Research Institutes: Environmental and Development Issues

Jennifer Harris, Trisha Tate, and Ken Gamma

 

WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE

A nonprofit public policy research organization dedicated to informing policymakers and the public about emerging global problems and trends and the complex links between the world economy and its environmental support system.

I. Dedicated to fostering the evolution of an environmentally sustainable society

A. Human needs are met in ways that do not threaten the health of the natural environment

B. Human needs are met in ways that do not threaten the prospects of future generations

II. Seeks to achieve this goal

    1. A. Through the conduct of inter-disciplinary non-partisan research on emerging global environmental issues

      B. Information is a powerful tool of social change

      1. Raise public awareness of global environmental threats

      2. Provides information to bring about changes needed to build an environmentally sustainable economy

      C. Results disseminated throughout the world

      III. Publications examples

    •

    A. World Watch Magazine (6 times a year)

    B. State of the World 1999

    C. Life Out of Bounds: Bioinvasion in a Borderless World

    D. Mind Over Matter: Recasting the Role of Materials in Our Lives.

    IV. Contact Information

    A. Address: 1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.

    Washington, D.C. 20036-1904

    B. Phone: (202) 452-1999

    Fax: (202) 296-7365

    C. Internet: http://www.worldwatch.org/

    Experts:

    "A major threat to the economic well-being of many countries is land degradation--principally through the plowing of highly erodible land, the drawing down of water tables through overpumping for irrigation, the salinization of irrigation land, the overgrazing of rangelands, and the loss of arable land, rangeland, and forests to expanding urban and industrial needs." (Fighting for Survial, p. 36, Worldwatch Institute)

    "The world today is warmer, more crowded, more urban, economically richer, and environmentally poorer than ever before. This past year was one of near-record global economic growth--and of disturbing new signs of environmental stress."

    (Vital Signs 1998, p. 9, Worldwatch Institute)

    WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE

    An independent center for policy research and technical assistance on global environmental and development issues. Created in 1982, WRI is dedicated to helping governments and private organizations of all types cope with environmental, resource, and development challenges global significance.

  • I. Dedicated to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment

    A. Empowers people (society) with ideas, knowledge, and greater understanding to change

    B. Helps other institutions provide information

  • 1. Objective information and practical proposals for policy and institutional change that will foster environmentally sound, socially equitable development
    •

    • C. Values: Integrity, Innovation, Urgency, Independence and Respect

    II. Change human behavior

  • A. Urgently needed to halt accelerating rate of environmental deterioration
  • 1. Work on issues where differences can be made
    •

    B. Effectiveness dependent on uncompromised by partisan politics, institutional or personal allegiances, or sources of financial support

    III. Publication examples

    • A. The Next Bottom Line: Making Sustainable Development Tangible

    B. Africa’s Valuable Assets: A Reader in Natural Resource Management

    C. Leverage for the Environment: A Guide to the Private Financial Service Industry

    D. Cultivating Diversity: Agrobiodiversity and Food Security

  • E. Public Finance Restructuring for Sustainable Development in Emerging Market Economies
    •

    • F. Logging Burma’s Frontier Forests: Resources and the Regime

  • G. Climate, Biodiversity, and Forests: Issues and Opportunities Emerging From the Kyoto Protocol
    •

    • H. Building a Safe Climate, Sound Business Future

    IV. Contact Information

    A. Address: 10 G Street, NE suite 800 (as of March 1, 1999)

    Washington, D.C. 20002

    B. Phone: (202) 729-7600

    Fax: (202) 729-7610

    C. Internet: http://www.wri.org

    Excerpts:

    "While African data increasingly flow onto the global information superhighway, many of the on-ramps to that highway remain plagued with checkpoints--places where bureaucratically imposed barriers slow the expansion of Internet services, or even block access altogether. We examine some of these barriers that lead to astonishingly wide variations in the price of Internet access in Africa."

    (Africa’s Valuable Assets, p. 373, World Resources Institute)

    "New Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture reveals vital but overlooked ingredients for spreading innovative sustainable agriculture techniques--mainly institutional collaboration, farmer participation, and political support. Nine cases from North America, South America, Africa, and Asia demonstrate that shifting from conventional to sustainable agriculture requires not just new technology, but human will and political support. Dynamic partnerships of farmers, communities, governments, researchers, and non-governmental organizations are needed to make sustainable agriculture work and to ensure food security. But farmers must be empowered to lead, make decisions, adopt new ways, and whole communities may need to take part in these efforts."

    (World Resources Institute)

    Issues To Consider:

    1. Financial Needs v. Organization Objectives

    A. Mission — distribute information regarding environment and develoment

    B. Financial Constraints on the implementation of objectives

    C. Does the research get to people who can use it?

    — > Does it take away from implementation?

    2. Worldwatch and World Resources Institutes

    A. Practical Research Tools

    B. Valuable Resource for Information concerning Environment and Development issues

    C. Non-partisan