Thursday, September 30, 2004
NGOs / Economics
Self-financing Civil Society
WEBSITE, Sep. 2004 (Development Initiatives) - The need for civil society organisations to become self reliant has become a regular part of discussions on the future of NGOs. In Towards Financial Self-Reliance, a handbook sponsored by CIVICUS and the Aga Khan Foundation, Richard Holloway examines many options that NGOs and CSOs can pursue - revenue earning, government and foundation sources, social investment, debt conversion, corporate sector resources. The book draws on thinking at a major October 2000 conference in Pakistan and looks at efforts in the south to promote indigenous philanthropy. A companion training manual can be downloaded from www.ngonet.org/public. Contact Abigail Reid at Earthscan + 44 (0) 207 278 0433.
Self-financing Civil Society
WEBSITE, Sep. 2004 (Development Initiatives) - The need for civil society organisations to become self reliant has become a regular part of discussions on the future of NGOs. In Towards Financial Self-Reliance, a handbook sponsored by CIVICUS and the Aga Khan Foundation, Richard Holloway examines many options that NGOs and CSOs can pursue - revenue earning, government and foundation sources, social investment, debt conversion, corporate sector resources. The book draws on thinking at a major October 2000 conference in Pakistan and looks at efforts in the south to promote indigenous philanthropy. A companion training manual can be downloaded from www.ngonet.org/public. Contact Abigail Reid at Earthscan + 44 (0) 207 278 0433.
Environment / Rooftop Garden Biology
Room at the Top
E-LIST Reference, Sept. 8, 2004 (Earth Rainbow Network - Free subscription to e-list by sending a blank email to earthrainbownetwork-subscribe@lists.riseup.net ) - The only way is up when looking for new habitats for urban wildlife, says Peter Marren. Roof-top sanctuaries are cheap, fashionable, and effective - If all goes to plan, London Zoo's remaining Komodo dragon will soon share its home with rare bumblebees and spiders. The Komodo's building is the latest to include an "eco-roof", more commonly known as a "green roof", which combines indoor comfort and outdoor habitat. The idea is that the city roof-scape need not be a barren space visited only by Mary Poppins and the odd sleepy pigeon. With a modest outlay and a certain amount of luck, roofs can be converted into wild gardens, greening the city skies and sheltering the sorts of plants and insects now confined mainly to nature reserves. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=559233
Room at the Top
E-LIST Reference, Sept. 8, 2004 (Earth Rainbow Network - Free subscription to e-list by sending a blank email to earthrainbownetwork-subscribe@lists.riseup.net ) - The only way is up when looking for new habitats for urban wildlife, says Peter Marren. Roof-top sanctuaries are cheap, fashionable, and effective - If all goes to plan, London Zoo's remaining Komodo dragon will soon share its home with rare bumblebees and spiders. The Komodo's building is the latest to include an "eco-roof", more commonly known as a "green roof", which combines indoor comfort and outdoor habitat. The idea is that the city roof-scape need not be a barren space visited only by Mary Poppins and the odd sleepy pigeon. With a modest outlay and a certain amount of luck, roofs can be converted into wild gardens, greening the city skies and sheltering the sorts of plants and insects now confined mainly to nature reserves. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=559233
Global Village / Community Building
Brazil Embraces Sustainable Idea
UK, Sep. 16, 2004 (BBC News, by Sue Branford) - All too often news on the environment is bad, but a revolutionary project in Brazil has been turning a sustainable idea into reality, which is a breath of fresh air for the troubled Amazon rainforest. It is the nearest most of us get to paradise, to wake up early in the morning as dawn breaks over the Amazon forest. Herons, macaws, parakeets and egrets fly across the river. River dolphins come up for air. In the distance monkeys roar. Apart from the sounds of the jungle, utter peace. It felt somehow like the real world, and I began to feel that I was making a dreadful mistake, going there for just a couple of days to gather material for a radio programme. I was in the west of the Amazon basin, in a big reserve, known as the Mamiraua Project for Sustainable Development, which has revolutionised environmental thinking in Brazil. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3660014.stm
Brazil Embraces Sustainable Idea
UK, Sep. 16, 2004 (BBC News, by Sue Branford) - All too often news on the environment is bad, but a revolutionary project in Brazil has been turning a sustainable idea into reality, which is a breath of fresh air for the troubled Amazon rainforest. It is the nearest most of us get to paradise, to wake up early in the morning as dawn breaks over the Amazon forest. Herons, macaws, parakeets and egrets fly across the river. River dolphins come up for air. In the distance monkeys roar. Apart from the sounds of the jungle, utter peace. It felt somehow like the real world, and I began to feel that I was making a dreadful mistake, going there for just a couple of days to gather material for a radio programme. I was in the west of the Amazon basin, in a big reserve, known as the Mamiraua Project for Sustainable Development, which has revolutionised environmental thinking in Brazil. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3660014.stm
