protection, the League will be pursuing both offensive and defensive activities—working to get all parties on board with a protection proposal, while still paying close attention to any threats which could undermine their proactive, long-term goals. To that end, they will: 1) Work with the coalition to develop a proposal which includes conservation measures and addresses priorities including timber and native land entitlements; 2) Work with other conservation groups to brief and engage key constituency groups and nontraditional allies; 3) Implement a robust communications and outreach plan to advance conservation objectives—with a specific focus on outreach to the lower-48; 4) Work with key stakeholders, including Senator Murkowski, and other key political leaders to garner political support for the conservation bill.
With the recent conservation gains made by the addition of new wilderness areas in Oregon and elsewhere (Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009) and the legal victories related to the Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Plan, NCCSP is setting its sights on moving proactive forest conservation forward as the Obama administration begins to shape its forest and climate change policies. Toward this goal, the National Center received funding this year to: (1) support their new satellite office in Washington DC to educate Congress and the Obama administration on the need to protect Pacific Northwest forests as a means for responsibly addressing climate change. (This office will be headed by Randy Spivak, former ED of the American Lands Alliance, and a long-time Weeden grantee.); and (2) finish the writing of the world temperate rainforest book, which will be completed in the fall and published in 2010, as a means for calling international attention to the plight of these fragile forests. The book will have separate chapters on locally important conservation areas, such as the Siskiyou Wild Rivers, and internationally recognized rainforests like those within interior British Columbia and the Valdivian Rainforest in Chile. Their conservation is critical, as these areas contain irreplaceable old forests, intact watersheds, and ecosystem services that are increasingly threatened by climate change.
The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) was renewed support for their efforts to expedite the transfer of their properties to the federal government and to capitalize on exciting new acquisition opportunities for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Development pressures from the growing population of Jackson County and the nearby community of Ashland still puts the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument and its biodiversity at risk. Currently, approximately 30,000 acres within the Monument planning boundaries remain in private hands—this means 40% of the land within the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument is vulnerable to conversion or indiscriminant timber harvesting. Over the past year, PFT has successfully transferred the first five of their Monument properties, totaling more than 900 acres, to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) ownership, and are on track this year to transfer between 1,500 and 2,500 additional acres. Their success has sparked the interest of the Monument’s largest landowner to sell their entire holding — some of the most highly valued parcels still in private hands. Continued Weeden support would allow PFT to initiate a new acquisition project with the Monument’s largest landowner, raise the profile of the CSNM among policymakers to ensure the Monument remains a priority project for funding, and help secure the fastest possible transfer of PFT’s properties through their incorporation into the Monument.
The Soda Mountain Wilderness Council received renewed support to protect wildlands in the still-threatened Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument area. The Council will engage in agency planning processes, litigation, more grazing lease buyouts, preparations for additional wilderness legislation, public education, and assisting in land acquisition -- while responding to unforeseen threats and opportunities. Specifically, this year the Council will work on ending all public lands grazing in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and adjacent areas. Through combined use of buyout “carrots” and legal/administrative “sticks”, they will aim to produce at least 20,000 more acres of cow-free public land in and around the Monument. SMWC will also continue to improve monument and wilderness management plans through advocacy and negotiations with the BLM. Finally, they will pursue the expansion of Monument boundaries to correspond with “eco-logical” parameters as opposed to the current politically manufactured boundaries.
A massive remediation and restoration effort will soon be implemented in the Upper Clark Fork River Valley—one of the most ambitious efforts of its kind ever undertaken in America. Over the next two decades, more than $200 million will be spent on this effort. Approximately 120 miles of the Clark Fork River has been impacted as a result of decades of mining and smelting activities. The EPA identified 15 extensive sites in the basin that together comprise the largest superfund site in the country. Because of the diversity of interest groups in the Upper Clark Fork and the lack of a formal strategic plan by the State, two groups - the Watershed Restoration Coalition and the Clark Fork Coalition – received joint support to carry out planning and implementation of river restoration activities. Working together they intend to develop a planning process that engages landowners and agency officials with the long-term goal of dramatically improving water quantity and quality, fish habitat, wildlife, recreation and agriculture. The WRC is a grassroots group (established and initially funded by the CFC) focusing its community efforts on the restoration of endangered native westslope cutthroat trout and bulltrout. The Clark Fork Coalition, as the more established group, has invested over two decades of research, education, and science-driven advocacy on a solution for this degraded river corridor, starting with the federal Superfund designation they secured in 1985, and carrying forward to their 2005 purchase of a 2,300-acre cattle ranch that they will offer up as a community learning site during cleanup. Specifically, this grant will fund collaborative outreach to landowners during Superfund cleanup to carry out targeted revival of degraded streams on private ranchlands.
Resource Media was given support to coordinate strategic communications for several wilderness campaigns currently underway in Montana. Montana wilderness advocates have the opportunity to pass the first wilderness legislation in nearly 30 years. Resource Media plans to synchronize messaging advice and provide communications support to several conservation groups engaged in these campaigns. For example, RM will work closely with the Montana Wilderness Association (MWA) on its Beaverhead-Deerlodge wilderness campaign. Resource Media’s support will: 1) Evaluate the most current public opinion research and develop overarching “umbrella” messages to best promote wilderness statewide; 2) Conduct in-person or virtual workshops and training sessions with allied wilderness groups, such as YVFC; 3) Assist in developing communication tactics, pitching stories and rapid response to spot news coverage of wilderness campaigns; 4) Help generate letters-to-the-editor, opinion pieces, online comments and blog responses to advance wilderness in strategic areas and from strategic voices; 5) Support “nontraditional” wilderness allies so valuable in a state like Montana, such as the state chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers; 6) Work with Idaho-based groups such as Idaho Conservation League and Friends of Scotchman Peaks to coordinate communication strategies in wilderness bills that cross the state line; and 7) Produce a short Flash video for web distribution that highlights the stunning scenic value of the proposed wilderness and features diverse community voices speaking out in favor of additional protection.
The Western Environmental Law Center continues to focus efforts geographically on critical core habitats and linkages in the Pacific Northwest and along the continental divide. In the Klamath Siskiyou region, they will continue their decades-long efforts to protect the integrity of conservation science-based land management plans, like the Northwest Forest Plan, while also responding to site specific threats from logging, mining, and ORVs. While the majority of this work remains litigation focused, they have expanded their capacity to assist the conservation community in opportunities to engage in both collaborative and legislative efforts. In the Northern Rockies, they are challenging federal land management decisions that threaten wildlife corridors, in both administrative processes and in the courtroom. WELC is working to ensure that core habitats and wildlife corridors are maintained in the face of resource extraction, and ORV use. And they are working with local residents and county commissioners on smart land use practices to protect connectivity across private lands from the effects of sprawl and the conversion of ranchlands into commercial and residential developments. Finally, in both of these regions, they are working collaboratively with the Western Governors Association, state agencies, and local conservation partners to enhance protections for wildlife corridors in state rules, regulations and decisions. The Weeden Foundation continues to support them.
