Friends of the Earth
Encyclopedia
- The Hong Kong branch Friends of the Earth (HK)Friends of the Earth (HK)Friends of the Earth Charity Limited is a Hong Kong based environmental organisation founded in 1983. Commonly known as Friends of the Earth or FoE , it has a membership of more than 4,500 individuals and over 140 schools and non-government organisations.As FoE receives no regular funding...
is not a member of Friends of the Earth International. Amigos da Terra Amazonia Brasileira is not a member of Friends of the Earth International. The Brazilian member of Friends of the Earth International is Núcleo Amigos da Terra Brasil
Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) is an international network of environmental organization
Environmental organization
An environmental organization is an organization that seeks to protect, analyze or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation or lobby for these goals....
s in 76 countries.
FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat (based in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
) which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns. The executive committee of elected representatives from national groups set policy and oversee the work of the secretariat.
Campaign issues
Friends of the Earth considers environmental issues in their social, political and human rights contexts. Their campaigns stretch beyond the traditional arena of the conservation movementConservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
and seek to address the economic and development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
aspects of sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
. Originally based largely in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, its membership is now heavily weighted toward groups in the developing world.
The current campaign priorities of Friends of the Earth internationally are:
- economic justice and resisting neoliberalismNeoliberalismNeoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
- forestForestA forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s and biodiversityBiodiversityBiodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions... - food sovereigntyFood sovereignty"Food sovereignty" is a term coined by members of Via Campesina in 1996 to refer to a policy framework advocated by a number of farmers, peasants, pastoralists, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, women, rural youth and environmental organizations, namely the claimed "right" of peoples to define their...
- climate justiceClimate justiceClimate Justice is generally used as a term for viewing climate change as an ethical issue and considering how its causes and effects relate to concepts of justice, particularly social justice and environmental justice. For example examining issues such as equality, human rights and historical...
and energy
The campaign priorities are set at the bi-annual general meeting of Friends of the Earth International.
In addition to the priority campaign areas Friends of the Earth International has a number of other campaign areas which are active internationally. They include:
- desertificationDesertificationDesertification is the degradation of land in drylands. Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.-Definitions:...
- Antarctica
- waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
- maritime
- miningMiningMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and extractive industriesExtractive industryExtractive industries are the industries engaged with the discovery or extracting of natural resources, such as minerals, petroleum , or gas. The term does not generally encompass the industries of forestry, fishing, agriculture, animal husbandry, or any others that are or might be capable of... - nuclear powerNuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
(see nuclear debateNuclear power debateThe nuclear power debate is about the controversy which has surrounded the deployment and use of nuclear fission reactors to generate electricity from nuclear fuel for civilian purposes...
)
All FoE International campaigns incorporate elements of three core themes which are:
- protecting human and environmental rights
- protecting the planet's disappearing biodiversity
- the repayment of ecological debtEcological debtEcological debt is a term used since 1992 by some environmental organizations from the South. The first one to use this term was the Instituto de Ecologia Politica from Chile . J.M. Borrero, from Colombia, a lawyer, wrote a book on the ecological debt in 1994...
owed by rich countries to those they have exploited.
Friends of the Earth groups
The Friends of the Earth organizations in each country are themselves many-tiered networks reaching from grassrootsGrassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
activists up to the national pressure group which campaigns for environmentally progressive and sustainable policies. The groups and activists at all levels also carry out educational and research activities.
Friends of the Earth groups are required to act independently of party political, religious or other influences; be open, democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and non-discriminatory in their internal structures; and be willing to cooperate with other organizations who are working for the same goals. These are conditions of remaining a member of FOEI.
The national groups work on the main issues affecting their own country and choose to participate in the international campaigns of FOEI which are relevant to them. In turn, the local (grassroots) campaigners can work on local, national and/or international campaigns.
Structure of the network
The member organization in a particular country may name itself Friends of the Earth or an equivalent translated phrase in the national language, e.g., Friends of the Earth (US)Friends of the Earth (US)
Friends of the Earth U.S. is a part of Friends of the Earth International, the world's largest grassroots environmental network.Current campaigns focus on clean energy and solutions to global warming, protecting people from toxic and new, potentially harmful technologies, and promoting smarter,...
