Role of Civil Societies for Sustainable Development

Training Program: Role of Media and Civil Societies in Combating Disasters and

Climate ChangeCenter for Climate Change and Environment Advisory (CCCEA)Dr. MCR HRD Institute of AP

28th - 30th June 2011

Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy, CEO, GEO http://e-geo.org

•The Drivers of Change

•The Challenge of Politics

Civil Society

"the arena, outside of the family, the state, and the market where people associate to advance common interests."[2]

CS - Representationthe associations of citizens (outside their families, friends and businesses)

entered into voluntarily to advance their interests, ideas and ideologies. The term does not include profit-making activity (the private sector) or governing (the public sector). Civil societies are often populated by organizations:

Registered charities, development non-governmental organizations, community groups, women's organizations, faith-based, religious and spiritual organizations, professional associations,  trade unions, self-help groups,  social movements, business associations, coalitions and advocacy groups. trade unions, indigenous people’s organizations, academeic

In the HistoryDuring the second half of the 19th century,

nationalist consciousness spread across India and self-help emerged as the primary focus of sociopolitical movements.

Numerous organizations were established during this period, including the Friend-in-Need Society (1858), Prathana Samaj (1864), Satya Shodhan Samaj (1873), Arya Samaj (1875), the National Council for Women in India (1875), and the Indian National Conference (1887).

Defining Non-Governmental Organisations

How do you describe an NGO? One survey found 48 different terms and acronyms. Here is a sample:

In short, there is no agreed terminology for describing the NGO sector.

In some ways, it is easier to describe what NGOs are not, rather than what they are. It is generally agreed that NGOs are not:

part of government, or organized primarily for private profit.

BINGOs Big International NGOs BONGOs Business Organized NGOsCBOs Community Based OrganizationsCSOs Civil Society OrganizationsENGOs Environmental NGOsGONGOs Government Organized NGOs

IPOs Indigenous Peoples OrganizationsGROs Grassroots Organizations GSCOs Global Social Change OrganizationsNPOs Nonprofit OrganizationsVOs Voluntary Organizations

NGOsBy definition, it is an organization

that is not directly related to government. The World Health Organization first made the term NGO popular back in 1945. There are more than 50,000 international INGO’s. Other types of NGO’s are International business (BINGO) and environmental ENGO. In the United States there are over 2 million NGO’s and estimated 400,000 in Russia and 1-2 million in India. There is a marked increase in the numbers of NGO organizations worldwide.

NGOs / Voluntary ServiceThough the term NGO became popular in

India only in the 1980s, the voluntary sector has an older tradition. Since independence from the British in 1947, the voluntary sector had a lot of respect in the minds of people - first, because the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi was an active participant; and second because India has always had the tradition of honouring those who have made some sacrifice to help others.

Voluntary Organizations - GandhijiIn independent India, the initial role played by the

voluntary organizations started by Gandhi and his disciples was to fill in the gaps left by the government in the development process. The volunteers organized handloom weavers in villages to form cooperatives through which they could market their products directly in the cities, and thus get a better price. Similar cooperatives were later set up in areas like marketing of dairy products and fish. In almost all these cases, the volunteers helped in other areas of development - running literacy classes for adults at night, for example.

Traditional

Traditional development NGOs, who went into a village or a group of villages and ran literacy programmes, crËches for children and clinics, encouraged farmers to experiment with new crops and livestock breeds that would bring more money, helped the weavers and other village artisans market their products and so on

Research / Advocacy / Legal

The second group of NGOs were those who researched a particular subject in depth, and then lobbied with the government or with industry or petitioned the courts for improvements in the lives of the citizens, as far as that particular subject was concerned. Eg: CSE

Activists

In the third group were those volunteers who saw themselves more as activists than other NGOs did. They petitioned the bureaucrats, they alerted the media whenever they found something wrong and so on. Eg: NBA

NGOs, civil society, or major groups?“Major Groups” is a

term that was introduced in Agenda 21, agreed by governments at the Rio Earth Summit. It describes nine sectors of society identified as having a significant role in sustainable development:

◦ women ◦ children and youth◦ indigenous people◦ NGOs◦ Local authorities◦ Workers and trade

unions◦ business and

industry◦ the scientific and

technical community

◦ farmers

Stakeholders: Yet another term!Stakeholders:Those who have an interest in a particular decision, either as individuals or representatives of a group. This includes people who influence a decision, or can influence it, as well as those affected by it.

Less pressure from change in politics

Small scale projects◦More community involvement◦Can be individually tailored to meet

specific community needs◦Higher “success” rate◦Less bureaucratic

A more “human” face

Advantages of NGOs

Disadvantages of NGOs Constant funding difficulties Possible lack of legitimacy Difficult to regulate

◦ Can lack transparency and accountability

Can be ineffective due to lack of coordination

Types of NGOsWater Resource

Related NGOs

Environmental/

EcologicalFocus

Water Supply And

SanitationFocus

Policy and Government Lobbying

Implementation of Community Projects

Network of other NGOs

ProfessionalMembershipOrganization

Research andData Collection

Education

Transboundary

Water IssuesMany Others

Development OrganizationInter-relationship

NGOs

Government Agency

Institutions / Financial

Institutions

Specific

Project / Issue

Role of Civil Society Organizations

Advocacy

Education

Monitoring

Service delivery

at national and local levels

NGOs in Intergovernmental Processes4 important functions:Setting agendasNegotiating outcomesConferring legitimacyImplementing solutions

NGOs in India

The PRIA survey reveals that 26.5% of NGOs are engaged in religious activities, while 21.3% work in the area of community and/or social service. About one in five NGOs works in education, while 17.9% are active in the fields of sports and culture. Only 6.6% work in the health sector.6

SPIRIT – KNOW - ACT

SPIRIT

KNOWACT

Don’t forget to

sweep the

corners

GOVERNMENT / PUBLIC

CONTRACTORS / PRIVATE

CSOs

ExamplesDisasters – Earthquakes, Floods,

Drought, Climate Change – Mitigation and

AdaptationAgricultureWaterEnergyLivestockEnvironment / Climate Change

Media and Social NetworksInternetSocial NetworksMultimediaNetworks / groups

Some initiatives in climate change e.g.,GEO

“Look to the Future. Accept the Challenges. Society fails if the citizen is not engaged.

“Setting an agenda for change is not a burden. It’s a responsibility. And an opportunity to change for good”

Thank You…

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