Friends of the Earth International (FoEI)

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) was founded in 1971 by four organizations from France, Sweden, England and the USA. Today's federation of 69 groups grew from annual meetings of environmentalists from different countries who agreed to campaign together on certain crucial issues, such as nuclear energy and whaling. By 1983, the organization had grown to 25 members.

In 1986, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) was hosted for the first time by an organization from the South, Sahabat Alam Malaysia. There are now 69 Friends of the Earth member groups which are campaigning internationally, nationally and locally to protect the environment and create sustainable societies. They are united by the common conviction that environmentally sustainable development requires both strong grassroots activism and effective national and international campaigning. Although international, Friends of the Earth remained predominantly northern in membership until strong groups from Asia, Latin America and Africa joined in the 1980s. The southern perspective deepened and broadened FoEI's analysis and activities. Tropical rainforests became a central issue with the launching of a FoEI rainforest campaign in 1985, and FoE groups worked creatively and intensively together with indigenous peoples to draw attention to the plight of the world's tropical forest dwellers and their habitats.

FoEI today: FoEI's global reputation was solidified in the 1990s. Parallel to the emergence of ever more global social and environmental problems, the federation has embraced a rapidly increasing number of member groups, and older groups have become stronger. Annual General Meetings, the earliest of which were brainstorming sessions for a small group of Europeans and North Americans, have developed into week-long, highly-structured events covering multiple topics and attended by women and men from South, North, East and West, FoEI has at last become a global force for environmental and social change.

FoEI's potential was brandished at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where a vocal mosaic of FoE groups critiqued the business-as-usual approach of governments and corporations attending the meeting. FoE Netherlands also used Rio as the stage to introduce its groundbreaking Action Plan for a Sustainable Netherlands, a first step in the popularization of the concepts of 'environmental space' and equity. Sustainable Netherlands has since given birth to the Towards Sustainable Europe Campaign and the North-South Project — both of which fall under the umbrella of FoEI's Sustainable Societies Programme.

Like any other organization, FoEI enters rough waters from time to time. Campaigns and projects are often frustrated by lack of funding, and the Secretariat has survived several lean seasons. Differing analyses and strategies can result in divisive or deadlocked discussions, and necessary bureaucratic business can consume valuable time during international meetings. The lack of clear progress in many campaign areas, and the simultaneous proliferation of environmental damage and social misery can dishearten and de motivate activists. And for some, environmental activism can prove dangerous and even fatal, as the mysterious deaths of four top FoE Costa Rica campaigners in 1994-95 tragically proved.

Much of the momentum behind FoEI's campaigning is surely provided by the personal contact, solidarity and inspiration that the federation provides. It is also heartening to imagine that if current trends continue, FoEI's ideas will probably meet with greater political acceptance in coming years. One push in that direction should come via FoEI's Council of Patrons, which unites prominent thinkers, activists and celebrities who support the work of the federation. It can only be hoped that each coming day in FoEI's existence makes us stronger, and brings us closer to truly sustainable societies.