1% for the Planet (1%) received a core operating support grant that will position them for long-term sustainable growth and assist them in securing a $50,000 matching grant challenge. 1% is a rapidly growing global network of companies that have pledged to give at least 1% of their annual gross sales to nonprofit organizations focused on issues of sustainability. To date, members have given $42 million to more than 1,600 non-profits around the world, and gave more than $10 million in 2008 alone. By 2013, 1% for the Planet aims to: grow their annual giving to $50 million, their network of member companies to 5,000, their consumer reach to more than 100 million, and to be self-supporting. They have done a rigorous job of identifying the strategies and tactics required to reach these goals. A key component of this plan is to be self-supporting. The 1% for the Planet model is sustainable in design through annual member dues and product revenue. While their growth trajectory is very strong, they still require bridge funding to grow the network to a sustainable size. This investment in 1% will significantly improve support for the sustainability movement, will firmly establish philanthropy at the core of the sustainable business model, and will grow the sustainable consumption movement.
After an intense advocacy effort by the Endangered Species Coalition and their member groups, the new administration recently overturned a Bush administration rule that greatly weakened science in species and habitat decisions. However, endangered species protections need to be shored up on many fronts. While President Obama’s administration is widely seen as the best opportunity in a decade to strengthen wildlife protections, the new Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar has a mixed record. Therefore, the work and advocacy of the Endangered Species Coalition is needed as much as ever to compel decision-makers to protect imperiled wildlife and their habitats with far-reaching conservation measures. To that end, the Endangered Species Coalition has located field organizers in the hotbeds of wildlife controversies in the West, who specialize in finding and cultivating “allied voices”—non traditional messengers for the protection of endangered species and wild lands. Additionally, with the grassroots power of their 400+ member groups and the 15 million Americans that they represent, ESC is successfully making endangered species protections a priority for the new administration—even in their first 100 days. Furthermore, as the nation begins to make massive climate change policy decisions, ESC is reaching out to key targets about the need to include protective measures for wildlife in these decisions. The Weeden Foundation continues their support.
Siskiyou Project was awarded $20,000 for the grassroots
public outreach efforts of their Siskiyou Wild Rivers Campaign. The focus of
this Campaign is to expand Wilderness protections for roadless areas in southwest
Oregon and secure additional Wild & Scenic River status for over 20 candidate
streams. Partner organizations in the campaign include the Klamath-Siskiyou
Wildlands Center, Oregon Wild, Friends of the Kalmiopsis and several influential
national groups, including the Wilderness Society, Campaign for America’s
Wilderness and American Rivers. Early conversations with the Oregon congressional
delegation have indicated that while the delegation is generally supportive
of the goals proposed by the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Campaign, they want to see
indications of broad-based public support for the campaign. Siskiyou Project
has developed a grassroots public outreach strategy as a way to secure that
broad-based local support. This year, they will conduct a regional outreach
campaign utilizing multi-media presentations, field trips, community meetings,
printed materials and articles in regional and national publications in order
to cultivate awareness of Siskiyou Wild Rivers area, and secure endorsements
and general local support from key community spokespersons (e.g. local businesses,
community leaders, scientists and conservationists). They will also seek the
support of Oregon’s Congressman Peter DeFazio, and Senators Ron Wyden
and Jeff Merkely.
This year, KS Wild will continue its mission to use
environmental law, science, education, and collaboration to defend healthy ecosystems
and help build sustainable communities in the world-renowned Klamath Siskiyou
Eco-region. They received $20,000 support for their Wildlands Conservation Program,
which preserves and restores wilderness-quality lands, old-growth forests, water
quality, riparian areas and wildlife habitat on the Klamath, Fremont-Winema,
Rogue River-Siskiyou, Six Rivers, and Shasta-Trinity National Forests, the Medford
and Coos Bay BLM Districts, and key private timber holdings. Specific 2010 program
components include: 1) Protection of old-growth and mature forests with an eye
toward climate change mitigation and adaptation; 2)Reduction of the user-created
public lands roads network and improved maintenance of the permanent road system;
3) Permanent protection of core habitat along the Siskiyou Crest and in the
Siskiyou Wild Rivers area; 4) Reform of federal fire management policies and
defeat of post-fire logging proposals; 5) Ongoing restoration advocacy efforts
to shift federal land management agencies away from intensive extraction; 6)
Shaping Oregon BLM management direction in the post-WOPR world; and 7) Clean
Water Act enforcement in the Rogue River basin.
Klamath Riverkeeper was awarded $20,000 general support
for their ongoing efforts to remove four ecologically destructive Klamath River
dams and to restore the watershed’s once magnificent salmon runs. Saving
the Klamath’s salmon requires not only dam removal but also the restoration
of the Scott and Shasta Rivers, the Klamath’s two most important salmon-producing
tributaries. KR’s work will build on previous successes (Weeden funded)
in advocating for dam removal and challenging a detrimental and potentially
illegal state program that would legitimize continued harm to Scott and Shasta
River fisheries. However, much work lies ahead and this is a pivotal moment
in the campaign for both of these projects. The September decision by the dams’
owner, the utility PacifiCorp, to agree to removal of the four dams is the first
–albeit huge- step towards dam removal. The Interior Department has to
make a determination that the dams' removal will be in the public interest,
a sign-off that PacifiCorp expects to get. The collaborative restoration proposal,
that the PacifiCorp agreement is now part of, appears to be the best vehicle
to move Klamath Basin restoration forward. Klamath Riverkeeper will stay engaged
as a key player with the ultimate goal of seeing the Klamath dams removed and
its two most important salmon-producing tributaries returned to health.
