David Levy – The Environmental Movement Today – Mar 24

Do you ever wonder why it is that the NGO Movement has achieved so little success in recent years, especially when it promised so much in its earlier years of campaigning?

The same questioning can be applied to the CEOs and Directors of the Movement’s NGOs whose careers can be followed as they display a pattern of serving out time in the tenure of the job, only to reappear as a senior officer in another environmental group, almost immediately. In my book, this is recycling in a manner not conceived in the original meaning.

So long as you are innocuous and provide adequate blocking, you have a career for life and you will mix in the most interesting social groups. Heaven forbid that you seek solutions and recommend courses of action that require that the status quo is challenged. Heaven forbid anything changes for the better.

Marinet has always advocated change in the round. An action to serve, followed by an action to clean up. For example: Factory farming provides cheap meats and other produce for a large populace. However it produces huge amounts of waste too, and it is currently spread on the land. As a consequence it runs off or leaches into our rivers, currently polluting them to near death. What do our NGOs do?

The answer can be expressed in blame, blame and blame and, where possible, take them to court. Does this provide the solution to the problem? No, it is not one step further forward. The waste problem also requires the Government to use get-out clauses, as they too have not faced the outcomes of their policies.

I am convinced that many senior members of NGOs are Government employees. I can’t prove it, but their inaction and career politics are my supporting evidence.

Do you remember when working together was seen as a real movement? Not now, everything is centralised politics, volunteers have no say and no power. All monies go to pay salaries along with building and administration costs, whilst the NGO Supporter is ostracised and marginalised.

Marinet continues to reach out for genuine working together, and we focus on seats of power where change could happen.

We would delight in finding another NGO who would be prepared to focus on solution-based campaigning – therefore, the challenge is made.

Who I wonder, will respond?

David Levy