, Friends of the Earth (EWNI)
Friends of the Earth (EWNI)
Friends of the Earth is one of 70 national groups around the world which make up the Friends of the Earth network of environmental organizations...
(England Wales and Northern Ireland), Amigos de la Tierra (Spain and Argentina). However, roughly half of the member groups work under their own names, sometimes reflecting an independent origin and subsequent accession to the network, such as ERA (FOE Nigeria) and WALHI
WALHI
WALHI is an Indonesian environmental non-governmental organization, which is part of the Friends of the Earth network....
(FOE Indonesia).
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is supported by a secretariat based in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, and an executive committee known as ExCom. The ExCom is elected by all member groups at a general meeting held every two years, and it is the ExCom which employs the secretariat. At the same general meeting, overall policies and priority activities are agreed.
In addition to work which is coordinated at the FoEI level, national member groups are free to carry out their own campaigns and to work bi- or multi-laterally as they see fit, as long as this does not go against agreed policy at the international level.
History
Friends of the Earth was founded in 1969 in the United States by David Brower after his split with the Sierra ClubSierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
based in part on their reluctance to challenge the construction of nuclear power plants. It became an international network in 1971 with a meeting of representatives from the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. For further historical details see articles on the national FOE organizations.
Notable supporters
- Dominique VoynetDominique VoynetDominique Voynet was a French senator for the département of Seine-Saint-Denis, the mayor of Montreuil and a member of The Greens.-Life:...
, who ran in the 1995French presidential election, 1995Presidential elections took place in France on 23 April and 7 May 1995, to elect the fifth president of the Fifth Republic.The incumbent Socialist president, François Mitterrand, did not stand for a third term. He was 78, had cancer, and his party had lost the previous legislative election in a...
and 2007French presidential election, 2007The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term.The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy...
French presidential elections in the "les verts" parti, or Green PartyThe Greens (France)The Greens were a Green political party to the centre-left of the political spectrum in France. They had officially been in existence since 1984, but their spiritual roots could be traced as far back as René Dumont’s candidacy for the presidency in 1974...
is a member. - Jay Kay, frontman of the funk/acid jazz group JamiroquaiJamiroquaiJamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...
, is known for donating a part of the profits earned from his album sales to Friends of the Earth and OxfamOxfamOxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, among other things. - Thom YorkeThom YorkeThomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
, lead singer of RadioheadRadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
has publicly supported a number of Friends of the Earth campaigns.
Support for The Big Ask
Among those present at the launch of Friends of the Earth (EWNI)Friends of the Earth (EWNI)
Friends of the Earth is one of 70 national groups around the world which make up the Friends of the Earth network of environmental organizations...
's climate change campaign The Big Ask were: Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
, Edith Bowman
Edith Bowman
Edith Eleanor Bowman is a Scottish music critic, radio DJ and television presenter. She is mostly known for hosting the weekday afternoon show and from September 2009 weekend morning on BBC Radio 1 and for presenting a variety of music related television shows and music...
, Sian Lloyd
Siân Lloyd
Siân Lloyd is a Welsh television presenter, best known as a ITV Weather presenter.-Biography:Lloyd was born in Maesteg, Bridgend, Wales, the daughter of two teachers. She attended Ystalyfera Bilingual School and performed at the Eisteddfod where she won the Crown...
, Ross Burden
Ross Burden
Ross Burden is a celebrity chef from New Zealand.Ross Burden's early career was as a model but became a chef later in life. His inspiration for being a chef was his mother's extremely bad cooking skills, which meant that he spent a lot of time cooking with his grandmother.Ross was brought up in...
, David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, David Miliband
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
, Thom Yorke
Thom Yorke
Thomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
, Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
, Michael Eavis
Michael Eavis
Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE , is an English dairy farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place on his farm.-Personal life:...
, and Emily Eavis
Emily Eavis
Emily Eavis is co-organiser of the annual Glastonbury Festival. She is the youngest daughter of the festival's founder and organiser Michael Eavis and his second wife Jean....
.