The Sitka Conservation Society was granted $20,000
to continued funding to hasten the Tongass Forest’s shift from industrial
scale logging to a plan of sustainable management — not destruction —
of the region’s natural capital. Their efforts over the last few years
have resulted in increasing support for environmental conservation among the
local communities and concerned government agencies. As part of a coalition
of conservation groups and other regional partners, SCS is currently building
support for legislative changes that will permanently protect ecologically critical
landscapes in the Sitka region, while providing communities with new economic
opportunities. To accomplish this, SCS is applying an innovative mix of traditional
advocacy, collaborative partnerships with non-traditional allies, federal agency
monitoring and dialogue, educating and organizing the larger public, and cultivating
strategic support amongst grass-tops entities such as native corporations, business
associations, and legislators
SEACC is working to permanently protect up to 4.6 million
acres of wild places on the Tongass—the planet’s largest intact
ancient temperate rainforest. Over the years SEACC successfully defended key
Tongass watersheds from logging and development. Now, thanks partly to these
past efforts, as well as changing Southeast Alaska economics, their work with
diverse Southeast Alaskan stakeholders and communities, and changes in federal
politics, SEACC is poised to make big strides in securing protection for the
Tongass. They were awarded $20,000 to forward their campaign. To that end SEACC
will visit Southeast Alaska’s remote communities often; educate and work
with Southeast Alaska residents, businesses, stakeholders, and leaders, as well
as visitors, and state and federal public officials to develop on-the-ground
solutions; collaborate for sustainability, including renewable energy and energy
conservation, with forest stakeholders; and work with the news media and opinion
leaders to change the public debate about the region’s changing economic
opportunities; and maintain power by judiciously using their legal expertise
and defending wildlands. SEACC is also mobilizing opposition to the proposed
Juneau road system extension through Tongass wildlands, working to safeguard
clean water and marine habitat from mining activities, and striving to protect
the salmon rich Taku River watershed—the largest unprotected wild watershed
on the Pacific Coast of North America--from damage by the proposed Tulsequah
Chief mine.
Western Lands Project received $20,000 to continue
their work across the West scrutinizing federal land transactions—including
land exchanges, sales and outright giveaways of public land—and their
impacts on ecosystems, resources, land use, communities and habitat. Their goal
is to keep public lands public. They will continue to monitor attempts to privatize
public lands to ensure that the proposed activities are done responsibly, consider
public input, include thorough environmental analyses, and are within legal
limits. As a watchdog organization, their major activities still focus on monitoring,
policy reform, public education and outreach, legal challenges and lobbying
for public lands protection. They empower environmental groups, federal whistleblowers
and conservationists across the country that are affected by federal land exchanges
and sales. As a result of these monitoring efforts, WLP will occasionally file
administrative appeals of federal land decisions when other options are not
available. More often, they file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
in order to get information regarding land deals when the terms seem suspicious,
secretive or simply not sufficiently transparent. They will also continue to
advocate for improved public lands policies by providing Congressional testimony,
signing petitions regarding specific legislation, contacting governmental representatives
involved in the transaction and lobbying for public lands protection in Washington,
D.C. With the current administration and several pro-public lands Congressman
in key leadership positions, Western Lands Project is poised to effect continued
positive change.
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EPIC was granted $20,000 support for their monitoring, advocacy, coalition-building,
public education and outreach campaigns to protect forests and watersheds on
both public and private lands across northwest California. Their program includes
both defensive and proactive approaches to protecting forest ecosystems, wild
places and the wildlife they support. Specific projects in 2010 include: (1)
EPIC’s Green Diamond Campaign, which will use market-based strategies
and litigation to drive this company’s forestry practices from liquidation
toward restoration; (2) The Northern Spotted Owl Initiative, which will focus
on the protection of a single species, with the idea that successful protection
for one species will have multiple affects, protecting forests, watersheds,
and other species; (3) actions to protect other key species at risk, including
the highly endangered Klamath Spring Chinook salmon and Humboldt marten; (4)
advocacy for threatened places, including Richardson Grove State Park, the Eel
River, the Humboldt Bay region; and (5) strategic actions to protect freshwater
resources, including helping to launch a coalition to protect in-stream flows
across northern California. In addition to these priorities, EPIC’s leadership
will ensure they remain responsive to new threats and challenges as they arise.
Salmon in the Trees: Life in Alaska’s Tongass Rain Forest is a critical
component of the communications/media outreach strategy for the Tongass Conservation
Collaborative Campaign, a coalition of conservation organizations that includes:
Alaska Wilderness League, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Sitka Conservation
Society, Audubon Alaska, Trout Unlimited, and The Nature Conservancy of Alaska.
The overall goal of the campaign is to enact federal legislation by 2012 that
protects and restores priority watersheds in the Tongass National Forest in
Alaska. Salmon in the Trees is a coffee table book produced by Braided River
and designed to increase awareness about the ecological significance of the
Tongass. A $10,000 grant from the Weeden Foundation will be used to incorporate
the book into the Campaign’s outreach strategy in order to generate earned
media and engage target audiences. Top target audiences include: 1) Alaska Senators;
2) U.S. Senate and House Committees that will have oversight on proposed Tongass
legislation; and 3) Obama Administration/U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S.
Forest Service. In order to reach the top target audiences, they will concentrate
outreach efforts on reaching specific constituencies that will have the most
influence, including: community grasstops and political leaders in key states,
Southeast Alaska tribal and community leaders, national conservation organizations
and other allied groups, memberships of Campaign organizations, and others.
American Wildlands received $20,000 continued support to facilitate
development and implementation of conservation strategies within critically
important wildlife movement corridors in western Montana. In particular, funding
will support on-the-ground, community-based conservation, as well as local,
state and regional policy work. The overarching goal is to ensure connectivity
between increasingly isolated areas of core habitat, in order to protect wildlife
biodiversity. Through their 2007-2009 comprehensive Priority Linkage Assessment,
funded in part by the Weeden Foundation, American Wildlands identified the most
critical wildlife corridors connecting the large blocks of intact, federally
protected habitat – such as Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks in
the Northern Rockies. Now that this assessment is complete, they will begin
work on several specific objectives to restore, conserve, and protect biodiversity
in those areas, including: 1) Increase community awareness of safe recreation
in grizzly bear occupied habitat. 2) Work with landowners and NGOs to increase
wildlife’s ability to migrate through wildlife corridors by modifying
barrier fencing 3) Decrease wildlife mortality by installing bear-proof garbage
bins or other sanitation mitigation measures. 4) Increase awareness and appreciation
of wildlife and corridors within communities. 5) Maintain and restore habitat
permeability on public lands through major policy initiatives, such as Senator
Jon Testers’ Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, for which AWL continues to
provide information and refinement as the bill seeks approval.
The Craighead Environmental Research Institute (CERI)
was granted $20,000 support for its Connectivity and Habitat Protection across
the High Divide project to protect and maintain the ecological integrity and
connectivity of one of the most important wildlife corridors in the United States.
