Interaction potential of environmental organizations in the solution of common tasks

The Centre for European Transformation in May-July 2013 was carried out a study to assess the interaction potential of Belarusan environmental organizations in the solution of common tasks.

Study commissioned by the Association of Environmental NGOs of Belarus "Green Alliance".

The results of the study were first presented at the Forum of Environmental Organizations of Belarus, held in Minsk on October 18-20, 2013. Here you can find a detailed report on the results of the study.

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Belarusan environmental organizations (the "green", environmentalists) occupy a significant place in the structure of Belarus’ public sector. It is expressed both in the total number of the existing organizations  and in the noticeability of their actions against the general background of public organizations’ activity. Recently (2010-2013) there have been about 30 joint actions and campaigns organized by environmentalists, which have been actively covered by the mass media and which have resulted in a certain public resonance.

At the same time, the efficiency of the majority of the initiatives aimed at cardinally changing a situation in the sphere of the condition and preservation of the environment leaves much to be desired. There are only singular examples when environmental organizations have managed to succeed while trying to counteract infringements of citizens’ rights to have the favorable environment. The "green" have initiated and achieved success even to a lesser degree in their actions aimed at changing the framework conditions and general policy in the environment protection field. The reasons of such a state of affairs are the external adverse conditions for civil society’s activity in the country and the objective condition of the environmental sector development. Also, an importance role is played here by the internal factors of the character and level of cooperation between environmental organizations, as well as between environmentalists and their immediate surroundings. The affinity of purposes, the similar understanding of the situation, and the coordinated perception of themselves and others on the general field of joint activity definitely have a significant impact on environmental organizations’ cooperation which, in its turn, influences the efficiency of the solution of common tasks, too. Actually, this inner aspect (i.e. perceptions of cooperation) is the subject of our further consideration. On the basis of the analysis of the similarity/distinction of perceptions of cooperation, the potential of cooperation of environmental organizations and their surroundings in the solution of common tasks will be evaluated.

It is necessary to underline that within the pale of this research we focus our attention on the perceptions (conceptualization; understanding) of mutual cooperation of participants of joint actions and initiatives. We consider joint environmental actions and initiatives to be initiatives which are organized and/or carried out in cooperation of representatives of the environmental movement among themselves and/or with other subjects of civil society, state structures, and international structures in order to achieve environmentally significant purposes. The initial assumptions of the research group were based on the idea that the solidarity potential of subjects of interaction depends on their affinity or alterity when it comes to:

1. evaluation of previous cooperation (or retrospections of cooperation);
2. missions, purposes, and tasks of cooperation;
3. factors that influence cooperation development;
4. concrete steps to develop cooperation;
5. evaluation of prospects and expected results (outcomes) of cooperation.

Accordingly, it is believed that the subjects of interaction who are close to each other as for these parameters will have a higher potential of their joint actions. This circumstance can be called "vertical consentaneity" or the concurrence of evaluations of different subjects of interaction; however, it is also necessary to take into account "horizontal consentaneity" or the concurrence of evaluations of one subject at various levels (national - organizational - personal). Thus, if there are considerable divergences or contradictions between probable purposes of cooperation at the national level and the purposes which are pursued in cooperation by a separate organization or the leader of an organization, it influences negatively the overall potential of cooperation.

Our research conclusions are drawn on the basis of the analysis of perceptions of three groups of respondents:

1. Leaders of environmental organizations;
2. Representatives of organizations with whom environmentalists build their interaction (immediate surroundings);
3. Activists of environmental organizations.

Our research was conducted in May-July 2013. In order to collect the necessary research data, we have organized:

• 24 individual interviews with leaders of environmental organizations (in the capital and regions), as well as representatives of organizations from environmentalists’ immediate surroundings (other public organization of Belarus and international organizations);
• 2 focused group interviews with environmental activists from various environmental public organizations (the average duration of a focus group is 2 hours; the total number of participants is 13 people; 3 of them are from regions);
• Monitoring of mentions of environmentalists’ joint actions in the mass media during the period from the beginning of 2010 to the first half of 2013.

In the first part of this document, we outline an overall picture of network interaction of environmentalists and their surroundings and in the next parts we analyze substantial aspects of their cooperation.

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About authors:

Andrei Yahorau is the Director of the Centre for European transformation (CET), Master of Political Science. He graduated from Belarusan State University, department of political science, and holds a master’s degree in political science. He has been working in the political research area since 2001. The focus of research interests: transformation of the former Soviet Union space, civil society, political transformations in Belarus and the Eastern Partnership region, European studies.

Aksana Shelest is a Senior analyst of the Centre for European transformation, PhD in sociology. She graduated from the Sociology Department of Belarusan State University and did her postgraduate studies in the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus. Her research interests include religiousness transformation, social communication and communication techniques, methodology and sociological research methods.

Karyna Shyla is a Junior Analyst of the Center for European Transformation. In 2013, she graduated from the International Relations Department of Belarusan State University with a specialization in International Law, the branch of study is the European Law.

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