民間組織走出去

By /Fred Krupp（弗雷德·克虜伯）

民間組織走出去

By /Fred Krupp（弗雷德·克虜伯）

NGO'S GOING ABROAD

美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)主席Fred Krupp（弗雷德·克虜伯）在清華做專題演講

美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)的故事開始于50多年前一場(chǎng)關(guān)于保護(hù)鸕鶿，一種可愛的鳥類的運(yùn)動(dòng)。上世紀(jì)60年代，美國長島的科學(xué)家驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)當(dāng)?shù)佧R鶿幼鳥的數(shù)量由于不知名的原因，急劇下滑至正常數(shù)量的七分之一。與此同時(shí)，禿頭鷹、游隼等其他猛禽的數(shù)量也出現(xiàn)了同樣驚人的跌幅。其中一些科學(xué)家通過科學(xué)研究追蹤問題的根源，發(fā)現(xiàn)噴灑殺蟲劑DDT（又稱“滴滴涕”）是造成這一現(xiàn)象的罪魁禍?zhǔn)住Ｔ谕ㄟ^科學(xué)的指證贏得了在美國全面禁止DDT使用的官司之后，為了進(jìn)一步保護(hù)人類賴以生存的自然環(huán)境，這些科學(xué)家成立了美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)。

事實(shí)上，美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)創(chuàng)立于1967年，比美國聯(lián)邦環(huán)保局的成立還要早三年。說到1970年，一周之前，我們剛剛度過了第45個(gè)世界地球日，這個(gè)日子在現(xiàn)代環(huán)境運(yùn)動(dòng)史中是具有里程碑意義的一天。

1978年我從密歇根大學(xué)法學(xué)院畢業(yè)之后，創(chuàng)立了康

涅狄格環(huán)境基金會(huì)，這是我第一次接觸到環(huán)境運(yùn)動(dòng)。今天，這個(gè)基金會(huì)依然在保護(hù)著這里的土地、空氣和水，我也依然在主席委員會(huì)中任職。1984年，我進(jìn)入美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)并擔(dān)任執(zhí)行主任，使我能夠站在更高的角度，從整個(gè)國家層面來考慮環(huán)境問題。

今天的美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)與上世紀(jì)60年代那個(gè)初露頭角的小機(jī)構(gòu)已經(jīng)不可同日而語，但我們所堅(jiān)持的科學(xué)原則卻歷久彌新。美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)由一群科學(xué)家創(chuàng)辦，到現(xiàn)在我們的工作依然建立在最佳科學(xué)論據(jù)的基礎(chǔ)上。隨著科學(xué)的發(fā)展，我們也在不斷調(diào)整我們的工作方向。我們是美國第一家雇傭經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家來解決環(huán)境問題的環(huán)保組織。通過運(yùn)用科學(xué)和經(jīng)濟(jì)這兩把利劍，我們一直致力于為最緊迫的環(huán)境問題尋找解決方案。

我們將工作重點(diǎn)放在海洋、氣候、生態(tài)系統(tǒng)和人體健康等領(lǐng)域中，并跨越了國家的界限，因?yàn)檫@些問題已經(jīng)成為全世界所面臨的共同挑戰(zhàn)。

在我執(zhí)掌美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)的30多年間，我見證了美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)的逐步成長。我們的年預(yù)算從300萬美元增長到1.3億美元，員工從50人增加到500人，會(huì)員也從4萬名增加到超過100萬。但我認(rèn)為其中最重要的變化是，它從上世紀(jì)80年代的一個(gè)美國本土組織逐漸走向了世界，除了美國的9個(gè)辦公室之外，目前已經(jīng)在北京、上海、倫敦、墨西哥設(shè)立了辦公室。

從中你可以看到美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)從本土到全球的轉(zhuǎn)變。我們相信“放眼全球，立足本地”對(duì)于民間組織的未來發(fā)展至關(guān)重要。

美國環(huán)保協(xié)會(huì)之所以選擇了國際化，除了作為公益性的環(huán)保組織擴(kuò)展視野以外，也與世界的改變有關(guān)。比如，隨著交通和信息化的發(fā)展，人與人之間的聯(lián)系越發(fā)緊密。因此，要應(yīng)對(duì)如氣候變化這樣的全球性危機(jī)，必須超越政府和區(qū)域的界限。

The Environmental Defense Fund story began nearly 50 years ago with the magnificent osprey, or fish hawk, one of the most beloved of all wild birds in America. Scientists on Long Island in the 1960s were shocked to find the number of osprey chicks had plummeted to about one-seventh normal, while the bald eagle, peregrine falcon and other raptors faced similar sharp declines. The scientists who founded EDF traced the problem to airplanes blanketing Long Island with the pesticide DDT.

We were actually founded in 1967 - some three years before the US Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970. Speaking of 1970, we have just celebrated the 45th anniversary of the founding of Earth Day in the US, one of the key dates in the history of modern environmentalism.

My own formal involvement with the environmental movement began after law school when I created the Connecticut fund for the Environment in 1978. That organization is still working to protect the land, air and water in and around the state and Long

Island Sound. I still serve on the President's Council. In 1984, I had the opportunity to move to a national stage as the Executive Director of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Today's Environmental Defense Fund bears little resemblance to the fledgling organization of the 1960s, except that science sets the agenda today just as it did at our founding. EDF was founded by scientists, and we've always based our policies on the best available science. If new evidence comes to light, we alter those policies accordingly. We were also the first environmental group to hire economists to help solve environmental problems. Guided by science and economics, we find practical and lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems.

EDF has recognized that the priority problems we focus on -oceans, climate, ecosystems, and health -- transcend national boundaries. These are truly problems of the global commons. During the 30 years that I have been running EDF, I witnessed our organization continually growing stronger. Our annual budget has increased from 3 million dollars to 130 million dollars, and our employees have grown from 50 to 500. Our members also have increased from 40,000 to over 1 million. However, I think the most important transformation is that our organization has stepped onto a global platform since the 1980s, from a US domestic organization to an international non-profit with 9 US offices and international offices in Beijing, Shanghai, London, and Mexico.

In addition to expanding our horizons as a public interest environmental group, EDF's choice of the path towards internationalization also has to do with the changes around the world. With the globalization of information, transportation, and the economy, all of us are now connected to one another. Therefore, a global challenge such as climate change must be tackled beyond governmental and regional boundaries.

In my brief review of my experience, you can see the transition for local to global. We truly believe that it is critical to think globally and act locally.