CERI’s project would guide development, inform land-use decisions and
improve land stewardship so that wildlife linkage routes are maintained in the
region. This project expands on their current land-use planning initiative in
the Madison Valley of Montana, which comprises the most imperiled linkage within
the High Divide. In collaboration with local and state agencies, CERI has developed
a conservation planning framework to incorporate current scientific information
about wildlife conservation into subdivision regulations for the county. Using
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based tools, this framework has allowed
for fine-scale analyses at the parcel level, enabling CERI to determine the
most important areas that warrant special mitigation for development in order
to maintain connectivity in the region. Together with other local stakeholders
and conservation partners, their next step is to implement activities to protect
linkages in the Madison Valley and expand this process to neighboring counties
in the High Divide region, initiating a larger scale comprehensive conservation
plan for the area.
The Campaign for America’s Wilderness (which integrated into the
Pew Foundation and its conservation arm, the Pew Environment Group, on February
1, 2010) has been working closely with its local partners—the Montana
Wilderness Association, Montana Trout Unlimited, National Wildlife Federation,
The Wilderness Society, Yaak Valley Forest Council and several timber and wood
products manufacturing firms—to secure wilderness protection for key national
forest lands in western Montana. CAW is was awarded $20,000 continued support
for its efforts to conduct public education and outreach efforts that promote
the value of protecting nearly 700,000 acres of wilderness-quality land in the
Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Lolo and Kootenai National Forests. Their current Public
Education Campaign has five key elements: a communications plan that includes
identifying persuasive voices for op-eds, radio, and letters to the editor;
advertising that characterizes the collaborative approach of the effort; public
education and outreach, especially within the hunting and angling community;
policy assistance at the state level; and local grassroots coordination.
Wildlands Network received $15,000 continued support for their leadership
role in the Spine of the Continent (SPOC) Initiative—an effort to protect
and connect the 5,000-mile long Western Wildway© stretching from northern
Mexico, north through the U.S. Rockies, to Alaska. Wildlands Network will continue
to coordinate, catalyze, and inspire the efforts of conservation groups working
regionally on landscape connectivity in the SPOC region and build support for
the overall initiative. In early 2009, Wildlands Network hosted a Western Conservation
Summit (WCS) to broaden collaboration among leading scientists, conservation
organizations, foundations and private landowners. Based on input and research
resulting from the WCS, Wildlands Network will strengthen its focus on the SPOC
and develop collective solutions for moving forward. At the same time, Wildlands
Network will continue work to protect landscape connectivity in the Sky Islands
of Arizona and New Mexico, through collaboration with public and private land
managers, as an important part of the SPOC Initiative. The Sky Islands are considered
some of the most biologically significant landscapes in North America and are
critical to wildlife movement between the subtropical Sierra Madre Occidental
and the temperate Rocky Mountains. Their focus in the Sky Islands will be private
lands protection and repatriation of endangered species like the Mexican gray
wolf and jaguar. Weeden funding would be used to: 1.) inspire, expand, and coordinate
their network of conservationists working on the SPOC through initiatives like
Cooperative Conservation Planning Workshops; 2.) maintain landscape connectivity
for keystone species, and protect private lands from fragmentation in the Sky
Islands; and 3.) build on the relationships and leverage of their expanded network
to address critical needs in the SPOC and to influence federal policy relating
to landscape connectivity.
Pacific Environment was awarded renewed support for their work to protect the Russian Altai’s rich biological and cultural diversity. This year they will work with community-based partners in the Altai to counter the proposed Altai Pipeline—a major construction project which threatens the ecologically fragile Ukok Plateau. They will coordinate efforts to develop methodologies for surveying lands in the Altai’s Kosh-Agach region and for developing a database of these lands to distribute to government officials to ensure the sacred sites’ long-term protection. With the methodology completed, they will then conduct a seminar on the preservation of sacred sites of Altai for more than 50 cultural and ecological experts from various regions in the republic, teaching them about the various methods of data collection on sacred cultural and ecological sites and how to register these sites with state agencies. Finally, Pacific Environment will help to finalize the paperwork necessary to ensure local ownership and management of lands. Taken together, these activities will help achieve the overarching objective of preserving the Altai’s rich cultural- and bio- diversity.
With Weeden support, Ecosistemas will expand the reach of its “Patagonia Without Dams Campaign” by putting special emphasis on research, analysis and the production of informative, digestible reports that focus on the potential social and environmental impacts of HydroAysen projects. In addition to generating national media attention with the publication of these reports, Ecosistemas will disseminate the reports to the local communities in the Aysen region that would be directly affected by the proposed five large hydroelectric dams and the 2300 km transmission lines. Ecosistemas intends to organize a series of community gatherings, in conjunction with the distribution of these reports, to serve the purpose of building opposition networks. Using the combined leverage of scientific reporting and grassroots-level support, Ecosistemas aims to continue to be an important and influential actor in the movement to block HydroAysen and other hydroelectric mega-projects.
Chilean Patagonia, especially the Aysén region, is currently a priority region for the work of FIMA, because of the region’s high conservation value coupled with the current numerous threats from extraction projects. This year, with Weeden support, FIMA will continue work on two important lawsuits, while developing new legal strategies to support river conservation efforts. In particular, they plan to be a key participant in responding to the HydroAysen Project’s new Environmental Impact Assessment when it is resubmitted this fall. In one legal effort, FIMA has been investigating the feasibility of introducing new laws and regulations that would promote renewable energy sources for electricity production. They have also legally challenged separate EIAs for the mega dams and the transmission lines, arguing that they should be assessed as one integrated project, weighing the impacts together. If successful, such a change in the EIA process would make it more difficult for the HydroAysen project to gain approval. FIMA will also do its part to publicize the anti-dams campaign by participating in seminars and academic debates, such as those organized by Ecosistemas and the Patagonia Without Dams Campaign. Finally, FIMA will participate in the Patagonia Defense Council, attending meetings, developing coordinated plans of action and discussing their work in the legal arena. They will continue to coordinate ongoing dissemination of legal developments to Council members and International campaign members.
NRDC received renewed funding for their “Patagonia BioGem Campaign”. Last year, NRDC played a major role in achieving a much fuller, richer debate on the proposed HydroAysen project and Chile’s energy future. After launching the first comprehensive review of energy alternatives in Chile, NRDC is preparing to launch a second study that shows how the HydroAysen energy project is unnecessary in Chile. While HydroAisen is expected to resubmit the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in August or September this year, NRDC has continued to support energy alternatives and to demonstrate how industrial-sized, ill-conceived projects are an unwise choice for Chile. They are ready to respond to the EIA, both supporting the technical review and mobilizing the international media and their online network of 1.2 million BioGem Defenders. NRDC is also working closely with their Chilean partners to ensure that the candidates in the upcoming Presidential elections have energy issues and the HydroAysen project at the top of their platforms and agendas. They will continue to pressure the candidates with their BioGem defenders to support sustainable energy alternatives to the mega-dams. Irrespective of what happens on the proposed HydroAysen Project, it is clear that NRDC needs to continue to work with their Chilean partners to stimulate a full review and reform of the nation’s energy and environmental policies. The end game is to persuade the Chilean government and energy companies to move away from reliance on large hydro-electric schemes, and to create a structure for protecting the country’s most important wild rivers.
