ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES OF NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS (NGOs) RELATED TO UNEP PROGRAMMES REPORT AND DIRECTORY PREPARED FOR THE EIGHTH GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME April 1980 ENVIRONMENT LIAiSON CENTRE NAIROBI. KENYA foreword For the third time the United Nations Environment Programme has oo-operated with the Environment Liaison eentre (ELC) in the survey of NGO activities in subject areas to be reviewed in-depth by the Governing Council of UNEP at its eighth session (April 1980) and in the production of this report on the findings of the survey. We believe that the information contained in the Report will be valuable to Governments during and after the Governing Council and to others interested in the work of the NGO community to which UNEF attaches great importance. The success of a survey of this kind would not have been possible without the final cooperation of the NGOs with the ELC. Such cooperation constitutes a con- crete example of their commitment to the cause. I therefore wish to express our appreciation to the many NGOs that responded to the enquiries of the ELC during 1979 and earlier, and thus made possible the compilation of this report which provides supplementary information to that in the report of the Executive Director on the environment programme during the eighth session of the UNEP Governing Council. Although collected with the Support of UNEP, the views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of UNEP. Mostafa K. Tolba Executive Director United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Nairobi, Kenya. .00 L\ t I o o \ '4y I contents Chapter Number Page Number Introduction (1) Tropical woodlands and forest ecosystems 1 frlountains, is1ands coastal and other eco- systems 7 Genetic resources 14 Wildlife and protected areas 20 Oceans : Living marine resources and marine pollution 28 EnVironmental training 37 Technical assistance 40 APPENDIX I : Directory of NGQs Related to the Seven Subject Areas of the Report 43 APPENDIX II UNEP Objectives 69 introduction This document presents an overview of non- Other: Key NGOs and individuals in the government organisation (NG0) activities in seven subject areas were requested to the seven subject areas selected for in- pass comments and other NGO addresses depth review at the eighth session of the to the ELC for the survey and UNEP per- United Nations Environment Programmes sonnel supplied comments and advice on Governing Council. The NGO activities des- the chapter drafts. cribed here are those related to UNEP's objectives and strategies. It illustrates The Limitations both the diversity and the intensity of NGO programmes, confirming the constructive con- tribution they make towards environment and Every effort has been made to ensure that the development. information contained in the report is accu- rate. However, readers should bear in mind the following limitations to the survey: The report is intended to provide informa- tion on NGO activities as well as to serve as a directory to a sample of NGOs working in Most of the information has been supplied each subject area. Details about the NOOs by the NGO5 themselves. This ensured mentioned in the report are given in the factual accuracy, but also introduces a directory section rather than the report. subjective element in any evaluation of Also in the directory are some other NOOs, the NGO activities. relevant to the subject areas of the report, but not mentioned in the report for lack of The vast majority of information in this space. document is current. In a limited number of cases, however, it may be somewhat dated as information from previous sur- Due to financial constraints it has been veys was also used. possible to print the directory section only in english in all three language versions The NGOs covered in the report are ex- (English, French and Spanish). For this amples only, representing just a few of reason, in all the versions, the NGO names the many NGOs involved in these areas. are given in English for easy identification It is recognised that there are many in the directory. However, official French others which could have been cited as and Spanish names of NGOs are also given in well. For brevity and readability, how- the French and Spanish versions of the re- ever, we chose to cite only a few, and port and in the directory. to avoid repetition of the same NGOs in several chapters. Furthermore, the NGO5 The contents of this report are based upon a cited are not necessarily the most sig- survey which included the following elements: nificant in their field. The examples are intended instead to illustrate the range of NGO activity. Letter: A letter requesting information on the seven subject areas to be treated Where an NGO is used in the text to in-depth by DC VIII, was sent to 200 NGO5 illustrate a particular NGO activity, it about which details available in the ELC is not meant to imply that this is the files were inadequate. The information sole or most important activity of the provided served the dual purpose of up- NGO. dating and validating