the case of the environmental justice movement in ghana and peru

The Case of the Environmental Justice Movement

in Ghana and Peru

Chris Allan November 2010

Supporting Movements with Grantmaking:

Effects of Growthin Industrial Mining

Displacement of people, destruction of productive farm land





Increased pollution




Increased pollutionSocial disruption

Elements of ResistanceHost communities pay the price - but don’t reap the benefits


http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthworks/3183468734/in/set-72157612322399565/



Government and Industry allied against communities




Indifference or hostility of the general public to the movement

Government and Industry allied against communities


Elements of ResistanceDivisions within host communities




Increased violence –• surveillance of activists, • beatings, • murders



Criminalization of resistance

Increased violence –• surveillance of activists • beatings• murders

How can funders support movements – lessons from Peru and Ghana



Small grants are useful for defensive struggles

Complementary Funding



Small grants are useful for defensive struggles

Large grants are betterfor offensive strategies

Complementary Funding



Community Based Organizations

Local NGOs

National NGOs, Academics, Media, Legal Help

National Networks

International NGOs, Academics, Media

International Networks

Fund all levels Or know who Is

Fund all strategies (or know who is)

Community organizingOrganization buildingNetworkingTechnical reviewAdvocacyLegal actionMediaOther


See yourself as part of the movement

Strategize with activistsRespect movement values• participation • trust • openness

Live with messinessBuild bridges to other

movements


Fund political opportunities - a challenge for funder procedures


Grant Monitoring – What Didn’t Work

Diversity of movement organizations and the Big PictureProducers of monitoring information were not consumersAsked everything we wanted to knowVarying skills across the movement make information uneven


Grant Monitoring –What Works Better

Think instead of what successful movements do – a digestible frameworkAsk what we need to knowPrescriptive role of monitoringDoes social change occur logically?


Have a Conceptual Framework

Build movement infrastructure and mobilize resourcesReframe the debatePolitical Opportunities



Chris [email protected]

om720-841-8277www.chrisallan.info

the case of the environmental justice movement in ghana and peru

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