Sacred Lands Film Project of Earth Island Institute was granted $15,000 support for the completion of the Losing Sacred Ground segment focusing on the Altai peoples’ fight to protect their homelands and preserve their traditional culture. This television series exposes the greatest environmental and cultural challenges of our time as viewed from the unique perspective of indigenous elders and activists. In July the Sacred Lands film crew returned to the Altai Republic of Russia to film final interviews and additional scenes for Losing Sacred Ground. This grant would be used for post-production costs, including writing, translation, editing, and a portion of production staff costs. During last summer’s trip, they filmed an interview Danil Mamyev, Director of the Altai Protected Areas Association, as he trained rangers from all over Asia in techniques to protect sacred sites in the Uch Enmek Nature Park, which he founded. They also interviewed an official at the Russian natural gas company, Gazprom, and archaeologist Natalia Polosmok, who unearthed the frozen Ukok Princess in 1993. The goal of the segment is to help groups like Foundation for Sustainable Development of the Altai and various Nature Parks get their message out to American, European, and Russian audiences, and to build an international base of support to protect the Altai environment and culture. Edited versions of their footage from the first Altai shoot in 2008 are already being used to get these stories out well in advance of completion of the larger Losing Sacred Ground’s entire series.
WWF Chile was awarded $20,000 funding for continued work on their innovative
private conservation model, which will be developed through a pilot group of
private initiatives in South and Central Chile. As one of the parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity, Chile is committed to having a fully functional,
effectively managed, and ecologically representative national and regional protected
area (PA) system by 2010. In order to achieve this goal, the Chilean government
must incorporate private conservation initiatives into its current protected
areas system. Presently, over 300 private conservation initiatives –totaling
close to four million acres– are underway in Chile, yet no regulatory
instruments, legal tools or public incentives have been developed to ensure
effectiveness and impact of private conservation efforts. This gap raises serious
concerns about protected area system management effectiveness and stability
over time. WWF’s private conservation model will include four principal
components (Technical, Legal, Financial and Social aspects). Implementation
will be supported by means of a WWF-developed field toolbox and an electronic
(web-based) platform. The latter will allow landowners to connect through a
single comprehensive framework that provides them with advice and the reassurance
that their voluntary conservation commitments are meaningful and can be eventually
formalized.
This year, the AAP will continue to focus on: strengthening the management
of nature parks and federally protected lands; promoting sustainable land use
and alternative energy use; and supporting the conservation of natural and cultural
heritage of communities. The AAP will partly focus $15,000 of Weeden support
on an intriguing community-based monitoring scheme of snow leopards. The program
– centered in Argut and Inegen areas in the southern Altai - combines
year-round, community-run tracking of snow leopard populations with a “citizen-science”
experience for paying tourists, who will help set-up and operate cameras during
summer months. The program will also provide educational opportunities for young
Altaians, who will serve as guides, and build support for defense of community
lands from poaching and other threats. This grant will help support the purchase
of the scientific equipment used in this project, and will also continue to
support the Altai Assistance Project’s ongoing protected areas advocacy
work through conferences, workshops and printed resources.
The Altai Project received $15,000 continued funding for its work defending
wilderness and wildlife in the Altai region of Russia. Weeden funding will support:
1) the Chemal Nature Park’s efforts to regulate tourism and protect the
sensitive and unique environment of the Chemal Valley and the Katun River, 2)
a project to involve local shepherds and other residents in monitoring and protecting
snow leopard and argali habitat along the Sailyugem Ridge, 3) ongoing work in
Uch Enmek Nature Park to establish a visitor center to guide and track the flow
of tourists as well as educating them regarding park rules and indigenous customs,
and 4) the inception of a camera-trapping study in the Argut region, involving
local residents and paying eco-tourists. Altai Project director Jennifer Castner
will travel to Altai in summer 2010 to meet with their main partners in Barnaul,
Gorno-Altaisk and conduct site visits in the northeast and southwest rayons.
She will also assess completed work, discuss current issues, and lay the groundwork
for future collaboration.
Conservación Patagonica (CP) was granted $20,000 continuing funding
for the long-term project of creating a new Patagonia National Park on the land
of the badly degraded Estancia Valle Chacabuco, which CP bought in 2004. The
creation of this park will ensure Chile's highest conservation protection for
at least 750,000 Acres (includes adjoining federal lands), an area close to
the size Yosemite National Park. A secondary, but equally important goal is
to stimulate a shift in the local economy from pastoral agriculture towards
a more benign economy of eco-tourism. Finally, it is hoped that the creation
of this new park will encourage efforts across the border in Argentina to create
a 'back-to-back' park of equal dimensions, effectively creating the Bi-National
Patagonia National Park. A Weeden grant would continue to fund several projects
in these early stages of the park’s creation. One of the first priorities
is to eliminate the grazing of livestock from the property. A four-year livestock
reduction plan has been followed since the end of 2008 and 69,000 hectares is
now free of domestic livestock. A second goal is to develop a ten-year restoration
plan for the removal of invasive plant species, fence lines and any non-essential
buildings. These two projects will expand wildlife habitat in Valle Chacabuco,
which still has its entire original species of flora and fauna, including the
nearly extinct huemul deer, pumas and condors. Finally, CP is seeking to develop
good public access infrastructure for the Park. To that end, funds are being
raised to include a park visitor’s center, administrative housing, campgrounds,
volunteer bunkhouses, trails, and signage and maintenance facilities typical
of good national parks elsewhere.
Over the past two years the Conservancy has assisted its Chilean partners in
advancing its legislative and executive strategy on tax reform and conservation
easements, as well as establishing a highly influential, replicable model for
private lands conservation throughout Chile. Past Weeden support was directed
towards protecting private lands in Chile’s El Boldo-El Roble Biological
Corridor, and a $20,000 follow-up grant in 2010 will be used to further the
Private Lands Initiative through a two-pronged strategy. The first prong focuses
on the continuation of the El Boldo-El Roble Biological Corridor pilot project
through a Conservation Action Plan analysis, while the second concentrates on
the further advancement of the Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC) legislation
(a flexible legal instrument modeled after a conservation easement). The El-Boldo-El
Roble Corridor pilot serves as a “demonstration project” to test
new conservation strategies, including new legal instruments like the DRC. Because
of the geographic proximity of the Corridor to both Santiago and the wealthy
coastal town of Zapallar, conservation advances in the area will attract the
attention of the Chilean elite needed to instigate and advance a private lands
conservation movement in the country once legislation is passed.