the computer files on NOOs held by the ELC and providing information for this report. Non-Governmental Organisat inns (NGO5) ELC files: The ELC is in routine contact The determination of whether or not a given with a large number of NGOs, and there- organisation is an "NGO was difficult. For fore in regular receipt of current in- purposes of this paper, an organisation that formation which it uses to correct and is not directly controlled by any government update its files. or intergovernmental body has been defined as an NGO. In particular, this implies that Infoterra (TJNEP): An Infoterra search partial government financing of an organisa- produced names of additional NGOs in tion does not eliminate its consideration relevant fields. as an NGO - unless the financing implies governmental control. Directories: The ELC maintains a lib- rary of directories listing inter alia Organisations which were known to be commex- environmental NGOs. These were exten- cial were not considered in this document. sively used. -i - The Environment Liaison Centre Comments The Environment Liaison Centre was first con- The ELC would welcome suggestions, further ceived in 1972, at the U.N. Conference on the information and comments related to making Human Environment by participating NGOs con- the information in this report of more use cerned with the environment as a means by to Governments and NCO5. Especially helpful which they could liaise with UNEP. The would be recent publications which would Centre was established in 1974 in Nairobi. keep the ELC abreast of NGO activities. It has 150 member organisations and repre- sents more than 1,000 non-governmental or- Acknowledgrnents ganisations from around the world of which half are from less developed countries. In total, the Centre represents more than 2,000,000 This document was written and researched by people. Serena Zwangobani and Patricia Bifani of the Environment Liaiaon Centre. Artwork and other assistance was given by Eat Honore. The Centres purpose is to establish a work- The ELC acknowledges with gratitude the ing relationship with UNEP on behalf of NGOs assistance supplied by many others - in par- and to assist communications among NGOs in ticular, the NGOs who gave their valuable the less developed and more developed coun- time to reply to our enquiries, to various tries. UNEP personnel associated with the project, and to the personnel who gave research The ELC has undertaken four surveys, three assistance and advice during the preparation. World Environment Day programmes, and an en- vironmental education programme with partial The views expressed herein are those of the funding from TJNEP. It publishes a quarterly Environment Liaison Centre and ultimately of bulletin. The Centre Report'. the authors. They do not represent the views of UNEP. For further information Enquiries can be made to the Environment Liaison Centre, P.O. Box 72461 Nairobi, Kenya. Telephone: Nairobi 24770. Printed in Kenya by the 'A' promoter Ltd. Nairobi - 11 - Tropical Woodlands and Forest Ecosystems T \ro The two activities most destructive of the that remaining forest cover be protected from worlds forestcover are the cutting of indiscriminate harvest and that many now de- trees for fire-wood and the large-scale cutt forested regions he reforested' (Vietmever, ing of trees for commercial purposes. Both 1979) . 2 of these activities could continue without serious environmental degradation if there were careful programmes of forest management The Australian Conservation Foundation is and reforestation. But in developing count- most concerned for the destruction in the- ries particularly, where the most serious whole Pacific Basin by Japanese cornpani-es for reduction in forest cover is taking place, the woodohip industry. They point to the the planning and safeguarding of forests is destruction of forests in the Aleutian inadequate. 'With world forest cover vanish- tslands, Philippines, Borneo, Malaysia, ing at the rate of 50 acres every minute, Indonesia, Papua-New Guinea, Australia, there is a real threat of a tree-bare Third Alaska and the Solomon Islands. The econo- World'. (International Planned Parenthood mic and environmental impacts of such indus- Federation,l98O).l tries are often overlooked. "The full cost of woodchipping has never been drawn up in Australia: the true cost of the roads and For the mass participation NGOs, particularly bridges, their maintenance, water supply, in developing countries, reforestation acti- the social cost of road accidents, environ- vities often meet a great need where over- mental costs such as loss of soil and erosion grazing, firewood collection and lumbering control measures, silted and guttered rivers, has removed most forest cover. This refore- loss of wildlife, the closing of tourist and station task is particularly great in arid recreational options.' (Dunphy, 1979).3 and semi-arid areas undergoing desertifica- We could add, the loss of Options on future tton, and where the planting of trees, with use of virgin forests as genetic resources proper care, can provide shelter, hold hack and of future employment opportunities.