Member organizations
- Friends of the Earth EuropeFriends of the Earth EuropeFriends of the Earth Europe is the European branch of the world's largest grassroots environmental network, Friends of the Earth International . It includes 30 national organisations and thousands of local groups....
based in Brussels - Young Friends of the Earth EuropeYoung Friends of the EarthYoung Friends of the Earth Europe is a grassroots network of young people and youth organisations working together on social and environmental justice issues...
based in Brussels - :fr:Les Amis de la Terre-France, France
- Amigos de la tierra, Spain
- Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz DeutschlandBund für Umwelt und Naturschutz DeutschlandBund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland is a German non-governmental organisation dedicated to preserving nature and protecting the environment. The german title would be translated to something like Union for the environment and nature conservation Germany...
, Germany - ERA (FOE Nigeria)
- Friends of the Earth (EWNI)Friends of the Earth (EWNI)Friends of the Earth is one of 70 national groups around the world which make up the Friends of the Earth network of environmental organizations...
, England, Wales and Northern Ireland- Birmingham Friends of the Earthhttp://www.birminghamfoe.org.uk
- Friends of the Earth Canada
- Friends of the Earth ScotlandFriends of the Earth ScotlandFriends of the Earth Scotland is an independent member of the Friends of the Earth international network of environmental organizations, and operates separately from Friends of the Earth in England, Wales and Northern Ireland . There is no single Friends of the Earth .Since 2011, Stan Blackley has...
- Friends of the Earth (US)Friends of the Earth (US)Friends of the Earth U.S. is a part of Friends of the Earth International, the world's largest grassroots environmental network.Current campaigns focus on clean energy and solutions to global warming, protecting people from toxic and new, potentially harmful technologies, and promoting smarter,...
- Green ActionGreen ActionGreen Action is an environmental organization based in Zagreb, Croatia and the national member of Friends of the Earth. Based with a full-time activist group with thirteen members back by a larger number of volunteers, the organization works on topics related to biodiversity, energy, climate...
, Croatia - Hnutí DUHAHnutí DUHAHnutí DUHA is an environmental movement in the Czech Republic, the most prominent in the country...
, Czech Republic - MilieudefensieMilieudefensieMilieudefensie is a Dutch environmental organization, founded on January 6, 1971, by a group of scientists in response to a report by the Club of Rome...
, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... - Norwegian Society for the Conservation of NatureNorwegian Society for the Conservation of NatureThe Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature , also known as Friends of the Earth Norway and commonly abbreviated NNV is the largest Norwegian environmental organization with 28,000 members. The organization is based on a volunteer work among the members, constituting work both at local and...
, Norway - WALHIWALHIWALHI is an Indonesian environmental non-governmental organization, which is part of the Friends of the Earth network....
(FOE Indonesia) - Friends of the Earth AustraliaFriends of the Earth AustraliaFriends of the Earth Australia is a federation of independent local groups working for a socially equitable and environmentally sustainable future. Friends of the Earth Australia believes that pursuing environmental protection is inseparable from broader social concerns, and as a result uses an...
- Friends of the Earth Malta
- Friends of the Earth Middle EastFriends of the Earth Middle EastFriends of the Earth Middle East is an organization active in environmental peacemaking in the Middle East.-Group focus and efforts:...
- Amigu di Tera, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles
- Sobrevivencia - Amigos de la Tierra PY, Paraguay
- AmiGoS dA TeRRa - BraSiLhttp://www.natbrasil.org.br
- Magyar Természetvédok Szövetsége / Friends of the Earth Hungary http://www.mtvsz.hu/
- Priatelia Zeme SlovenskoPriatelia Zeme Slovensko-General Facts:Priatelia Zeme Slovensko became a Friends of the Earth International member in 1997...
(Friends of the Earth Slovakia) http://www.priateliazeme.sk/
External links
- Friends of the Earth International
- Friends of the Earth Europe
- Friends of the Earth Scotland
- Les amis de la terre France
- Friends of the Earth Malta
- Amigos de la Tierra Spain
- Friends of the Earth Middle East
- Friends of the Earth - Ibiza - (Catalan, Spanish, English, German)
- Article on the French branch of Friends of the Earth "Multinationals : Ecologists See Red"
- Young Friends of the Earth Europe