Conservation Ink produces and publishes interpretive materials for protected
areas in Mongolia, where such materials do not exist. Their goals are two-fold:
to promote public awareness of and visitation to the protected areas through
site-specific publications, thus increasing their value as protected areas,
and to return the net profits from the sale of these publications to selected
conservation projects within the protected areas. The program has been a success
from both awareness and capacity building perspectives, and Conservation Ink
now plans to adapt this model of conservation to the Altai Republic. This year,
they will document the Altai region through photography and the collection of
factual information, and to make this material available to NGOs, scientists,
policy makers, conservationists and others working to promote the conservation
and protection of the intact wild parts of the Altai Republic. Rather than create
paper publications as they did in Mongolia, for the Altai they will create an
image and information bank, available online to all stakeholders. Specifically,
this $5,000 grant will support Conservation Ink’s work in the Altai this
summer, where it will spend one month in the field collecting images and related
materials, and also the cataloguing of these materials on a website upon their
return.
As the Greenland ice sheets melt with increasing rapidity, Arctic energy resources
will become newly-accessible, increasing pressure for offshore development and
the establishment of supporting on-shore infrastructure. In fact, large-scale
efforts to exploit newly-accessible energy resources in the Arctic are already
underway. Russia is developing giant gas fields in the Barents Sea, for example,
and rapid change is also likely to open up new opportunities for industrial
fishing and eco-tourism in areas with no experience with such endeavors. Developments
indicate the lack of a framework for natural resource development and for sustaining
the mixed economies of indigenous peoples. The Heinz Center's Arctic Governance
Project (AGP) fills a critical gap in the ongoing effort to meet the challenge
of governance in the Arctic in a cooperative manner. Their aim is to contribute
to informed, timely, and effective policymaking to tackle problems arising from
the impacts of the Arctic’s rapid change. The AGP, which began in February
2009, has an 18-month timeline and intended to conclude mid 2010. The range
of governance options will be examined in a high-level multi-stakeholder summit
planned for January 29-30, 2010 in Tromsø, Norway, which a $10,000 Weeden
grant will help fund. The aim is to identify critical, cutting-edge questions
about Arctic governance, to find common ground wherever it exists, and to formulate
a set of principles that can guide future management of Arctic resources.
Washington D.C.
The Center for Immigration Studies received continuing support for their Population/Environment Program and other outreach activities that appeal to a broad audience of policy makers and opinion leaders. This year, they plan to publish more than 12 Backgrounder issue papers, including “The Environmental Argument for Reducing Immigration” and “Southwest Border Enforcement and the Environment”. They will also testify before Congress, meet with high-ranking government officials, remain prominent in the media, hold panel discussions, participate in conferences, publish scholarly articles and op-eds, and disseminate the latest immigration research, news, and analysis via CISNEWS, their e-mail distribution service, and their videos and blogs. The past year was a productive one in their Population/Environment Program, with new reports that included, “Immigration to the United States and World-Wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions” and “Surge Two: Northward Flood of Mexicans Likely to Increase after U.S Election.” With renewed support, CIS will be able to continue to produce this groundbreaking research that highlights the vital nexus between sustainability and the nation’s immigration policy.
Since 2001, Green Press Initiative (GPI) has been
a catalyst for successful corporate engagement in the publishing industry which
is leading to significant reductions in carbon emissions, tangible increases
in recycled fiber, FSC market development, and support for endangered forest
conservation. GPI was granted renewed support from the Weeden Foundation to
continue to advance these shifts in the U.S. book and newspaper industries.
Grant funding would be used to: 1) Continue advancing climate-wise awareness
and best practices for book and newspaper publishers through the implementation
of the 20% greenhouse gas reduction goal just established in the U.S. book industry;
2) Successfully engage 55% of U.S. book publishers (up from 50%) in establishing
strong environmental policies and in motivating manufacturers to protect critical
forests and increase FSC and recycled fiber use; 3) Push remaining multinational
book publishers and the industry at-large to meet or exceed the goals in the
Book Industry Treatise on Responsible Publishing (30% recycled / 20% FSC by
2012); 4) Develop a Treatise-like agreement in the U.S. Newspaper sector (in
collaboration with Markets Initiative); 5) Track global fiber flows between
Endangered Forests and the book and newspaper industries; 6) Deepen and expand
corporate engagement in the U.S. newspaper sector which lead to expanded FSC
certification and a jump in recycled fiber use from 35% to 50%; 7) Complete
a green-publisher certification model and verification structure for the U.S.
book sector; 8) Advance policy innovations at the federal level and among peer
organizations that accurately account for forest carbon loss and also result
in paper recycling infrastructure improvements; and 9) Continue playing a leadership
role within the paper movement at-large through serving on the steering committee
of the Environmental Paper Network and Carbon Canopy (formerly known as the
Southern Forest Carbon Project).
Chapel Hill, NC
In the coming year, Ipas will build on successes and strengthen efforts to influence
abortion policy in their focus countries in partnership with national and regional
allies. This work is critical for improving women’s reproductive health
and rights, decreasing fertility rates, and stemming natural resource degradation
and biodiversity loss due to local population pressures. With continued funding,
Ipas will complete the following activities in FY10: 1) Support current initiatives
in the Bolivian legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government
to liberalize abortion laws and/or to promote liberal interpretation of existing
laws; 2) Support the Bolivian Ministry of Health (MOH) to adopt norms and guidelines
for ob-gyn use of misoprostol (first trimester chemical abortion) and to develop
a training strategy; 3) Provide technical assistance, including health and medical
arguments and educational materials, to Pro-Choice Alliance and other partners
in Mexico to support their efforts to prevent passage of regressive laws and
constitutional reforms at the state level; 4) Raise awareness and encourage
public debate in Brazil using alternative media and wider distribution of the
“Think About It” video spot; 5) Incorporate human rights and sexual
and reproductive rights into university curricula in Brazilian universities
to foster young activists; 6) Provide leadership to the Strategic Group in Nicaragua
to develop and implement a comprehensive media campaign to build support for
reinstating therapeutic abortion; 7) Train & sensitize medical and nursing
staff and other professionals in Central America regarding therapeutic abortion
issues and sexual violence; 8) Host a regional policy meeting for Ipas staff,
consultants, and key partners to discuss best practices and solutions to challenges
in Latin America.
