The strategies of Portuguese civil society organizations in the field of the environment

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The strategies of Portuguese civil society organizations in the field of the environment

Brígida Rocha Brito

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Lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa - UAL (Environment and International Relations, International Cooperation, Contemporary World). Researcher at OBSERVARE (UAL) and Deputy Director of JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations. Collaborated with the Sociology Department of the University of Évora as Guest Assistant Lecturer and with the Higher College of Agriculture (Escola Superior Agrária) of Coimbra as Assistant Lecturer. Has worked as a consultant, diagnosing and evaluating development projects in Portuguese-speaking African countries for civil society organizations (Instituto Marquês de Valle Flôr, Artissal, Acção para o Desenvolvimento) and international organizations (The World Bank Group; International Organization for Migrations and Labour International Bureau, Programme STEP-Portugal). Worked for the Ministry of Environment of Brazil in preparing a strategic document on environmental education to be used in all Portuguese- speaking countries (CPLP), "Passo a Passo" (Step by Step), and has been involved in cooperation activities between the Portuguese government and Sao Tomé and Príncipe in the field of training. She has carried out research on the following African countries: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Abstract

“The strategies of civil society organizations in the field of the environment” is the result of research conducted as part of the Project “strategies of international players in the area of the environment” carried out at OBSERVARE, the Observatory for External Relations of Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa. The objective of the study was to understand and characterize the involvement of Portuguese NGOs, or of those based in Portugal, in the field of the environment, identifying and evaluating the relationships they have established with external partners, namely with regard to the following: privileged countries; types of partners; intervention areas; methodologies and tools. The study was based on the concepts of development cooperation, including players and tools, partnership in international relations, and social and environmental sustainability, taking also into account the Millennium Development Goals, in particular as regards the Seventh Target: Guaranteeing Environmental Sustainability. Given the broad scope of the study, a short questionnaire was built following the principle of guaranteed anonymity and made available online. After making a list of NGOs (ENGOs and DNGOs), the questionnaire was sent to many of these organizations, requesting them to respond to the questionnaire (N=43). From the data analysis and by confronting it with the concepts previously explored, it emerged that the majority undertake joint activity in Portugal and in partner countries, mostly with other similar organizations after the establishment of partnerships. The activity focuses on social and environmental projects of local relevance, with mixed funding that is mostly international in nature, and has clear objectives for promoting development.

Keywords

Environment, Conservation, Non-Governmental Organizations, Partnership

How to cite this article

Brito, Brígida (2012). "The strategies of Portuguese civil society organizations in the field of the environment”.JANUS.NET e-journal of International Relations, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2012. Accessed [online] on (date of last viewing), observare.ual.pt/janus.net/en_vol3_n1_art5

Article received on December 2011 and accepted for publication on May 2012