Vancouver, Canada
Canopy (previously Markets Initiative) harnesses the power of the market place to generate leverage for environmental solutions and forest conservation through four primary campaigns in the newspaper, print, book and magazine sectors. By engaging major commercial consumers of paper to develop and implement environmental paper purchasing policies Canopy generates demand-side leverage for the protection of endangered forests across North America and the world, and builds a bridge between ecological needs and market realities. During 2009-2010, Canopy will engage leading North American newspaper publishers, printers and educational publishers on endangered forest issues with a view to securing environmental policies and halting operations in critical forest areas. They will also harness the success of the Wheat Sheet trial to stimulate commercial scale production of agricultural waste pulps and papers in North America, and work with leading printers and publishers to translate their eco-paper policies into forest and species conservation, improved forest management practices and more eco-paper development. They specifically received support for their cutting edge campaigns that harness the power of newspapers to protect endangered forests and draw on the power of printers to bring more eco-papers to market.
Shelburne, VT
Population Media Center, Inc. (PMC) was awarded a split grant to support projects
in both Brazil and the Caribbean. In Brazil, PMC will continue to promote the
use of effective communication strategies to encourage family planning and reproductive
health, particularly through long-running serial dramas in which characters
evolve into role models for adoption of family planning, delayed marriage and
childbearing, elevation of women’s status, avoidance of AIDS, conservation
of natural resources, and related social and health goals. PMC has a nine-year
working partnership with Comunicarte, an NGO in Rio de Janeiro. Together PMC
and Comunicarte formed an agreement with TV Globo—by far the most popular
television network in Brazil. This agreement encourages the writers of the prime-time
telenovelas to weave social issue themes PMC suggests into the lives of key
characters. In return, PMC provides pro bono research to the writers regarding
the issues they choose to incorporate into the programs. In the Eastern Caribbean,
PMC requests support for a population-environmental project. On October 1, 2007,
PMC absorbed Rare Radio (long supported by the Weeden Foundation) and its professional
staff. Formerly a part of the Rare Center for Tropical Conservation, Rare Radio
has used the Sabido methodology—character development and plot lines that
provide the audience with a range of characters that they can engage with and
follow as they evolve and change—to promote family planning and environmental
conservation in the Eastern Caribbean and the Western Pacific. To date, both
projects have been highly successful in changing attitudes and behavior towards
reproductive health and environmental conservation.
The Environmental Paper Network received general support to increase the capacity of their network, and to continue to accelerate environmental transformations in the paper industry, thereby protecting biodiversity, a stable climate, and clean water and air. Their work is resulting in transformational market shifts as evidenced by explosive increases in the number of paper-related certifications by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the number of companies developing environmental policies, growing consumer awareness levels, and increased demand for and use of recovered fiber. This year, the EPN will facilitate structured collaboration on six movement priorities with the following anticipated outcomes: (1) increased capacity for a coordinated network of conservation organizations in North America and internationally; (2) increased awareness by consumers and the marketplace; (3) increased number of purchasers making better paper choices based on chain-of-custody and climate impacts; (4) increased corporate leadership and industry innovation; (5) broadened financial support for the long-term sustainability of the movement; and (6) increased supply of recovered fiber for recycled paper production in North America.
With the Weeden Foundation grant in 2008, Facing the Future was able to reach more than 1,500 teachers and 75,000 students through their project Sustainability Issues Education: National Outreach. As part of that project, they recently released their newest resource Real World Math: Engaging Students through Global Issues. With lessons such as “Modeling Integers: Population Growth” and “Number Theory: Consumption Choices,” teachers will learn to bring math alive for their students. Three weeks after launching the program, FTF was overwhelmed with the tremendous positive response from teachers. Renewed funding will offer continued support to this project. FTF intends to reach 90,000 new students this year, focusing on specific subjects and student populations including math students, English Language Learners (ELL students) and literacy-challenged students. They will develop a comprehensive resource for ELL students and students who struggle with literacy. Upon completion they will train teachers to enhance students’ language and literacy skills through the context of real world sustainability issues. FTF has also secured a partnership with Annie Leonard to develop a new curriculum based on The Story of Stuff and focused on consumption and its connections to other global issues. Work on this project is scheduled to begin near the end of 2009 or early 2010. Finally, FTF will expand outreach to math teachers across the country to help them feel comfortable integrating Facing the Future’s Real World Math resource into their math classrooms.
The Population Institute received support for the development of a dynamic, new educational program that employs ecological footprint accounting and other sustainability concepts to create the Sustainable Living Planner (SLP). The SLP is a unique, interactive scenario planning tool in the form of a user friendly “calculator” spreadsheet that will be made available for use by policymakers, educators, and the general public. The master spreadsheet file will be readily “downloadable” via the internet, or by computer disk transmittal. Factoring in population, lifestyle levels and other important factors such biodiversity requirements and technology levels, it will allow users to employ these key variables in determining whether a nation (e.g. the United States) will be living at, above, or below sustainable levels in the future, and whether it will be an ecological creditor (or debtor) nation. The purpose of this planner is to help people understand the concept of sustainable living, and in particular, the range of human population numbers or lifestyles that might be sustainable under different future scenarios. It is designed to allow the user to “self discover” the realities of limits to growth, rather than preaching a sometimes unpopular message. The planning tool concept has been reviewed with a number of interested organizations, has been endorsed by the Executive Director of the Global Footprint Network and the Board of Directors of the Population Media Center, and is designed for broad public use.
The Story of Stuff Project was awarded a grant to support two sustainability education initiatives aimed at leveraging and extending the worldwide success of The Story of Stuff. With foundation support, they will: 1) Work with a partner, Facing the Future, to develop a two-week educational curricula on sustainability issues that will be adopted in the first year by teachers who collectively reach at least 50,000 students; and 2) Work with a partner, GreenFaith, to produce and launch a study and action campaign that will enable at least 1,000 houses of worship to take a series of measurable actions on behalf of the environment and social justice before Earth Day 2010. Together, these two initiatives will leverage and extend the already significant impact of the film in two of America’s most important institutions—our schools and our places of worship. They will encourage information sharing, discussion and action on many issues of concern, including paper production, recycling, consumption, and population, and will enable information about these shared concerns to reach many new constituents.
CAPS’ Overpopulation Awareness Media Campaign, which began over nine years ago, has included television, radio and print ads, which are often covered as news stories because of their compelling content. This year, CAPS will expand the Overpopulation Awareness Media Campaign by airing radio ads in areas of California with high growth rates, attendant dislocations and declining quality of life. CAPS continues to focus on the environmental impact of overpopulation on California’s natural resources and infrastructure, with the ongoing goal of lowering the state’s present population growth rate to a sustainable level. With $20,000 of Weeden funding, they plan to air these ads in San Diego County, focusing on the connection between water rationing and high water prices and the county’s rapidly growing population—issues which are of great concern to residents. San Diego’s recent forecast for water availability was the bleakest-ever. One water manager was quoted as saying, “There is no more cheap water.” Since CAPS has had previous success advertising in various targeted radio markets throughout California, they propose to continue this approach for a multi-week run with good penetration. CAPS will continue to measure the effectiveness of this campaign by tabulating increased hits to their website, calls and requests for more information and increased donations during and immediately after the run of the ad.
Finishing 14 years of operation, NumbersUSA remains
committed to its goal of lowering overall US immigration numbers to make long-term
environmental sustainability achievable. To that end, they have identified the
following programs as priorities for 2010. Last year they began work on an “interactive
charts” website that allows Americans to grasp the population consequences
of many possible immigration decisions. They have just unveiled this new tool
to the public, and it is now available online at www.ChangeTheNumbers.org. As
they begin to receive feedback on the new site and analyze the ways in which
it is being used, they will work to add new calculators that will further illustrate
the environmental consequences of current immigration policies. Another top
educational effort in 2010 will be production of an updated Immigration By The
Numbers DVD. This presentation was first produced in 1996 in order to demonstrate
immigration’s contribution to U.S. population growth, and the updated
version will incorporate new technology and more recent census data. In the
coming year, NumbersUSA will also continue to develop its Media Standards Project,
which works with dozens of trained volunteers across the country who contact
reporters and editors every time they find an error in a story about immigration.
The media project began in earnest about a year ago and has just processed its
1,100th newspaper article. Finally, NumbersUSA will continue educating the public
and Capitol Hill about immigration numbers and their effect on U.S. population,
sprawl, and congestion. Their Capitol Hill team led several educational border
tours during the past year, and the trips provided opportunities for Members
of Congress to meet with Border Patrol, local law enforcement, and local activists
in order to see first hand the ways in which our immigration system and the
local wildlife and habitat are compromised by illegal border crossings. They
will use a $25,000 Weeden grant to continue this effort in 2010.
Green America’s Better Paper Project is the only US program devoted to changing the magazine industry’s paper choices from virgin-fiber papers to recycled papers, reducing the industry’s enormous environmental and climate change impacts, including the destruction of 38 million trees per year. Since 2001, the Better Paper Project has worked to instigate a paradigm shift in the magazine industry’s paper sourcing policies, and as of 2009, the project assisted over 120 publications in adopting better papers. This year, they will use a $20,000 grant to continue to provide direct assistance to major publishers and magazine titles to help them shift to recycled and FSC-certified papers by providing them with the tools and information they need to make the switch. To help ease this transition, Green America will mitigate the cost of eco-papers through paper buying cooperatives, which will enable more publishers to use these papers. They will also expand macro-level industry awareness and acceptance of eco-papers through education, support, and development of industry standards.
Having transformed the paper practices of more than a dozen major companies—and having used their leverage to protect an area of forest half the size of California—ForestEthics has become one of the most influential groups working on forest-focused corporate reform. Today, their Paper Campaign has expanded to take on the entire junk mail industry, including some of the largest direct mailers in the world: financial institutions. They received $20,000 support in the coming year to continue collaborative work with major companies like Capital One and American Express—who under the guidance of ForestEthics, implemented their first-ever paper policies last year. They intend to continue to make inroads across the sector, ensuring that these companies continue to improve their policies and practices, while working to secure new policies from companies like Target and United Stationers. They will also hold both the junk mail and office supply sectors accountable with publicized scorecards rating their progress. These publically published scorecards have proved to be powerful motivators in the corporate community, leading to the development of comprehensive fiber-use policies. Finally, they will capitalize on the momentum that their Do Not Mail campaign—which boasts over 100,000 supporters—has created. In the coming year they will keep pressure on the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) to create a single, comprehensive, easy and effective way for all U.S. consumers to opt out of junk mail.
Much of the world’s remaining undisturbed tropical forests are significantly threatened by illegal logging and the associated international trade in “cheaply” priced illegally sourced timber and wood products stemming from them. Furthermore, about 85% of all CO2 emissions from tropical forest destruction occur in countries where a majority of logging is estimated to be illegal. The campaign for which EIA received $20,000 renewed Weeden Foundation support will build on EIA’s groundbreaking work to reduce illegal logging in forested nations by continuing to drive the effective implementation and enforcement of the May 2008 U.S. ban on the import and commerce of all products—including paper—containing illegally sourced wood (i.e., the revamped Lacey Act). This ban was achieved by EIA’s eight-to-nine-year campaign that built an unparalleled coalition of timber companies, and environmental and labor groups to endorse the ban—the first of its kind in the world. Now, the EIA will turn its attention to developing new research and investigations into flows of illegal timber or wood products destined for import into the United States from high-risk timber suppliers. It will share evidence of illegal wood trade with government enforcement authorities and civil society to promote U.S. seizures of illegal wood shipments and other enforcement action under the Lacey Act. They will also produce print and other public education materials to educate U.S. and international companies on the new Lacey Act’s principles, purpose, requirements, and consequences for violation.
The Borealis Centre will use a $15,000 grant to continue to play a key role
in the fight to stop illegal and destructive logging and protect endangered
forests. BC provides core research and information to aid in the on-the-ground
campaigns of its many NGO partners—a list that includes ForestEthics,
EPN, Dogwood Alliance, Environmental Investigation Agency, Greenpeace, and the
Wilderness Society of Australia. They employ some of the most experienced markets
researchers and analysts in the NGO community to consult on trade flow research,
and their support also includes the creation and acquisition of tools to facilitate
this work. For example, a critical part of markets campaigning requires an ability
to synthesize massive amounts of data. Borealis’ BeBOLD database is a
key tool in doing just that, and they will continue its development throughout
2010, with the emphasis on iterative improvements to the user interface, as
well as continued data uploads. The goal is to make BeBOLD as useful as possible
to partner NGOs, particularly those running pulp and paper campaigns. On behalf
of these partner NGOs, Borealis also subscribes to various industry and government
databases that would otherwise be unaffordable to individual groups. While they
have identified Indonesian forests as a priority in 2010, they will continue
to offer help to all the forest campaigns in which their core partners are engaged.